NTA Participates in Canadian Roundtable on SARS

June 17, 2003

NTA Participates in Canadian Roundtable on SARS
NTA was well represented on June 10 in Toronto at a roundtable of U.S. travel industry leaders called together by Canadian Industry Minister Allan Rock. The primary focus of the meeting was to advise the Canadian government on strategies to overcome the impact SARS has had on travel in Toronto and throughout Canada.

NTA board member Dave Snyder, CTP, Travel Adventures Inc; past NTA presidents Robert Brennan, CTP, Brennan Vacations and Jerry DiPietro, Tourco Inc.; and NTA members Dan Sullivan, Jr., Collette Vacations, Chris McCool, Incredible Journeys Inc, and Serge Talbot, Talbot Tours Inc.; as well as NTA President Hank Phillips, CTP, were among the approximately 15 roundtable participants. Other organizations represented included the U.S. Tour Operators Association (USTOA), American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), Group Leaders of America (GLAMER), and Vacation.com.

After receiving public health and travel briefings, the participants offered a wide range of suggestions for the government’s consideration. Among the recommendations were the development of packages for sale by operators at dramatically reduced prices to jump start a resurgence of travel, constant dissemination of factual information to the public to counter the media coverage of SARS, and the use of major events, visuals and celebrity testimonials to demonstrate that Toronto is a fully functional and vibrant city. One of the more intriguing suggestions was to engage former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the effort, since Canada took an active role in the aftermath of the events of Sept. 11 in New York City.

In a demonstration of support for the city, NTA recently announced that its September board meeting would be held in Toronto.