Tuesday Newsletter
July 18, 2006
Tuesday Newsletter July 18, 2006
Volume 26: Issue 29
 |
This issue of Tuesday is sponsored by VisitBritain. Find out more about developing tours to Britain by requesting an appointment with VisitBritain at this year’s NTA Convention. In the meantime visit our new Britain for Tour Operators Web site, www.visitbritain.com/operators. |
| Interested in becoming a sponsor for Tuesday? Contact Karla DiNardo at karla.dinardo@NTA.travel. | |
Appointment Scheduling Launches Wednesday at Noon
NTA’s online appointment scheduling system will officially open at noon (ET) on Wednesday, July 19, so that delegates who are participating in the Tour & Travel Exchange at the 2006 NTA Annual Convention may begin requesting their appointments.
The request phase will run through Sept. 19, and delegates will need their registration number, which is printed on the top right of their confirmation form.
To get started, delegates may visit http://exchange.nta.travel/ anytime before the deadline to research companies that they would like to meet with at Convention and to create their request lists. Additionally, delegates can use the online Message Center to view and print out profile forms, watch for additions and cancellations and find a wealth of information on how to make the most of their Convention experience.
New this year is "Direct Request Scheduling." Once the requests are run and the appointment schedules are posted online, members will be able to make direct requests of one another prior to Convention through the scheduling system to fill in the open times or make appointments with latecomers. Please watch Tuesday for more information on this exciting online enhancement.
For more information on appointment scheduling, click here or contact NTA by calling 800.682.8886 (U.S. and Canada) or 859.226.4444 or e-mailing questions@nta.travel.
Update from the NTA Leadership Team, Committee Meetings
NTA’s 58-member Leadership Team gathered this past weekend in Lexington, Ky. Committee meetings were a major part of the sessions, as the team met as a full group then broke into smaller groups for committee meetings to cover specific topics including appointment scheduling and NTA’s Grassroots Symposium, among other issues.
To kick off the meeting, NTA Chairman and CEO Judith Thomas, CTP, gave the team an overview of association news since they were together in Banff in January. In her update, Thomas covered retention and recruitment of members, NTA’s upcoming Annual Convention, recent work on the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, NTA’s new Tour20 Group, the latest on NTA’s work on the tracking issue and much more. Also, Thomas updated the group on outcomes from the board’s strategic planning session held earlier this year. See related story on this below in this issue of Tuesday.
For a complete review of Thomas’ association update and highlights of committee discussions, please click here. To learn more about serving on NTA’s 2007 Leadership Team, click here.
Strategic Planning Update: Cost Savings Will Allow NTA to Invest in Member Value
During this past weekend’s Leadership meeting, NTA Chairman and CEO Judith Thomas, CTP, reported that the NTA Board of Directors had recently set plans in motion that will result in an annual savings on the association’s management fee, which will allow NTA to invest in initiatives to add value for the members and help grow the association.
As reported in an earlier issue of Tuesday, during the NTA board’s strategic planning session in April, it conducted a thorough review of the association’s programs and services. The board evaluated member value and relevance of all programs and services, discussing which should continue, which should be modified and which should be added.
The board concluded that it did not want to make significant changes in the programs and services the members receive however, it did have ideas for modifying some existing programs, discontinuing others that did not offer sufficient member value and exploring some new programming ideas for the future.
Working in concert with Host Communications, NTA’s management firm since 1974, the board was able to identify programming and service changes that allowed Host to propose a streamlined management structure through a reduction of 7.5 positions. This change resulted in more than $257,000 in annual salary cost savings on its management fee that NTA can now reinvest in member programming and growth initiatives for the association. The board also approved the concept of shared services staffing, which means using groups of Host employees to provide certain internal, behind-the-scenes services to multiple associations managed by Host, including NTA.
"This was a tough and tedious process, but very rewarding," said Thomas. "As I informed the Leadership Team, I felt that this year’s strategic planning session was one of the most productive and important meetings we have had in years."
"In working with Host Communications and our senior staff, we were able to find significant savings in our management fee that will not result in significant programming changes or have an impact on the service our members receive. In fact, these changes will free up valuable time and resources so that we will be able to focus on bigger initiatives that will increase member value."
For a complete look at the changes in programs, please click here.
Nominations Sought for Bob Everidge Lifetime Achievement Award
NTA members are encouraged to send in nominations for the Bob Everidge Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes individuals who have made outstanding, ongoing contributions to NTA and its members. The award was established by the NTA Board of Directors in 2003 to honor the late Everidge, owner and president of Shenandoah Tours Inc., in Staunton, Va., and his lifetime commitment to NTA.
Any person employed by an NTA member company is eligible to make a nomination which, at minimum, should include a brief narrative (approximately 250 words) about the nominee. Additional material may be included with the narrative. The nomination criteria are as follows:
Nominations for the award, which will be presented in Salt Lake City at the 2006 Annual Convention, are due by Aug. 25 and should be submitted to Celeste Moore at celeste.moore@NTA.travel.
Benefit Basics: Tour20 Group Establishes Benchmarks for Tour Companies
Have you made the commitment to join a Tour20 Group? The program was developed to help tour operators identify benchmarks that can assist in the creation a more profitable business. The groups provide a way to benchmark various elements of an operator’s tour business, including finances and industry trends.
There is a $250 fee to participate, which covers the cost of the professional facilitator, printed materials and miscellaneous program costs. Click here to learn more specifics and requirements to join the Tour20 Group.
There is still time to enroll, but please act by Aug. 4 to secure your spot in a group. To sign up, please complete the registration form and fax it to Lisa Nelson at 859.226.4404. If you have further questions about a Tour20 Group, please e-mail her at lisa.nelson@NTA.travel.
2006-07 NTA Membership Directory Addendum
NTA apologizes to the following members for their incorrect listing in or omission from the 2006-07 Membership Directory. All members are encouraged to note the following corrections in their directories:
Blue & Gold Fleet
Cathy Tolentino
Pier 41 Marine Terminal
Fisherman’s Wharf
San Francisco, CA 94587
415.705.8258
Fax: 415.705.5429
E: cat@blueandgoldfleet.com
http://www.blueandgoldfleet.com/
Coach Canada/Trentway-Wagar Inc.
Michael Webster
6020 Indian Line
Mississauga, ON L4V 1G6
905.677.3841
Fax: 905.677.7961
E: mike.webster@coachcanada.com
http://www.coachcanada.com/
Contactours & Charter Services
Daryl Cross
1726 Wilson Avenue
San Diego, CA
619.477.8694
Fax: 619.477.0705
E: daryl@contactours.com
http://www.contactours.com/
Destination St. John’s
Jeannette Yetman
Suite 302
291 Water Street
St. John’s, NL A1C 1B9
709.739.8899
877.739.8899
Fax: 709.739.8897
E: jyetman@destinationstjohns.com
http://www.destinationstjohns.com/
Hospitality Tours
Ted Nelson
2 Academy Place
Orleans, MA 02653
508.240.3333
800.966.1331
Fax: 508.240.7900
E: ted@hospitality-tours.com
http://www.hospitality-tours.com/
International Biblical Tours Inc.
Doug Muraki
11251 Coloma Road
Suite H
Gold River, CA 95670
916.858.0379
Fax: 916.858.1144
E: ibt@poweron.com
Rio Rancho Convention & Visitors Bureau
Greg Pena
P.O. Box 15550
Rio Rancho, NM 87174
505.891.7258
888.746.7262
Fax: 505.892.8328
E: tours@rioranchonm.org
http://www.rioranchonm.org/
Victories Casino & Hotel
Sandy Williams
911 Spring Street
Petoskey, MI 49770
231.348.5544
Fax: 231.439.5607
E: swilliams@victories-casino.com
http://www.victories-casino.com/
Tourism Cares Distributes Gulf Coast Restoration Funds
NTA members may remember the sale of wristbands, to benefit the Gulf Coast, at the 2005 NTA Convention in Detroit. Tourism Cares is proud to announce that, through that effort and others, $100,000 was raised and will be distributed via grants to seven tourism sites in five states along the Gulf Coast. In addition to wristband sales, matching donations from the Trip Mate, Ensemble Travel, Mohegan Sun, Tauck World Discovery, ITMI and Tourism Cares, made this possible.
"Those who attended the NTA Annual Convention will always remember the disturbing images of the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina," said Bruce Beckham, executive director of Tourism Cares. "But we are not finished. Green wristbands are still being sold and matched, and NTA has an additional grant that will be announced in the coming weeks."
The seven recipients include:
TourismAfrica2006 Takes Place Sept. 10-15
NTA has been asked to pass along an invitation for TourismAfrica2006, which will be held Sept 10-15 in Geneva, Switzerland. The show brings together the majority of African countries for a Congress, an exhibition and a Business Development Center.
The event includes African and international decision-makers concerned with the promotion and development of tourism in Africa. As a veritable promotion platform, TourismAfrica2006 will host delegates from more than 40 countries – by their respective investors, project holders, suppliers of the tourism industry, tour operators, public institutions, airlines – and allow representatives to develop new partnerships and seize the great tourism opportunities offered by the African continent.
To get registered, please fill out an invitation. For more information, go to http://www.tourismafrica.com/ or contact Maud Legagneur, tourist promotion coordinator for TourismAfrica2006, at mlegagneur@tourismafrica.com.
Check Out These Newly Available Convention Sponsorships
Sponsorship at NTA’s Annual Convention is one of the best ways of increasing your exposure to tour operators. Whether you’re a supplier, DMO or associate member, you can increase your presence through NTA’s sponsorship opportunities, inclusive of a full benefit package.
Many sponsors renew year after year due to the success of their sponsorship, and you can join that group. The following sponsorships are now available on a first-come, first-served basis:
Click here for more information or call Karla DiNardo at 800.682.8886, ext. 4232 (U.S. and Canada) or 859.226.4232 or e-mail her at karla.dinardo@NTA.travel.