Tuesday Newsletter
January 9, 2007
Tuesday Newsletter Jan. 9, 2007
Volume 27: Issue 2
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The Berkely Group provides a competitive Travel Protection Plan to NTA members. The plan includes an administration-free product that operators can sell to their clients and a group product that offers flexibility in pricing and compensation. To learn more click here or contact Geni Priolo at gpriolo@berkely.com. |
| Interested in becoming a sponsor for Tuesday? Contact Karla DiNardo at karla.dinardo@NTA.travel. | |
| NOTE – Everyone flying to the United States will need a passport, starting Jan. 23, 2007, including U.S. citizens. To learn more, click here. |
NTA and United Team Up for Spring Meet Savings
Thanks to our generous sponsor and partner United Airlines, NTA is pleased to announce that the first 150 registered tour operators and receptive tour operators for the 2007 NTA Tour Operator Spring Meet are eligible to receive complimentary airfare from any U.S. airport serviced by United Airlines to either Seattle, Washington, or Vancouver, British Columbia. The event will be held in beautiful Kelowna, British Columbia, April 26-28.
For those operators flying into Vancouver, motorcoach transportation to Kelowna will be provided at no charge. Tour operators who choose to fly into Seattle may purchase a ticket to fly to Kelowna or rent a car to drive to Spring Meet. Visit the Spring Meet Web site for information on additional transportation discounts.
Complimentary United tickets will need to be booked through NTA prior to travel to Spring Meet. There is a limit of two complimentary tickets per company. Please click here to access the form necessary to take advantage of this offer or contact your NTA Member Services team for more information at questions@NTA.travel.
Online registration for Spring Meet launched yesterday, Jan. 8, and you can find out more at http://ntaonline.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=52&change_well_id=1.
Air Passenger Duty to Double in the United Kingdom
In December, the United Kingdom’s Revenue and Customs Treasury Board announced that the air passenger duty would double in cost on flights. This increase will affect all airlines with departures scheduled out of a U.K. airport starting Feb. 1, and does apply to passengers who have already purchased tickets for travel after that date.
The air passenger duty on short-haul flights will go from 5 to 10 pounds (roughly US$9.50 to $19), but will jump from 20 to 40 pounds on long-haul flights. Long-haul flights are defined as those which take passengers beyond the European Economic Area, a zone that includes all 25 European Union nations along with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Rates for business travelers will go up even more. Short-haul flights within the EEA will rise from 10 to 20 pounds, while rates for long-haul business flyers increase by 80 pounds.
At the 2006 Annual Convention, NTA announced that it would be launching a Person-to-Person Tracking project. The initiative is aimed at gathering relevant data from tour operators that can aid DMOs in their ongoing struggle to prove the vitality of what they do.
RoseMarie Sutton-Holt is overseeing the Person-to-Person Tracking program, and she will gather the data by doing one-on-one phone interviews with NTA tour operators. Sutton-Holt, whose extensive industry background includes having worked as a tour operator, DMO and tour supplier, will work directly with the NTA Tracking Task Force to ensure that the survey questions will generate useable results.
"The success of the project depends on the generosity of the NTA tour operators," said Sutton-Holt. "Not only is it a chance to learn more about the tourism industry as a whole, it is an opportunity to provide valuable destination information that can help members better track their numbers as well justify their existence."
Sutton-Holt encourages all NTA tour operators to get involved with the project by contacting her via e-mail at NTA@rosemariesutton.com or by calling 775.424.2498.
"NTA members should be proud that the association is making a commitment to this issue," said Sutton-Holt. "With everyone’s involvement, we can help ensure our success."
Tour operators should keep in mind that Sutton-Holt is not seeking financial data and that all of the information she’s gathering is confidential and will not be used for purposes beyond the scope of this study.
New York City Posts Record Visitation Numbers in 2006
Five years after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, New York City is showing no ill-effects from a visitation standpoint. After two consecutive years in which the city welcomed a record number of guests, it is evident that any lingering feelings travelers have about the Big Apple aren’t stopping them from going there.
Signs pointed in that direction in 2005, when an all-time-high 42.6 million people visited New York City. But, with the 2006 figures besting that mark by nearly 1.5 million, the increase doesn’t appear to be a one-year fad. Overall, the city’s tourism businesses are estimated to support nearly 350,000 jobs and generate $24 billion annually.
Although final numbers will not be available from the U.S. Department of Commerce for a couple months, it is expected that international visitation numbers to America will follow the New York City trend and shatter the previous record. Projections were placing the total of number of international visitors for 2006 at a record-breaking total of nearly 7 million, which exceeds the previous best of 6.78 million in 2000.
Registration for Poland Product Development Trip Opens Soon
The first of three Product Development Trips for 2007 will open for registration the week of Jan. 22. The trip, hosted by NTA tour operator Travel With Marion of Bristol, Connecticut, is an eight-day exploration of Poland that begins and ends in Warsaw. The trip will take place May 19-27 and, for this trip only, multiple registrations from one company will be accepted.
NTA’s other Product Development Trips planned for 2007 include Alaska, Sept. 6-13, hosted by the Alaska Travel Industry Association, and Peru, Dec. 6-12, hosted by Akorn Destination Management. The preliminary itineraries for all 2007 trips can be accessed by clicking here. Watch future issues of your Tuesday newsletter for registration information for Alaska and Peru in the coming weeks.
Questions about any of the Product Development Trips can be directed to NTA Vice President of Marketing Lisa Thompson at lisa.thompson@NTA.travel. top of page
Can’t Attend ITB, but Want to Reach Participants?
There is still time for you to get your materials to the U.S. Commercial Service for its Product Literature Center that will be open during ITB 2007, which takes place in Berlin, March 7-11.
For $450, the U.S. Commercial Service will display catalogs/brochures from NTA’s U.S. members and distribute additional literature to attendees. The cost also includes their collecting trade leads for you, providing market feedback and assisting you on follow up with these potential clients. Additionally, they will conduct an outreach campaign in advance of the show to attract interest in your products and services, via e-mail and on their Web site.
For more information on being part of the Product Literature Center, contact U.S. Commercial Service’s Elizabeth Powell in Germany via e-mail at Elizabeth.Powell@mail.doc.gov or by calling 49.69.7535.3167. If you want to contact a local U.S. Commercial Service representative, click here to get that information.
The deadline to sign-up is mid-February, and if you wish to participate, you can register by going to www.buyusa.gov/germany/en/plc.html.
Member (Recruitment) Has its Privileges
The expansion and diversification of your association has many benefits. It helps give NTA a stronger voice in the industry, provides you with more potential business partners and can save you a little money, too, if you refer a new member. For each tour operator you pass along that becomes an NTA member, you’ll receive $100 off Annual Convention registration through the recruitment rewards program.
The following members have contributed to the association’s growth the past two months by referring a company that joined the NTA ranks:
- William Murray of Jackson Hospitality Services
- Anne Davis, CTP, of Cruises and Tours Worldwide
- Pam Westwood of the Salt Lake CVB
- Janice McIlwain of Rainbow Tour & Reception Inc.
- Michael Wiertz of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
- Kelly Holman of the Pierce Arrow Theater
Click here to learn more about how you can benefit from getting involved with NTA’s recruitment rewards program.
Reserve Your April Courier Space Today
The April 2007 edition of Courier offers plenty of opportunity to get your company maximum exposure. Feature stories in the issue will cover Wine Tours and Historic Homes and Gardens. The trip planners will showcase the Toronto and Niagara Region (New York and Canada) and the Mississippi River Valley (Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee). April travel guides will tell what’s new in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. From east to west and north to south, this issue covers it all.
Why should you consider advertising in Courier? … Because it pays!
"Courier targets for us the most viable market of potential clients in the industry and provides great visibility from which we gain increased group travel business."
– Karen Jepson of The FamilySearch Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
The space deadline for April Courier is Feb. 8. For more information or to reserve your space, get in touch with your account executive today by calling 800.682.8886, ext. 4232 (U.S. and Canada) or 859.226.4232 or e-mailing advertising@NTA.travel. To view information on other upcoming issues, click here.