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Tuesday Newsletter

May 3, 2005

Tuesday Newsletter May 3, 2005
May 3, 2005: Volume 25; Issue 11

Today’s Headlines
  • Convention Registration is Open
  • NTA Leadership Convenes in Reno
  • Ready to Run for Office? Learn About Changes to Election Procedure
  • ".travel" Pre-Authentication to Open in Late June
  • Get Ready for See America Week
  • Becky Gruening Receives Award
  • Final Chance to Sign Up For Tourism Cares Event
  • Spring Meet Seminars Audio Available
  • Discounted Rooms Available for Hall of Fame Dinner
  • Get Noticed With NTA Online Banners
  • Convention Registration is Open

    Today is the day! The 2005 Annual Convention Web site, which replaced a printed registration brochure, was launched today at noon EDT. The Web site includes everything you’ll need to know about this year’s Convention, from registration, housing and the Tour & Travel Exchange®, to Fam and sightseeing tours, education and much more.

    Log on to register for Convention and secure your housing today. All you need is a valid credit card and your company ID to complete the process. Please note DMOs have the option to be invoiced. Printable registration forms, which may be mailed with payment to NTA Headquarters, also are available online for your convenience.

    If you have any questions or if there is anything else we can help you with, please contact your Member Services Department at 800.682.8886 (U.S. and Canada) or 859.226.4444.

    Better Business. Better Be There.

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    NTA Leadership Convenes in Reno

    The NTA Board of Directors held its annual strategic planning meeting in Reno, Nev., April 27-30. In addition to strategic planning, the board’s Executive Committee met, and the board also held a one-day regular business meeting.

    During its strategic planning meeting, the board focused a great deal of attention on member services and member communication. Also receiving extensive discussion were traditional values and activities of the association, as well as a review of changes that have taken place or need to occur. The board also reviewed ideas for increasing member involvement in association activities and enhancing its own effectiveness, as well as that of the staff. Throughout the sessions, consideration was given to various ideas forwarded to the board from the Past Presidents Council.

    More specific outcomes will be reported in upcoming issues of Tuesday, but a few key outcomes include:

  • Conduct a comprehensive member needs assessment process.
  • Return to board candidate speeches at Annual Convention.
  • Various refinements need to be made in the area of NTA’s strategic direction based on the experience of the last three years. There was a reaffirmation of the overall direction of focusing on packaged travel and expanding and diversifying the membership, including international members, and a recognition that group travel remains the predominant element within the mix of travel services represented by NTA members.
  • The board made no decision to pursue a name change process for the association. Members’ level of interest in a name change for the association may be addressed during the member needs assessment process.

    The board and staff wish to express their deep appreciation to the many NTA members in Reno, site of the 2009 Annual Convention, who were involved and supportive of the meetings.

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    Ready to Run for Office? Learn About Changes to Election Procedure

    Now is the time to be thinking about your interest in leading the association as NTA’s election process for 2005 is getting underway. If you want to be considered, the first step is to fill out an interest form, which must be done by June 1. You can get that form by contacting Todd Hamilton via e-mail at todd.hamilton@ntastaff.com, or by calling him at 800-682-8886, ext. 4205 (U.S. or Canada), or 859.226.4205.

    The association’s Nominating Committee will utilize the forms and also learn about potential candidates through written profiles, questionnaires and personal interviews. The Nominating Committee will make formal recommendations in June for the officer positions of vice chair, treasurer and secretary, which are one-year terms, and for three tour operator seats, one tour supplier seat and one DMO seat (two-year terms). The nominations will be announced to the full membership in early July via Tuesday.

    There is one main change to the 2005 election process. While voting will be conducted via e-mail or mail ballots prior to the Annual Convention again this year, the elections will not end until each candidate has had the opportunity to make a short speech during their respective business meetings at Annual Convention. Paper ballots will be available at Convention prior to the business meetings and must be turned in during those sessions.

    There are two ways to qualify to run for the NTA board – by serving two years as a member of an NTA committee, council, task force or related board of directors or by meeting three of these five criteria:

  • serving at least one term of subcommittee/committee service
  • being employed by an NTA member for no less than five years
  • achieving the certified tour professional (CTP) designation
  • participating in 10 NTA Annual Conventions and/or NTA Tour Operator Spring Meets/Spring Exchanges
  • serving as a Convention volunteer for three years

    Stay tuned to Tuesday for more information on the 2005 elections.

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    ".travel" Pre-Authentication to Open in Late June

    The latest information from Tralliance indicates that pre-authentication for NTA members wishing to purchase a ".travel" domain name will begin between June 20 and 24. This information may change, so please watch Tuesday for the further updates.

    Pre-authentication is required of any company wishing to register a ".travel" domain name, and NTA members who pre-authenticate by Aug. 31 will be able to purchase names – depending on availability – during the limited launch from Sept. 1 through Nov. 30. Your NTA membership allows you first chance to acquire ".travel" names, since companies must be in associations of The Travel Partnership Corporation (TTPC), of which NTA is a member.

    For more information on ".travel" names, which are available on a first-come, first-serve basis, go to NTA Online and click on "Member Benefits."

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    Get Ready for See America Week

    Are you looking for ways to promote tourism in your area? See America Week/National Tourism Week takes place May 7-15 and gives you a chance to remind your community of the importance of travel and tourism. The Travel Industry Association of America, which sponsors See America Week/NTW, has prepared a toolkit to help you get the word out on the great economic, cultural and social impact of the travel industry.

    Visit http://www.tia.org/ to access event ideas or download tourism facts to help you raise awareness in your community. Go to the "tourism awareness" bar at the top of the home page and receive access to the See America Week/NTW toolkit. The kit contains some great ideas to help promote the importance of the travel industry to your local community, such as the Did You Know? Tourism Facts like – Did You Know that Travel and Tourism is a $960 billion industry in the United States? If you placed 960 billion dollar bills end-to-end, they would reach to the moon and back approximately 190 times.

    NTA encourages members to post your celebration ideas and events on the member forums at NTA Online.

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    Becky Gruening Receives Award

    Becky Gruening, director of tourism at the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau was presented with the 2005 Iowa Tourism Leadership Award. The honor came at Iowa Tourism Unity Day (May 2), an annual event that joins hundreds of tourism professionals and volunteers from around the state.

    Gruening, who has been a travel professional for more than 30 years, is charged with developing new marketing programs for packaged and leisure travel and creating educational programs for members of the Greater Des Moines CVB. She was on the NTA Board of Directors from 1996-97 and has been a member of numerous NTA committees. In addition to her extensive association involvement, she has served on the boards of the Central Iowa Tourism Region, the Travel Federation of Iowa and the Iowa Group Travel Association.

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    Final Chance to Sign Up For Tourism Cares Event

    More than 350 tourism professionals have registered to be part of the clean-up day at George Washington’s Mount Vernon on Friday, May 13, but there are still a few spots left.

    Sponsored by Tourism Cares for Tomorrow, this third annual Tourism – Caring for America event brings together industry colleagues from around the country to give back by helping preserve or restore a national historic site. The focus of this year’s project will be cleaning up the forest at Mount Vernon, which was damaged by recent storms.

    There are only a few more days to register, so visit the Tourism Cares for Tomorrow Web site or contact Executive Director Bruce Beckham, CTP, at 781-821-5990 or via e-mail. Don’t miss out on this chance for a day of hard labor that helps a great cause.

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    Spring Meet Seminars Audio Available

    From the new and improved partnering session to the numerous networking opportunities, this year’s Tour Operator Spring Meet in Sacramento was a resounding success. The Spring Meet also offered a tremendous selection of educational seminars from some of the top professional and industry speakers including Dewitt Jones, Berkeley Young, Marc Mancini and Joe Veneto.

    If your activities in Sacramento caused you to miss a session, or if you weren’t at Spring Meet, NTA has posted the audio recordings and PowerPoint presentations at NTA Online. All members have access to this – not just those who were in Sacramento – so be sure to take advantage of this valuable information from some of the top industry researchers and experts.

    If you have any questions regarding the audio recordings and PowerPoint presentations from the 2005 Spring Meet, please contact NTA’s Assistant Director of Education Jason Jones via e-mail at jason.jones@ntastaff.com.

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    Discounted Rooms Available for Hall of Fame Dinner

    Tourism Cares for Tomorrow has negotiated a special rate on a block of rooms for attendees at the June 14 gala event at the New York City Sheraton honoring Gilbert Haroche of Liberty/GOGO and John Stachnik of Mayflower Tours. Visit the Tourism Cares Web site to find the link to book your room at http://www.tourismcaresfortomorrow.org/ or to learn more information about this special event.

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    Get Noticed With NTA Online Banners

    Do you want your company to be recognized by more than 23,000 people each month? A banner ad on NTA Online ensures that your message will be seen industry-wide by hundreds of people daily. For as little as $250 per month, you can promote your product, service or destination.

    Choose from plans that allow you to customize your message for three months or a full year. Our account executives will help you choose the plan that is right for your business. To start getting the word out on your company via NTA Online, click here and fill out the insertion order form.

    For more information, contact Taryn Lendrum, NTA advertising coordinator, by calling 800-682-8886, ext. 3549 (U.S. and Canada), or 859-219-3549, or via e-mail at taryn.lendrum@hostcommunications.com. You also can click here to learn about more advertising opportunities.

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