Tuesday Newsletter – Dec. 22, 2009
December 22, 2009
Volume 29, Issue 50
Tuesday’s title sponsor is Ripley’s New York
Interested in advertising in Tuesday? E-mail Kelley Burchell at kelley.burchell@NTAstaff.com.
TODAY’S ARTICLES
NTA Offices Closed for the Holidays
NTA Board Selects 2010 Government Relations Priority Issues
New PDT to Slovakia-Hungary Announced for 2010
Tourism Cares Chooses Angel Island for Volunteer Site
MONTAGE Memo #2: Explore/Explorar
Experience True Spanish Culture After MONTAGE
Join Tourism Cares at The New York Times Travel Show
And the Winner is…Mark Story with QueensLander Tours!
Make a Difference at NTA’s Grassroots Symposium
Reach Chinese Travel Agents through the China Outbound Travel Tourism Market
Reduce Your Holiday Footprint Using Tips from STI
NTA Offices Closed for the Holidays
Happy Holidays from your NTA management staff! Click here to see the names and titles of each of the staff members pictured.
NTA’s offices will be closed from Dec. 24, 2009, through Jan. 3, 2010. The Tuesday newsletter will also take a one week break; the next issue will come out Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010.
The NTA management team wishes all NTA members and friends Happy Holidays and a great New Year! See you in 2010.
NTA Board Selects 2010 Government Relations Priority Issues
The NTA Board selected eight priority issues at its November 2009 Board meeting. These issues are:
- Hotel Occupancy taxes
- U.S. Entry and Exit Procedures, Visa issuance and expansion of Visa Waiver Program
- Marketing grants for Destination Marketing Organizations and nonprofit organizations
- Airline policies that impact sellers of travel
- Lifting of U.S. travel restrictions to Cuba
- Effective implementation of the Travel Promotion Act and creation of a high-level travel/tourism presence
- National Parks and public lands access/marketing funds
- Passage of Highway and Federal Aviation Administration authorization bills
These issues will be discussed with elected officials during the 2010 Grassroots Symposium, to be held Feb. 8–10, 2010, in Washington, D.C. To register for the event and have your voice heard, contact NTA Government Relations Administrator Ken Goode at 800.682.8886 (U.S. and Canada) or +1 859.226.4284, or visit NTA Online for more details.
New PDT to Slovakia-Hungary Announced for 2010
The Slovak Tourist Board and Discover Slovakia Tours are pleased to announce a new NTA Product Development Trip for 2010. The trip offers NTA operators a chance to explore eastern European gems like Bratislava, Slovakia, Budapest and Hungary, to name a few.
The PDT, taking place May 8–13, 2010, is limited to 10 registrants who are currently packaging Europe, one registrant per company, and will cost US$450. This fee includes your round-trip air travel from JFK to Vienna. Registrants will need to cover the costs of flights to JFK. The deadline to register is Feb. 15, 2010. Click here for more information and a registration form. For questions, contact Marcela Lauková with Discover Slovakia Tours. If you have questions about our other PDTs for 2010, contact NTA Vice President of Marketing Lisa Thompson.
Tourism Cares Chooses Angel Island for Volunteer Site
Tourism Cares, NTA’s official philanthropy, has chosen a site of historic significance in San Francisco Bay as its 8th Annual Tourism Cares for America volunteer project. Angel Island is located in the heart of San Francisco Bay and is referred to as "the Ellis Island of the West Coast." The annual volunteer event will take place Friday, June 11. More information will be sent to NTA members and will be available at both NTAonline.com and tourismcares.org in the New Year. To learn more about Angel Island, click here.
MONTAGE Memo #2: Explore/Explorar
MONTAGE offers more than just business connections with buyers from all parts of the world. It also offers attendees the chance to immerse themselves in a new culture and explore Spain!
The MONTAGE schedule offers a number of ways for members to explore the historic host city and experience firsthand the unique culture. As always, there are opportunities to see the area through pre- and post-Product Development Trips and sightseeing tours. This year, there will also be a team building event that will take attendees throughout Seville.
Below are a few of the places you will get to explore and experience when you register to attend MONTAGE:
Sponsor at MONTAGE to promote your company to key decision makers in the industry. Click here to learn how your company can attend, exhibit and/or sponsor at MONTAGE or contact Melisa-Beth Rooke at +1.859.219.3549 for more details. Sponsorships are sold on a first-come, first-served basis so reserve your spot today.
No restrictions on attendance. No Boundaries to Selling. That’s MONTAGE! Register today.
Experience True Spanish Culture After MONTAGE
The Seville Spring Fair, one of Spain’s most popular festivals, will take place April 20–25, 2010, right after MONTAGE. The annual event brings together more than a million people to celebrate many aspects of Andalusian culture. Watch parades featuring musicians, dance to flamenco music, and taste local food and wine at the Fair. At this all-day event, the grounds will be covered with thousands of striped tents, called casetas, which are the hub of the nighttime activities. Each caseta has its own theme and atmosphere for you to enjoy all aspects of the Spanish culture.
MONTAGE attendees have the option to stay in Seville for the Spring Fair. Click here for a registration form and here for a daily itinerary for those staying for the Fair.
Join Tourism Cares at The New York Times Travel Show
Tourism Cares has been named the official philanthropy of The New York Times Travel Show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City on Feb. 26–28, 2010. In addition to the having a display booth at the show, which typically draws thousands of travel agents and consumers, Tourism Cares will be holding a Silent Auction Saturday, Feb. 27, which will feature products from around the world. Proceeds will fund a grant to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum currently under construction at Ground Zero in New York City. The funds will help pay for a display case that will house the last remaining scale model of the World Trade Center that was built by its architects in the 1960s. That display will be showcased in a gallery of the museum that depicts the historic role the World Trade Center played as a key attraction for tourists. NTA members wishing to donate items to the auction should contact Lisa Schmiemann.
And the Winner is…Mark Story with QueensLander Tours! 
Congratulations to Mark Story, winner of the NTA Partner2Partner iPhone Giveaway! Mark made three posts to NTA’s new online Partner2Partner program which entered him into a drawing to win an iPhone. Even though the giveaway is over, members can still benefit by posting, connecting and using the online P2P program.
NTA’s Partner2Partner is an online business community connecting NTA members year-round. The intent of this Web site is to facilitate member-to-member partnering using the Internet in a way that is easy, flexible and most importantly, a benefit to you.
Log-in with your information (e-mail/password) from NTA Online, review the site and make a post. Should you have any questions or are in need of a demo, please contact NTA Headquarters at +1.859.226.4444 or 800.682.8886 (U.S. & Canada).
Make a Difference at NTA’s Grassroots Symposium
Attend NTA’s Grassroots Symposium Feb. 8–10, 2010, in Washington, D.C., and participate in the industry’s premier advocacy event. However, don’t stop there—sponsor at this event, and you’ll not only have the opportunity to promote your product to those in attendance, but also NTA will cover your registration fees. Plus, sponsoring at this event is a perfect way to reach NTA members early in 2010!
Click here to learn more or contact Karla DiNardo, NTA vice president of sales and sponsorship, at 800.682.8886, ext. 4232 (U.S. and Canada) or +1.859.226.4232.
Reach Chinese Travel Agents through the China Outbound Travel Tourism Market
Are you getting your share of the U.S. inbound Chinese leisure market? NTA can help you get that exposure through its U.S. Pavilion at the China Outbound Travel Tourism Market, April 28–30, at the Beijing World Trade Center.
Over 200 exhibitors from 50 countries attended COTTM 2009 to showcase their destinations, travel products and services to a high number of Chinese hosted buyers. COTTM 2009 visitor numbers were up nearly 5 percent to a staggering 3,258 — all eager to secure the best destinations and deals for the Chinese outbound market.
For more information on the limited number of spaces available in the NTA Pavilion at COTTM, contact NTA Director of Industry and Government Relations Matt Grayson at 800.682.8886, ext. 4250 (U.S. and Canada) or click here.
Reduce Your Holiday Footprint Using Tips from STI
Save your green and your planet this holiday season by making your celebrations more sustainable. Whether you are traveling or staying close to home, NTA strategic partner, Sustainable Travel International has these tips for reducing the carbon footprint of your festivities and saving money at the same time.
- Carpool with other family members if possible. Also consider offsetting your family’s auto or plane travel to mitigate unavoidable carbon emissions. Use the NTA Carbon Calculator to determine your carbon footprint.
- Plan your holiday meals in advance. Doing so will help you avoid prepackaged and processed food, and you can more easily support your local economy by buying straight from the farmer, reducing the carbon footprint of your food and giving back to your community. Encourage dinner guests to take home leftovers to cut back on food waste.
- Avoid "one-time use" items like disposable cutlery, paper plates, paper napkins, etc. Use the real thing — it’s nicer to eat off of, and will help reduce your holiday contribution to the landfill. If you must use disposable, consider bamboo and biodegradable tableware.
- Give fair-trade, recycled, or handmade gifts. Support local artisans in your community, look for gifts made of recycled or renewable resources, or make cookies, crafts and other homemade treasures to share. Do-it-yourself gifts are often more meaningful and personal, and significantly reduce the impacts of gift-giving.
- Buy less and invest in quality, especially if you have less money to spend this year. Consider not only the final product, but the manufacturing process and transportation impacts associated with getting the gift to the recipient. Shop locally to avoid unnecessary shipping costs and emissions while you invest your dollars into your own community.
- Get creative when it comes to wrapping. Harmful dyes, excess paper waste and plastic ribbons are just a few of the holiday wrapping culprits. According to The Recycling Consortium, the U.K. alone uses 32 square miles of Christmas wrapping paper each year — enough to cover Manhattan and have 9 square miles to spare! Paper grocery bags, newspaper, and fabric are all great options; reuse gift bags, tins, and wrapping paper you’ve received in the past.
Plan for big fun, go low-impact, and enjoy the holidays!