Tuesday Newsletter
April 17, 2007
Tuesday Newsletter April 17, 2007
Volume 27: Issue 16
NTA Corporate Partner Staples is committed to providing the association’s members with competitive prices on office supplies, access to thousands of office items, Internet ordering solutions and free next-business-day delivery. U.S. members wanting more information should click here or contact Keith Nolfi at keith.nolfi@staples.com. Canadian members wanting more information should click here or e-mail business.solutions@staples.com. | |
Interested in becoming a Tuesday sponsor? E-mail Karla DiNardo at karla.dinardo@NTA.travel. |
NTA EVENTS
Montreal and Las Vegas to Host Future NTA Annual Conventions
Tour Operators: Pack Your Bags for Kelowna
NTA Announces First Road Show
Sponsoring at NTA’s Annual Convention is Affordable and Effective
ASSOCIATION NEWS
Julian Shares NTA Message Coast to Coast
Deadline to Return Communications Survey is April 18
MEMBER BENEFITS
NTA Helps You Reach Group Leader Market
Virginia City and Tourism Cares Receive Proclamation from Nevada Governor
Ensure You Receive NTA E-mails
INDUSTRY NEWS
U.S. National Park Week is April 22-29
Earth Day is April 22; Learn More about Best Practices
NTA EVENTS
Montreal and Las Vegas to Host Future NTA Annual Conventions
The NTA Board of Directors has selected the host cities for the 2010 and 2011 Annual Conventions – Montréal and Las Vegas, respectively.
Mark your calendars for:
- Montréal: Nov. 13-17, 2010
- Las Vegas, Dec. 5-9, 2011
Looking to this year’s Convention, registration for the 2007 event in Kansas City, Nov.2-6, opens May 15. You can learn all about what you can expect when the Convention Web site goes live at noon ET next Monday at http://convention.nta.travel/. Get ready to experience NTA.
Tour Operators: Pack Your Bags for Kelowna
The 2007 Tour Operator Spring Meet kicks off Thursday, April 26, in Kelowna, British Columbia! Here are just a few reminders to help you prepare for this year’s Spring Meet.
- According to http://www.weather.com/, high temperatures for Kelowna in April tend to be in the low 60s F (17 C). Be sure to pack warm clothing as the temperatures may to drop to the upper 30s F (3 C) in the evenings.
- The overall attire for the Spring Meet is business casual. Casual clothes and comfortable shoes are appropriate for Thursday’s sightseeing tours.
- Pack plenty of business cards.
- Airport shuttle service is complimentary and will be available to registered delegates. The shuttle will run between the Kelowna International Airport and the Grand Okanagan Lakefront Resort, a 15-minute drive. The shuttle service schedule is:
– Wednesday, April 25: noon-9 p.m.
– Thursday, April 26: 9 a.m.-noon
– Sunday, April 29: 5:30 a.m.-2 p.m. - Bring your passport if you are flying in and out of the United States. According to the new U.S. passport laws every person must carry a passport with them when flying between the U.S. to Canada.
- Bring your camera. And, once you’ve taken some snapshots of all the fun you’re having at Spring Meet in Kelowna, e-mail some of your best ones to NTA Public Relations Manager Sara Morton. They may just show up on the NTA.travel home page.
If you have any questions regarding the 2007 Spring Meet, please visit the Web site or contact your Member Services team at 800.682.8886 or 859.226.4444.
NTA will be hosting the first of several NTA Road Shows in Kansas City, Missouri, Wednesday, May 9, at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown.
The Road Shows give current and prospective NTA members a venue for networking and learning what membership can do for them and their business.
The Kansas City program will begin at noon with a luncheon, sponsored by the Kansas City Marriot Downtown. At 1 p.m., NTA Vice Chairman Bob Hoelscher, CTP, will provide an update on association happenings and attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions. Both the luncheon and the meeting will be held in the Harvest Room at the Marriott.
If you have any questions regarding the Kansas City Road Show or would like to attend, please contact NTA Events Manager Bobbie Chandler at bobbie.chandler@NTA.travel.
Several more Road Shows are planned for 2007, and likely future stops include California, New York City, Chicago and Florida. Watch Tuesday and "This Just In" for updates.
Sponsoring at NTA’s Annual Convention is Affordable and Effective
Year after year, 83 percent of NTA sponsors renew their sponsorship at Annual Convention due to the success and value they receive.
Even though the program is so successful, NTA is constantly evaluating the goals and objectives of its sponsors and creating new and different opportunities along the way. Your association is pleased to announce the sponsorship opportunities for NTA’s 2007 Annual Convention to be held in Kansas City, Missouri, Nov. 2-6.
For more information on how you can join the ranks of NTA’s great sponsors and elevate your presence at Convention, call Karla DiNardo at 800.682.8886, ext. 4232, or 859.226.4232.
ASSOCIATION NEWS
Julian Shares NTA Message Coast to Coast
Your 2007 Chairman and CEO Randy Julian has been in demand lately, and he has been on the road speaking to groups across North America. Since the beginning of 2007, he has spread the word about NTA to groups in Pittsburgh, New York City, Toronto, New Orleans, Texas and Vermont.
Julian spoke over the weekend at the Oregon Governor’s Conference and things won’t slow down in the coming weeks, as Julian will travel to Anaheim, California, for Pow Wow; and then head to beautiful Kelowna, British Columbia, for the 2007 NTA Spring Meet. In June he will be a presenter at the 45th annual Professional Arts Management Institute in Chicago, which has cultural tourism as its theme for this year’s event.
Deadline to Return Communications Survey is April 18
There is still time for you to provide feedback to the NTA Communications Survey, but the deadline is coming up April 18. The survey, dedicated solely to evaluating NTA’s communications vehicles, was sent the last week in March at the request of the Communication and Education Development Committee.
As a thank you for completing the survey, you can enter your name in a drawing for a $50 Visa gift card. One DMO, one tour supplier and one tour operator winner will be chosen.
If you have any questions while completing the Web survey, please contact Sandy Stansfield, NTA research analyst at sandy.stansfield@NTA.travel.
MEMBER BENEFITS
NTA Helps You Reach Group Leader Market
NTA tour operators said that group leaders are an integral part of their customer base. As a response to this feedback, NTA is working to promote its members to 20,000 qualified group leaders through a special publication, The Trip Planner for Group Leaders. The publication will make it easier for you to market to and reach this influential group of buyers.
The Trip Planner for Group Leaders, which will be published in September, will showcase articles and advertising that exclusively promote the association and its members. The publication will reach group leaders that represent segments including alumni, senior, bank travel, hospitals, religious and travel clubs.
Tour operators can purchase listings in the directory section of the planner. The listing includes company contact information and a 25-word description. All members can purchase display advertising in the planner, and various ad sizes are available. The deadline to book ad space is June 15.
For more information regarding promotional opportunities related to The Trip Planner for Group Leaders, please e-mail Karla DiNardo, NTA’s vice president of Sales & Publishing, or call 800.682.8886 ext. 4232 (U.S. and Canada) or 859.226.4444.
Virginia City and Tourism Cares Receive Proclamation from Nevada Governor
Tourism Cares is proud to announce that the Governor of the State of Nevada, in recognition of the Tourism Cares for Virginia City restoration event, has proclaimed Friday, May 18, 2007, as Virginia City Day. The proclamation recognized the economic impact of tourism to the state of Nevada and especially Virginia City and importance of tourism to the livelihood of many Nevadans. There is still room and time left to sign up for this memorable and meaningful event. Please click here to register or contact Natalie King at 781.821.5990 or nataliek@tourismcares.org with any questions. See you in Virginia City!
Ensure You Receive NTA E-Mails
To avoid having e-mails from NTA Headquarters get caught in your spam or junk mail filters, please add NTA addresses to your whitelist. A whitelist is a database of addresses from which you want to receive e-mails and, by using it, you can more effectively filter your incoming mail.
To read exact details on how to whitelist e-mail addresses if you are using AOL, Outlook 2003 or Yahoo! click here.
Other e-mail programs, including older versions of Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora and Netscape Mail, don’t provide an easy way for you to maintain a whitelist. If you’re using this sort of e-mail system and you either aren’t getting e-mail from NTA or want to make sure you continue to receive NTA e-mails, contact your provider.
INDUSTRY NEWS
U.S. National Park Week is April 22-29
Every year, America designates a week to celebrate its National Parks and renews its commitment to conserve these natural and historic treasures.
This year, National Park Week is April 22-29, and NPS sites across the country are holding special events throughout the week. Many of this year’s events focus on the Junior Ranger program with special activities designed specifically for students. To see a schedule of National Park Week events visit http://www.nps.gov/npweek/sched.htm.
In 1872, Yellowstone National Park became the first national park, and more than four decades later, the National Park Service was created. Now, the national park system includes almost 400 sites, with parks in nearly every state. NTA has worked closely with the National Park Service over the past two decades and, today, your association’s leaders continue to advocate close cooperation with its NPS partners.
Earth Day is April 22; Learn More about Best Practices
This Sunday, April 22, marks the 29th time that the world will celebrate Earth Day. The day serves as a reminder to the importance of not forgetting about the impact that our everyday actions have on the environment.
A recent survey by Orbitz revealed that travelers are more seriously weighing eco-friendliness and green practices when considering their vacation options. Sixty-five percent said it would somewhat impact their decision to stay at a hotel if they knew the hotel was using solar or wind energy to supplement the powering of the building. A similar number (63 percent) said they would pay a little more to rent a hybrid vehicle or stay at a "green" hotel, while more than half (52 percent) said they would be willing to donate a small portion of their vacation budget to help save the environment when booking a trip.
With a specific focus on best green practices and tourism, Sustainable Travel International is a good resource for travel-related companies. One of STI’s new resources is its list of Top 10 Implementation Strategies for Carbon Offsetting for Tour Operators.
Additionally, the official Web site for Earth Day, http://www.earthday.net/, offers tips for best practices at home, in the office and at school.