Similarly, travel itineraries are dissected to suggest that the nations visited were selected to please key constituencies. It's a wonder any governor travels overseas. Governors and their aides know that foreign trade missions are bound to be controversial. To deflect much of the expected criticism, the trips are designed with an eye toward playing well in the media. This means larding the schedule with photo opportunities and sound bites featuring discussions with foreign-trade officials, tours of industrial sites, speeches to business groups, and meetings with as many presidents and prime ministers as possible.
Sightseeing is kept incidental.
Above all, since bacon must be brought home to appease a cynical press corps, announcements of trade agreements and business deals are de rigeur. The problem with all this aggressive stage management is that what makes these trips appear useful in the eyes of the media and general public is also what tends to make them seem so inconsequential to members of the international business community. Especially with mega-states like California, it is virtually impossible for a governor to make any appreciable difference by personally taking a hand in promoting exports and investment opportunities. Consider the context. Each day sees over 10,000 separate export shipments by California firms.