Convention Appointment Scheduling Opens Aug. 31; Gulf Coast Sessions a Success
July 20, 2010
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TODAY’S ARTICLES
Convention 2010: Appointment Scheduling Opens Aug. 31, Travel Deals
First Gulf Coast Sessions a Success, Next Are July 27, 28
MONTAGE Seminar Audio Recordings Now Available Online
2011 MONTAGE Chair Is David O’Gorman of Discover Ireland Tours
Tour Operators: Tell NTA How You Innovate
Mark Your Calendar: Tourism Cares for America Volunteer Day Is Sept. 10
Overall U.S. Outbound Air Travel Decreases in April 2010 due to Volcanic Ash
Participate in a Social Media Study and Get the Results for Free
Industry News and Updates
NTA’s Profile Form Notebook—Your Link to NTA Tour Operators
Expand Your Product Line with an NTA PDT
Take your Facebook Page from Good to Great
Convention 2010: Appointment Scheduling Opens Aug. 31, Travel Deals
The appointment request system for all NTA registered Convention delegates will 
open August 31 at noon ET. Please mark your calendar.
Reminder: How Appointments Are Scheduled:
Priority order of appointment scheduling is (1) perfect matches, (2) operator requests, (3) supplier/DMO requests. On average, suppliers receive 30 appointments and DMOs receive 25.
For more information about appointment scheduling, visit the Convention Web site.
Travel Deals: Save money when you travel to the 2011 Convention in Montreal by taking advantage of special NTA discounts. Transportation offers from NTA member Sugar Tours, Jet Blue, Air Canada and West Jet are all listed on the Convention Web site. Visit the site for details and codes for each offer. More deals will be announced soon, so remember to check the transportation page before you book your travel.
First Gulf Coast Sessions a Success, Next Are July 27, 28
NTA and Edelman kicked off a series of half-day educational sessions to more than 100 attendees in Biloxi, Mississippi, and Houma, Louisiana last week. Tourism professionals and others impacted by the oil spill in the Gulf Coast received free counsel on crisis management and media relations. The seminars, titled "Practical Skills for the Oil Spill Crisis: Managing Media Relations and Building Business through a Crisis" will continue next week in Gulf Shores, Alabama, at the Kaiser Realty Ballroom from 9 a.m. to noon on July 27 and in Pensacola, Florida, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 28 (venue to be announced). Click here to learn more and to register. See TV coverage of last week’s seminars below from ABC affiliate WLOX and read about the seminars in The Sun Herald.
MONTAGE Seminar Audio Recordings Now Available Online
Did you miss out on attending MONTAGE but still want to hear the valuable education sessions? Did you attend MONTAGE but want to share the information with your co-workers? The audio recordings from 2010 MONTAGE education sessions are now available online for purchase for US$25 a session.
Hear Catherine Heeg, business owner and world traveler, share her three decades of sales and marketing experience with NTA members. Learn about the growing world of social media and find out how to cost-effectively build your brand, track your company’s success and develop a customized social media marketing plan.
If building and diversifying your client base is what you’re after, look to NTA’s Business and Product Development sessions on China, Africa and India. In these sessions you’ll learn from industry professionals how you can take advantage of product available in these growing markets.
Among the other sessions available for purchase are Green Travel, Sustainability and ROI; Working with Travel Agents to Boost Your Business; and International Marketing Opportunities with NTA’s strategic partner the United Motorcoach Association.
To review the MONTAGE seminar descriptions and place an order please visit the MONTAGE Seminars on NTAOnline.com.
2011 MONTAGE Chair Is David O’Gorman of Discover Ireland Tours
NTA is proud to announce that the chair of the 2011 MONTAGE in Aberdeen, Scotland, April 12-14, is David O’Gorman, founder and owner of Discover Ireland Tours. O’Gorman has been an NTA member since 2002 and has attended every Convention since 2003.
"Joining NTA provided a great leap forward for Discover Ireland Tours, exposed us to a new market, a new business opportunity and, fortunately for us, we did convert much of this business opportunity into solid business," said O’Gorman. "I am thrilled that [NTA Chairman Cathy Greteman] asked me to be the chair of MONTAGE next April. Scotland is a great product, and I am sure that NTA and Visit Scotland will provide great business opportunity and while all the time having fun."
Click here to learn more about MONTAGE in 2011, which will be held in conjunction with the VisitScotland Expo. NTA will conduct its signature Product Development Trip the week prior to MONTAGE. Contact NTA Sponsorship Manager Melisa-Beth Rooke to learn how to sponsor.
Tour Operators: Tell NTA How You Innovate
The Group Travel Leader has contacted NTA in search of tour companies that are offering flexible itineraries to group travelers to interview for their publication. If you are doing innovative things to stay flexible for your clients, let NTA know by e-mailing NTA Public Relations Specialist Madeline Vied.
Mark Your Calendar: Tourism Cares for America Volunteer Day Is Sept. 10
Join your travel colleagues, friends and family at the Tourism 
Cares for America Volunteer Day, Friday, September 10, at the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, D.C. This event gives volunteers a chance to help maintain a site of great importance to the tourism industry and the country.
Following the lead of President Obama, who signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act in April of 2009 to expand the mission of national community service and recognize September 11 as a national day of service and remembrance, Tourism Cares is encouraging tourism industry professionals and their friends and family to visit Washington, D.C., to perform a needed service at the U.S. capital. Register now on the Tourism Cares Web site, www.tourismcares.org/events/volunteer-day.
Overall U.S. Outbound Air Travel Decreases in April 2010 due to Volcanic Ash
According to the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries, U.S. outbound non-stop air passenger traffic totaled 2.9 million in April 2010, decreasing 5 percent compared to April 2009 and registering the first month over month decrease since November 2009. Top U.S. outbound markets were Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico and Asia. Air travel was up to the Caribbean and Asia, but Europe was down 19 percent as a result of flight interruption from Iceland’s volcanic ash. Mexico was down 4 percent. Departures were also down to Central and South America. The Middle East and Africa regions experienced the strongest growth at 29 and 25 percent, respectively.
The Office of Travel and Tourism Industries collects, analyzes and disseminates international travel and tourism statistics for the U.S. Travel and Tourism Statistical System. To view the OTTI U.S. departure data tables that provide monthly estimates of U.S. air travel abroad by world region, click here.
Participate in a Social Media Study and Get the Results for Free
Know how your social media efforts compare to other companies just like yours in the travel industry by participating in a social media study from the Adventure Travel Trade Association and ResMark Systems. Jay Baer, a social media guru, is leading this study to gain insight into the use of social media in the travel industry and all participants will receive complimentary access to the survey results.
Find out who has made social media work for their company and how they did it while you learn what pitfalls to avoid and where your time and efforts are best spent. The survey will only ask questions about your experience with social media so it doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or expert. The Executive Summary will be available for those who fill out the survey, once results are compiled, at http://www.adventuretravel.biz/ and http://www.resmarksystems.com/. Click the following link to launch the survey http://www.travelsocialsurvey.com/ or paste the address into your browser window.
Here’s a look at recent research, statistics and news that may apply to you and your business:
- Germany proposes a $33 departure tax for long-haul flights. Click here to read more.
- Mingling via social media on airplanes? Find out more from the New York Times.
- Only 38 percent of French travelers enjoy staying in hotels, compared to 72 percent of German travelers and 82 percent of U.K. travelers. Read more statistics from PhoCusWright in this article.
- European passenger traffic up 5.4 percent in May 2010. Click here to read the full report from Airports Council International of Europe.
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.
NTA’s Profile Form Notebook—Your Link to NTA Tour Operators
Expand your reach to tour operators beyond Convention appointments. The 2010 Profile Form Notebook puts your company’s information directly in front of NTA’s seasoned tour operators during a key buying time of the year. This publication provides you valuable exposure at an extremely affordable price.
Notebooks are placed on every tour operator table at the NTA Convention. Don’t miss your chance to be included in the ultimate resource used by tour operators all year long for itinerary development, trip planning and contact information reference. Even if you are unable to attend convention this year, your message can still be there.
Purchase a full-page tab advertisement and/or let us insert your company’s customized 8-1/2" x 11", double-sided profile sheet into one of the state/provincial/international sections available in every binder.
Space Deadline: Early-bird space deadline is August 2, 2010.
Full-Page Tabs are only US$1,500 net; insert your company’s Profile Form into every binder for only US$1,250 net or, do both for only US$2,500 net.
To reserve your space contact your account executive at 800.682.8886, ext. 4241 (U.S. and Canada) or +1.859.226.241.
Expand Your Product Line with an NTA PDT
Registration is still open for two of the last Product Development Trips for 2010-India and Lancaster/Philly. Experience the beauty and magic of India on an eight-day itinerary as well as two optional add-ons that give you a broad look at this intriguing destination. Registration is open until July 26. Or, take in the urban and rural sides of Pennsylvania with the Lancaster/Philly PDT where Philadelphia’s signature attractions as well as the tradition and history of the Amish in Lancaster will be featured. The deadline to register is August 27. Visit NTAOnline.com for a detailed itinerary and registration forms for India or Lancaster/Philly. Direct questions to Lisa Thompson at NTA headquarters.
Take your Facebook Page from Good to Great
Don’t let your Facebook page put your fans to sleep. Social-media guru Mari Smith explains below how to go from a good fan page to an enchanting one.
- Use your personal profile for professional networking.
- Make use of Friend Lists. To better manage your friends, create lists with specific influentials, for example; you can then more easily view your News Feed each day and quickly Like and Comment as appropriate to continue nurturing those important relationships!
- Use @ tags strategically. You can have up to six "@ tags" in any update/wall post (on your profile or fan page) consisting of a mix of friends, fan pages, events or groups. Use @ tags to give credit, thank, acknowledge and be enchanting!
- Add an attractive landing tab to your fan page. A popular tab is a simple "welcome" message with custom graphics and possibly a video message. The purpose of this tab is to inspire visitors to join (like) your fan page.
- Provide an area for your fans to promote themselves. To honor your fans and to help minimize any possible spam posts on your wall, give your fans their own forum using the Discussion tab. Specify exactly how and where you want them to post. For example, I have a long-running, popular thread encouraging fans to promote their Twitter accounts.
- Respond to fans posts promptly and personally.
- Surprise your fans and think outside the box. From time to time, give your Facebook fan page a burst of excitement by introducing initiatives like "Fan Page Friday" or "Share Your Blog Day."
- Give away a special free gift. Offer your fans a valuable, free download and you’ll grow your email list as a result.
- Chat live with your fans. Your fans will love to interact with you LIVE from time to time.
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Get your fans involved in product and content creation. Involve and include your Facebook fans when creating new products or when seeking ideas for new blog posts, etc. This is called "crowdsourcing." You might also run a contest. Wildfireapp.com is a good choice for contests on Facebook.
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