Tuesday Newsletter
July 5, 2005
Tuesday Newsleter July 5, 2005
July 5, 2005: Volume 25; Issue 20
Tuesday Archives
"Show Specials" Can Generate Awareness for You at Convention
Have you been looking for a way to track your return on investment at Convention? Hoping to draw the attention of more operators? We want to help you sell your product by assisting in the promotion of sellers’ "Show Specials" to potential buyers. A Show Special is a deal you can offer – good only if acted upon during Convention – designed to help you get more business and further buyers.
Here’s how it works: Registered NTA sellers can submit a 50-word special via NTA Online starting today by clicking here. During appointment scheduling, sellers who have submitted a Show Special will be denoted with an indicative icon. Buyers can review the Show Specials on the NTA Convention Web site, where they will be posted.
What special would you like to offer NTA tour operators to set your property or destination apart? Here are several examples of Show Specials you could offer:
You get the idea, right? Are you ready to submit your Show Special? If so, click here. If you decide you want to make changes to your special, don’t worry. Just resubmit your Show Special, and the old information will be replaced.
Want to participate, but you haven’t registered for Convention? There’s still time. Click here to register online, so you can take advantage of this great new benefit.
Better Business. Better Be There.
Early-Bird Discount Deadline is Friday
Tour operators, have you signed up for Convention yet? This is your last call to meet the July 8 early-bird deadline. Keep in mind you must register by Friday to qualify for these benefits:
Also, don’t forget to log on to NTA Online and update your company profile form. This must be completed by July 8 so you can remain eligible for the rebate.
Questions? Call your Member Services Department at 800-682-8886 (U.S. and Canada) or 859-226-4444. We are here to help!
Better Business. Better Be There.
Changes to California Seller of Travel Law Proposed
California State Sen. Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) recently amended a bill she introduced on Feb. 15 in the state legislature that would change the scope of that California seller of travel law.
The new language revises the definition of seller of travel to include sellers of air, land or water vessel transportation if the total cost to the passenger exceeds $300. Currently, the law applies to those companies offering air and sea packages. NTA has contacted Sen. Speier’s office in order to get additional information regarding these changes and has been in touch with California-based tour operators to notify them of the proposals and get feedback.
"The National Tour Association has been watching this legislation since it was introduced in February, and the recent changes have us concerned," NTA President Hank Phillips, CTP, said. "NTA has always been an advocate for industry self-policing and against additional government regulations of sellers of travel. With the amendment having been introduced on June 20, we are currently assessing the impact of these changes on our tour operator members and will take appropriate action as needed."
Pre-Registration for ".travel" Domain Names Available Now
NTA members who already have been authenticated and received their Unique Identifying Number may pre-register their ".travel" domain names now. Once you have been approved by NTA, you can then go to the http://www.encirca.biz/html/travel-net.shtml Web site to pre-register your domain name or names.
At Encirca’s site, you will enter pertinent information, including your UIN, and then make selections from your personal names list – a list that is generated by the registry as a result of the information that you entered on the authentication form. The domain names you select will be held by Encirca until the ".travel" registry opens on Sept. 1.
Pre-registration does not mean that the names you select will automatically be reserved for you. Rather, pre-registration means that you have applied to register certain names and are in the queue, prepared for the registry to open. You will be asked to enter credit card information just prior to your names being entered into the ".travel" registry.
If you haven’t submitted names for pre-authentication yet, click here to do so.
Directory Puts the World at Your Fingertips
Going somewhere new and need to know more about it? The Tourism Offices Worldwide Directory is your guide to official tourist information sources.
The Directory Web site includes information on government tourism offices, convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce and similar organizations that provide free, accurate and unbiased travel information to the public. You’ll find data via the more than 1,400 entries from throughout North America and around the world.
The Tourism Offices Worldwide Directory is just one of the valuable resources available on the Affinity & Custom Group travel Areas of Interest and Marketing home page. The Affinity & Custom Group is one of six categories in NTA’s AIM program, which continues to provide a place for like-minded individuals to come together to share ideas, learn more about the industry and grow their businesses.
If you know a great way to complete this sentence, you have a story for us. In conjunction with its Authors Program, NTA’s Courier magazine is initiating a new tradition at the 2005 Annual Convention in Detroit – the NTA Story Contest.
Submissions for the Story Contest should be centered around one of these two categories:
All entries should be 300 words or less, and can be submitted to Courier editor Frances Figart in hard copy or by e-mail prior to or at the Convention by 11 a.m. ET Monday, Nov. 7. They will be judged by a panel of members from the Courier Advisory Council and the winners in each category presented an award on stage at the Tuesday all-delegate luncheon.
Winning stories will appear in Courier’s January 2006 issue and on the front page of NTA Online. Even if you do not win, your story may later be printed as a "Travelin’ Light" article. Photos to illustrate the stories are welcome, but optional, and will not affect the judging.
Planning a Dine-Around Event? Let Us Know
Looking forward to good food and conversation with your friends on dine-around night during NTA’s Annual Convention? One thing to keep in mind is that members planning to host a dine-around event on Monday, Nov. 7, during Convention must notify the NTA Conventions Department of their plans, in writing, by Sept. 6.
For more details, click here and scroll half way down to the section called "Private/By-invitation Events."
NTA Leadership Seeks Volunteers for 2006
Your association is looking for a few good men and women to help out as volunteer leaders on an NTA committee or council in 2006.
Incoming NTA Chairman and CEO Judith Thomas, CTP, will make appointments this fall, and if you want to get involved, contact NTA Director of Member Services Janna Clark via e-mail or call her at 800-682-8886, ext. 4381 (U.S. and Canada), or 859-226-4381, before sending her your letter of interest.
The length of service is one year and all membership categories need to be represented. Depending on the committee, the amount of travel will vary, as some hold face-to-face meetings while others are done via conference call.
Want to be in the Jam-Packed October Courier?
The October Courier is the year’s largest and most-anticipated edition. As the Annual Convention issue, it is full of exciting highlights of our host city, Detroit, with detailed schedules of daily events, seminars and sightseeing tours planned in conjunction with Convention.
This issue features bonus distribution, and it is the source for everyone who wants to learn about Convention before November rolls around. It also includes travel guides on Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia & Prince Edward Island, New Hampshire and Vermont.
The space deadline for advertising in the October Courier is July 21, so get your company or destination’s advertisement booked before it’s too late!
To find out about advertising in this issue, call 800-682-8886, ext. 4238 (U.S. and Canada), or 859-226-4238, or e-mail Darby Schulman. For more information on other Convention opportunities, click here. top of page