Tuesday Newsletter
August 22, 2006
Tuesday Newsletter August 22, 2006
Volume 26: Issue 34
| Interested in becoming a sponsor for Tuesday? Contact Karla DiNardo at karla.dinardo@NTA.travel. |
Final 2007 NTA Election Slate Announced
The floor nomination period for the NTA election ended Friday, Aug. 18. Two nominations were received from the floor – Suzanne Slavitter, CTP, was nominated for a tour operator director seat by Bob Hoelscher, CTP, and Bob Buesing nominated himself to run for treasurer.
Paper ballots will be mailed to eligible voters without an e-mail address on or about Sept. 22 and electronic ballots will be sent via e-mail Sept. 26. The early voting period ends Oct. 27, with the final opportunity to vote at the Annual Convention business meetings.
Here are the candidates. Note that "NC" indicates that the NTA Nominating Committee nominated the candidate and "NF" indicates that the candidate was nominated "from the floor."
Vice Chairman/Chairman and CEO Elect
Treasurer
Secretary
Three Tour Operator Director seats, two-year terms
One DMO Director seat, two-year term
One Tour Supplier Director seat, two-year term
To learn more about the candidates, check for the NTA Elections page at NTA.travel and the elections forum in the member forum section later this week. Also keep reading Tuesday for other election news.
Updated Baggage Restrictions for Air Travel
Both United States and United Kingdom officials have continued to tweak regulations regarding the types of things passengers can bring on planes. Officials continue to try to keep the priority on security, while not putting too much undue burden on travelers.
To see the updated policies, please click on the following links:
NTA Convention: Prepare for Better Business
Now that appointment scheduling has opened and you’ve begun your research and made your preliminary requests, it’s time to think about a few more things in preparation for Salt Lake:
- Sign Up to Volunteer – Opportunities to get involved are available in registration, education, the Research Center and with Tourism Cares, just to name a few.
- First-timer Tips – Is this your first time attending Convention? Review this list of pointers to help make the most of your experience in November. Also, if you are a first-timer, click here to read about the Sept. 7 Convention prep Web seminar.
- Convention Guide – Watch your mailbox for your 2006 Convention Guide, which is filled with information to prepare you for better business in Salt Lake.
- Reserve your DMO Workstation – Sept. 1 is the deadline for state/provincial/country DMOs to reserve a DMO Workstation. Contact NTA Director of Operations Lee Carter to make reservations via e-mail at lee.carter@NTA.travel.
- Research Center – Tour operators, please send five copies of your tour catalog, brochure or CD to NTA by Oct. 6. Send materials to:
NTA Research Center
Attn: Sandy Stansfield, CTP
546 East Main Street
Lexington, KY 40508
If you have questions about Convention or want to register to join us, contact your NTA Member Services team at 800.682.8886 (U.S. and Canada) or 859.226.4444.
Better Business. Better Be There.
New Member Referrals Rolling In
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:
Click here to learn more about how you can benefit from getting involved with NTA’s recruitment rewards program.
National Dining Night for Katrina Relief is Aug. 29
Share Our Strength invites you to dine out Aug. 29 on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina as part of "Share Our Strength’s Restaurants for Relief 2," presented by American Express. This U.S. event is the organization’s second annual dine-out to benefit Gulf Coast recovery efforts and is organized in partnership with Food Network and the National Restaurant Association.
Diners across the United States can enjoy food and drink at thousands of participating restaurants that are contributing a portion of their proceeds to Share Our Strength’s hurricane recovery efforts. By dining out Aug. 29, you can support efforts to rebuild school cafeterias, open summer meal programs, provide assistance for affected restaurant workers and more.
To see a list of restaurants in your area that are participating, or if you are a restaurant and want to sign up to take part, click here.
Tour Operators: Kelowna Will Welcome You in April
Kelowna, British Columbia, will play host to NTA members during the 2007 NTA Tour Operator Spring Meet, April 26-28. Kelowna, a region that is known for its orchards, wineries and beautiful scenery, is located approximately 340 miles northeast of Seattle and approximately 240 miles east of Vancouver, B.C.
While the Spring Meet offers education and networking for NTA buyers, attendees will also be able to explore the charm of the host city. Tour operators will be hosted at the Summerhill Winery for an evening of food and fellowship, spend an afternoon sightseeing in and around Kelowna and have one afternoon free for leisure activities of their choice.
Registration for the 2007 Spring Meet will be available in November. For more information on Kelowna, visit http://www.tourismkelowna.com/.
Four NTA Companies Among 2006 Odyssey Award Winners
The Travel Industry Association, in partnership with National Geographic Traveler, recently selected six travel organizations to receive its 2006 Odyssey Awards, the premier recognition program for the $646-billion travel and tourism industry. These annual awards recognize excellence in marketing and advertising programs, in promotion of community service programs and in building awareness of tourism’s positive impact on the United States.
Of the six 2006 recipients, four are NTA member companies, including Travel Oregon, the Pennsylvania Tourism Office, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation and the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. The other two winners were SeeAmerica Marketing and VEGAS.com.
The Odyssey Award recipient companies will be formally honored at TIA’s Annual Awards Banquet Oct. 12, during the TIA Marketing Outlook Forum in Boca Raton, Fla. They also will be recognized in the January issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine.
For more information on the 2006 awards, click here.
Enjoy the Holidays on the Georgia Coast
NTA’s final Product Development Trip for 2006 will take tour operators to the beautiful Georgia Coast to experience the events leading up to the holiday season. From Dec. 8-12, participants will visit historic Savannah, be treated to Christmas-related festivities on Jekyll Island, see Georgia’s low country and much more.
To register or see the full itinerary for the trip, click here. Questions about this trip can be directed to Lisa Nelson at lisa.nelson@NTA.travel
Are you wondering what to donate to the Tourism Cares auctions at NTA? Here are a few suggestions for you to ponder:
- How about donating two or more nights in a hotel, and even pairing it with dinner and theatre or attraction tickets to make it a really popular package?
- NTA Convention is just before the holidays, and folks love to see handcrafted items or regional gifts that represent your area that they can bid on to cross friends and family off their gift list.
- Packages that include car rental certificates are always a hit.
Don’t forget that all donor partners will have their logo and a link to their Web site displayed on the auction item’s page in the online catalog. Your friends at Tourism Cares would love to talk to you about any unique auction ideas you might have. Just give Lisa Schmiemann or Natalie King a call at 781.821.5990.
Sponsorships at NTA’s Annual Convention are a great way to set yourself apart from all of the supplier and DMO delegates. If you’re looking to reach the tour operators, NTA’s sponsorship options include a promotional package that features advance, on-site and post-Convention coverage.
Here are remaining sponsorship opportunities:
To see a complete list of our sponsorships, click here. Also, NTA is happy to work with you to tailor a sponsorship to your specific needs. Contact Karla DiNardo at 800.682.8886, ext. 4232 (U.S. and Canada) or 859.226.4232 or karla.dinardo@NTA.travel to discuss your marketing objectives and create a sponsorship to highlight your property and/or destination.
Position Available – Executive Director
Circle Michigan
Circle Michigan, a statewide group tour organization, is seeking a candidate for a contracted executive director position. Director is responsible for maintaining and growing membership, marketing the state to the group tourism industry and selling Michigan as a travel destination. Candidates need to be detail-oriented, have strong interpersonal skills, have exceptional sales skills and have experience developing and following an approved budget. Experience with strategic planning beneficial. Strong group travel experience is preferred. Travel is required.
Required: bachelor’s degree in business administration, marketing, tourism, other related field or equivalent. Experience in tourism or related field with strong emphasis on sales, program administration and project management.
Submit resume and contract package requirements by Aug. 30 to:
Gloria DeHart, CTIS
President, Circle Michigan
c/o Flint Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
316 Water Street
Flint, MI 48503
gdehart@flint.org
Position Available – Customer Service and Sales Coordinator
A customer service and sales coordinator position is available with a well-established, Washington, D.C.-area student tour operator. Enjoy a congenial, dynamic, small-office setting where autonomy, teamwork and support combine to create a pleasant and productive workplace.
Responsibilities include assisting customers over the phone, preparing contracts and proposals, applying pre-packaged product solutions, creating new packages and itineraries, managing customer databases and files, providing customer follow up and assisting with strategic planning and marketing initiatives.
If this opportunity is of interest to you, please forward your resume to markjt@starpower.net. All inquiries will be held in confidence.
If you have a listing to post in the NTA Job Center section of Tuesday, please e-mail NTA Communications Specialist Pat Henderson. The cost is $250 and your ad will run in two consecutive issues.