Appointment Requests for Convention Due Friday | Travel Trade Barometers Available on U.S. Markets
October 12, 2010
Interested in advertising in Tuesday? E-mail Kelley Burchell at kelley.burchell@NTAstaff.com.
TODAY’S ARTICLES
Appointment Requests Due This Friday
Travel Trade Barometers Available on Key U.S. Markets through NTA
Tourism Cares for Mystic Seaport Set for May 6, 2011
NTA Visit USA Center Opens Nov. 20 in Shanghai
How the New Small Business Jobs Act Can Help You
How to Prepare for the Growing Chinese Inbound Segment
Webinar on UK Inbound Market to the U.S. Coming Up Nov. 2
Market Updates on Mexico and China Slated for Next Week in Los Angeles
Five Myths About Facebook
Complement Your Convention Efforts by Advertising in the December Courier
Industry News and Updates
Appointment Requests Due This Friday 
The Appointment Request System for Convention ’10 will be taken offline at 5 p.m. (ET) on Friday, Oct. 15 — four days away. So be sure to finalize your request lists before then!
It’s easy. Just log in to the Appointment Request System and — for the best possible schedule — submit the maximum number of requests. That’s it.
Your customized appointment schedule will be available online Nov. 1 at Noon (ET). After that, you can use the Direct Request System to request appointments with colleagues who have open time slots at the same time as you. When your request is accepted, it will be automatically added to your schedule before you arrive in Montréal.
Questions? E-mail your member services team or call 800.682.8886, ext. 4444 (U.S. and Canada) or +1.859.226.4444.
Travel Trade Barometers Available on Key U.S. Markets through NTA
With 2010 being a year that has seen double-digit growth in international arrivals to the United States (see article below in Industry News and Updates), it has never been more important for U.S.-based members to keep abreast of the latest research and trends from key markets. Thanks to NTA’s work with Travel Market Insights, the company that develops Travel Trade Barometers for NTA and the U.S. Department of Commerce, you can receive discounts on the reports that shed light on the top five U.S. inbound markets-Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan.
NTA brings you quarterly reports on each market, developed by TMI, to help you learn more about the booking trends, demographics and traveling preferences of visitors coming from these five areas. As an NTA member, you can receive discounts on this market-specific information by subscribing to the Travel Trade Barometers. Four levels of subscriptions are available, including two that allow you to receive more customized reports and have a larger role in preparing the questions/study.
To sign up and receive your discount, complete this order form or contact NTA Director of Research and Education Lisa Thompson with questions. Additional information on the Travel Barometer Program is available if you click here.
Tourism Cares for Mystic Seaport Set for May 6, 2011 
Tourism Cares is pleased to announce Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut, as the site of its 2011 Tourism Cares volunteer project, which will take place May 6.
One of the leading tourism destinations in the northeast, Mystic Seaport is home to more than 500 historic vessels, including four National Historic Landmarks. Among them is the Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaling ship in the world and the recipient of a Tourism Cares preservation grant in 2007. The museum that’s part of Mystic Seaport holds more than two million objects in its collection of rich maritime artifacts.
"Maintaining such a large and diverse campus is a challenge for the museum staff," said Bruce Beckham, CTP, executive director of Tourism Cares. "Tourism Cares volunteers will lend a hand and help the Mystic Seaport staff complete projects that might normally find themselves on the deferred maintenance list."
Among other things, volunteer projects for the day will include roofing, painting, landscaping, ship maintenance and more. Registration will open soon and is available to anyone who is employed in the travel and tourism industry. Visit www.tourismcares.org for more information.
NTA Visit USA Center Opens Nov. 20 in Shanghai 
If you are currently involved in the U.S. inbound market from China or hope to build business in this area, you’ll be interested to know that NTA will officially open the NTA Visit USA Center in Shanghai on Nov. 20. The opening celebration will be held in conjunction with the China International Travel Mart, where NTA and U.S. destinations, operators and suppliers are promoting travel to America.
China is recognized as a market with significant growth potential for the United States. Through the NTA Visit USA Center, which is supported in part through an International Trade Administration grant, NTA will educate the Chinese trade about the diversity of travel opportunities in the United States, provide marketing programs and services to the U.S. trade, and offer venues to connect the U.S. and Chinese trade for business development.
Special guests at the Nov. 20 event will include key representatives from Chinese travel agencies/operators and media, U.S. and Chinese government officials, as well as partners supporting the NTA Visit USA Center.
The opening will showcase the diversity of product available throughout the United States. Contact Ken Goode for information on highlighting your destination or company at this key event.
How the New Small Business Jobs Act Can Help You
The new Small Business Jobs Act, recently passed the U.S. Congress and was signed into law by President Barack Obama, offers assistance that can be beneficial to NTA tour operators and other travel sector businesses. Among the provisions are the following:
>> Immediate funding of existing SBA loans of $730 million to 1,400 businesses with the capacity to loan a total of $14 billion.
>> Maximum SBA loans can now exceed $5 million; SBA Express loans can be up to $1 million.
>> A new $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund is established.
>> $15 billion is added to a new State Small Business Credit Initiative.
>> Eight new small business tax cuts, including zero capital gains taxes on small business investment this year; extension and expansion of immediate capital investment expenses (such as new motorcoaches) up to $2 million; extension of 50 percent bonus depreciation through 2010; deductions for self-employed in 2010; simplification of cell phone deductions; increased deductions for start up expenses; a five-year carry back of business credits; and limitations for errors in tax reporting.
NTA recommends contacting the SBA for loan information and your tax accountant on the changes in your tax liability.
How to Prepare for the Growing Chinese Inbound Segment 
Research shows steady growth of Chinese travelers to the United States. And, the forecast calls for an increase in first-time visitors and returning visitors. How will you market to this growing segment?
Listen to this podcast for a preview of the "Trends and Insights on the Inbound Chinese Traveler" educational session that will take place Saturday morning, Nov. 13, at Convention. In this four-minute audio clip, session panel experts Ron Erdmann with the U.S. Department of Commerce; Scott Johnson with Travel Market Insights; and Robert Li, Ph.D., with the University of South Carolina, share some of their research and insights on the Chinese traveler including:
- Why the recently reported increase in the traveler’s length of stay is important to your destination,
- Why all three experts encourage careful watch of this growing market, and
- What other destinations in the U.S. are seeing a pick-up in Chinese visitors.
Get the rest of the story at Convention ’10 in Montréal. Click here for more details on this session and all the education offered at Convention ’10.
Webinar on UK Inbound Market to the U.S. Coming Up Nov. 2
Due to the success of the Sept. 29 Webinar on inbound travel to the U.S. from the United Kingdom, U.S. Commercial Service will offer a repeat session that focuses on the largest overseas market for U.S. inbound travel and tourism services. This additional session takes place Nov. 2 at 11 a.m. (ET) and is only $50.
Presenters will cover international arrivals from the UK, destinations most visited, spending patterns and emerging trends that highlight research conducted by the U.S. Office of Travel & Tourism Industries and market intelligence from the U.S. Commercial Service offices in London. Participants will get a better understanding of the current status of the market and some expected trends for the future. The Webinar also can help prepare you for NTA's 2011 MONTAGE event, which will be held in Aberdeen, Scotland, April 12-14.
To register for the Webinar, please click here. The Webinar is hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, OTTI with the Commercial Service Travel & Tourism Team. For more information contact Anastasia.Xenias@trade.gov, Julie.Heizer@trade.gov, or Stewart.Gough@trade.gov.
Market Updates on Mexico and China Slated for Next Week in Los Angeles
If you are looking for a couple of face-to-face market briefings from U.S. Commercial Service, then head to Los Angeles next week for a pair of key sessions. The first session focuses on Mexico and takes place Tuesday morning, while on Thursday China will be the featured market.
The Mexico session will include a special briefing with the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Carlos Pascual, who is making his first official visit to Los Angeles as an ambassador. The session looks at the wealth of business opportunities for small-to-medium sized exporters and will include information specific to the travel industry. To register for the briefing, which takes place from 8 to 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 19 at the Sheraton Los Angeles Downtown Hotel, click here or contact Jasmin Sakai-Gonzalez at +1.213.580.7569.
Two days later, the California China Trade & Investment Conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Los Angeles Marriott. Expert speakers from a wide variety of trade sectors will go to the core of successful business in China with how-we-did-it case histories of California companies finding success in China. This is an excellent opportunity to make personal connections with Southern California Chinese business owners and other California leaders exporting to China. To register for the Oct. 21 event, click here or contact Richard Swanson at +1.949.283.1024.
How much do you know about Facebook? Read this article to dig deeper into the top five Facebook myths:
>> Facebook is used mostly by college kids.
>> Facebook keeps changing to help sell advertising.
>> Facebook users are up in arms about privacy.
>> Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stole the idea from other students at Harvard.
>> Facebook could soon go the way of Friendster and MySpace.
Complement Your Convention Efforts by Advertising in the December Courier
Did you know the December issue of Courier magazine will feature the official Convention '10 recap? Members love to browse this issue and recall all the great memories and events that take place at Convention.
If you are able to join your NTA colleagues in Montréal, advertising in the December issue offers a way to enhance your efforts and to keep your name in front of the potential partners you met. And for those members who are unable to attend, this is a great opportunity to reach those who did as they peruse the issue and relive the memories.
In addition to the Convention '10 coverage, the December Courier will include articles on the Rockies, Smoky Mountains, Latin America and gay/lesbian travel.
There's no better way to reach 1,500 tour operators as they plan than by advertising in NTA's Courier magazine. To participate, e-mail advertising@NTAstaff.com or call 800.682.8886, ext. 3533 (U.S. and Canada) or +1.859.219.3533. The deadline to be included is Oct. 15.
- A U.S. Department of Commerce report said that international visitor arrivals and spending are up by 11 percent and 8 percent, respectively, for the first half of 2010 when compared to the same period in 2009.
- The U.S. hotel industry reported increases in all three key performance metrics during summer 2010, according to data from STR.
- U.S. travelers heading to Europe need to keep in mind that their credit cards may not work due to Europe's implementation of a chip-and-PIN system that works differently than typical magnetic-strip credit cards.
- Here are some things you need to know about the proposed Southwest Airlines-AirTran acquisition.
The links in this article are not monitored by NTA staff. Any bad links, expired pages, etc. are due to the constantly changing nature of Web sites.
Click here for the Tuesday archive.