NTA Board extends Prather’s contract

December 16, 2025 / NTA News

The National Tour Association Board of Directors has extended the contract of Catherine Prather, CTP, to continue serving as president for the leading association of packaged tour professionals. During a meeting on the eve of NTA’s Travel Exchange ’26 in Ottawa, the board approved a three-year extension for Prather. It was an easy decision, according […]

Collaboration in Packaged Travel

November 10, 2025 / NTA News

NTA member survey identifies key trends, setbacks, and pathways to successBy Bob Rouse The National Tour Association recently concluded a survey of members—tour operators, destination marketing organizations, and tour suppliers—asking them about business results in 2025 and projections for 2026. The survey also explored pricing trends, challenges that group-travel specialists are facing, and insights into […]

NTA staff completes VisitAble training

September 2, 2025 / NTA News

When the National Tour Association brought on VisitAble as a strategic partner in May, NTA urged its members to become more welcoming to travelers with disabilities by utilizing VisitAble’s resources, including webinars, training sessions, and certifications tailored for specific audiences. One audience that stepped up right away was the NTA staff. Within two months, every […]

NTA members rush to register for TREX ’25

June 17, 2025 / NTA News

National Tour Association members are jumping at the chance to sign up for Travel Exchange ’25. When registration opened last week for the Nov. 9–12 show in Ottawa, the number of first-day registrants was up 44% over last year. “We’re so gratified to see how many members committed to attending Travel Exchange as soon as […]

Protect U.S. National Parks and Brand USA!

June 12, 2025 / NTA News

Your Action is Urgently Needed! As you may know, the U.S. Congress is in the middle of debate key pieces of legislation: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations. There are many proposals that may harm inbound and outbound tourism, but there are four that require NTA members’ immediate attention and […]

Letter: Support Brand USA funding

June 12, 2025 / NTA News

Date [Your Senator][Your Senator’s office address] Dear Senator: I write to request that you take action to remove proposed language from the reconciliation bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, that proposes to slash 80% of funding from Brand USA, the highly successful travel promotion arm of the United States. I ask that you vote […]

Letter: Support our National Parks

June 12, 2025 / NTA News

Date [Your Senator][Your Senator’s office address] Dear Senator: I write to request that you take action to remove proposed language from the reconciliation bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, that proposes to claw back $267 million of funding from the National Park Service that Congress has already approved. I ask that you vote against […]

TREX ’25 gives NTA members new ways to connect

June 4, 2025 / NTA News

Registration for the National Tour Association’s Travel Exchange ’25 is now open, and the NTA community will discover new ways to learn and interact when the November show brings packaged-travel professionals together in Ottawa. “Innovation is the hallmark of NTA and Travel Exchange, and you’ll find significant enhancements at our show in November,” says Catherine […]

June 3, 2025 / NTA News

Dear Senators: We, the members of the National Parks Second Century Action Coalition and other organizations, urge you to protect funding intended for National Park Service (NPS) staffing. The House-passed H.R. 1 includes language in Section 80309 that would strip $267 million from NPS. We ask that you work to remove this harmful language from […]

Tourism is a big deal

April 29, 2025 / NTA News

By Catherine Prather, CTP You might have heard it said recently that the decline in international tourism into the United States is not a big deal. However, as 15 million Americans know, tourism is a big deal. Fifteen million is the number of U.S. jobs supported by travel—more than 10 percent of the American workforce. […]