‘It’s in Our DNA to Help’—3Qs with Ed Dresel | 3 Steps to Boost Business for Everyone
September 6, 2011
Interested in advertising in Tuesday? E-mail Kami Risk.
TODAY’S ARTICLES
‘It’s in Our DNA to Help’—3Qs with Ed Dresel
NTA, STI Join to Prove Sustainability Is Good for Business, Environment
3 Steps to Boost Business for Everyone
Save up to 50 Percent from FedEx Office®
Wish Your CEO Could Experience the Convention? They Can and It’s Free!
36 New NTA Members in August—You Helped Make it Happen
Showcase Your Destination at Shanghai’s Largest Mall
4 Layers of Silver Lining within Every Disaster
Reach 60 Percent More Qualified Operators through Courier (2,400 in all!)
Help Memorialize the World Trade Center’s Place in History and Culture
Photo Contest Winners Equate Travel with Art
Industry News And Updates
‘It’s in Our DNA to Help’—3Qs with Ed Dresel
Ed Dresel was NTA’s chairman in 2001, during the terrible and extraordinary events
on and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. His reflections on the aftermath touch on today’s travelers and our association.
1. How have the events of 9/11 changed the way Americans travel?
Travelers are much more aware of their surroundings; the people, the structures and the security. More American travelers are choosing what they consider safer destinations. Some prefer traveling by car or motorcoach to avoid the perceived hassles at the airports. And since 2001 there has also been an increased interest in visiting the diverse tapestry of America.
2. How do we balance privacy and personal freedom with security?
We now have a greater understanding and awareness that security is important. Removing our shoes and belts at the airport may add time and anxiety to our trip, but it’s worth the effort.
From an international traveler’s perspective, though, visiting the United States is different. Many view our procedures and requirements to visit the U.S. as difficult, invasive and unwelcoming. We should understand that we are in competition with the all other nations for visitors. This does not mean we minimize security, but the experience must be logical, well-advertised and welcoming. Since understanding different cultures is a key ingredient to a more peaceful world, international travel must be viewed as a positive measure.
3. Are there positive take-aways from the tragedy?
In any tragedy there are actions that demonstrate the positive nature in humans. We saw individuals doing unbelievable things in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon right after the tragedy. Following the initial shock, we saw a nation and a world come together in a common cause. Every person could relate to the horror of that day.
Our NTA family also came together with one purpose in mind: How. Can. We. Help? Since that time, whenever there is a tragedy such as a flood, hurricane or any disaster, our incredible staff and members are immediately assisting in whatever way we can. We understand that these disasters affect real people. In a bad situation, it’s in our DNA to help.
For more on 9/11 from NTA members, see the October Courier. The issue includes reflections from NTA Chairman and CEO Cathy Greteman (page 6), NYC & Company’s Vice President Fred Dixon (page 10) and NTA’s 2001–02 president, Kathy LeTarte (page 10).
Dresel is president of Destinations Unlimited; contact him at destone@megahits.com. Earlier this year an essay on 9/11 by Dresel appeared in Courier magazine.
NTA, STI Join to Prove Sustainability Is Good for Business, Environment
With interest in sustainable travel on the rise, so are NTA’s efforts to help members understand how to better protect the environment, heritage and economy of the destinations they serve. In concert with our strategic partner Sustainable Travel International, NTA is offering enhanced education, a certification program, and a partner program.
On the education, NTA and STI have scheduled two Webinars, free to NTA members who want to jump on board the green train:
Sustainable Tourism 201: Putting Pencil to Paper (Oct. 5 at 1 p.m. ET)—This one-hour Webinar is geared to travel professionals who want to learn how to integrate sustainable tourism best practices into their existing operations. Presented by Bobby Chappell, STI’s director of eco-certification, the Webinar will show participants how to create positive triple-bottom-line results for your business, employees and community.
Destination Stewardship: An Innovative Approach to Sustainable Tourism Development (Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. ET)—Destination Stewardship is a holistic approach to tourism development that benefits local communities and the natural environment while enhancing economic viability. Jon-Paul Bowles, STI’s vice president of destination stewardship, will focus on strategies to attract new visitors while protecting destinations, including carbon neutral tourism programs, marketing plans and capacity building.
After the Webinars, the next education opportunity is at Convention, when leaders from STI and the Adventure Travel Trade Association will present "Adventure Travel and Sustainable Tourism" on Tuesday, Dec. 6.
You’ll be hearing more about this NTA/STI initiative, which includes a Green Travel Certificate Program for member businesses of all sizes and current levels of sustainability practices. The program will focus on the benefits of green travel in terms of profitability and market strength. Another opportunity on the horizon is a partner program that provides extended education, evaluation and consulting services, and enhanced exposure for your company or destination.
Click here to sign up for one or both of the free Webinars, and go here for more information about STI.
3 Steps to Boost Business for Everyone
When tour operators use the NTA tracking program to help DMOs track packaged travelers to their area, DMOs can, in turn, support tour operators by providing new destinations and new ideas to package.
Here are 3 easy steps to help DMOs offer you their outstanding services:
-
Log in to ROI/Tracking System, and select the country, state or province and city you wish to look up. (A list of DMO members who meet your selection criteria will appear.)
-
Check as many DMOs from the list as you wish. Next, click "Itinerary Setup" at the bottom of the page. (Useful Tip: The state/provincial/country DMOs are highlighted in green, and the system will automatically include that DMO in "cc" box on any e-mail you send. You can remove them from that field before you send the e-mail, if you wish.)
-
An e-mail message will automatically open. Include your own e-mail address in "cc" box to receive a copy.
Include your name, company, address and phone so the receiving DMO knows who to thank!
If you want, you can put all the information into the text field, or browse for a copy of your itinerary and attach it there.
When finished, click "Send Itinerary." Done!
ROI/Tracking ideas from your fellow NTA members.
Save up to 50 Percent from FedEx Office
Sign up between now and Sept. 30 for the NTA FedEx Office® Discount Program and receive an extra savings of up to 30 percent for 30 days upon sign-up. (That’s on top of the standard 20 percent off select FedEx Office copy and print services that NTA members* already enjoy!) You’ll save a total of up to 50 percent off copy and print services!
Take advantage by simply presenting your new FedEx Office discount card at any location, or enter your 10-digit FedEx Office account number online.
ADDITIONAL BENEFIT: As an NTA member, you can also receive discounts of up to 26 percent on select FedEx Express®, FedEx Ground®, and FedEx® international shipping services.
Click here to enroll and enter passcode 8S877C. (If you already participate in NTA FedEx shipping program, uncheck the FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight shipping options.)
Another money-saving offer for you from our great NTA Corporate Partners! Questions? Call 1.800.MEMBERS (1.800.636.2377), 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.
Click here for terms & conditions.
*The NTA FedEx Corporate Partner discount is for U.S. members only.
Wish Your CEO Could Experience the Convention? They Can and It’s Free!
What’s the best way to explain to your executive decision-maker what your investment in NTA’s Convention brings to your company or destination? Bring him or her along!
NTA’s Convention Executive Program allows your CEO or executive decision-maker to experience NTA’s Convention firsthand. It’s a great way to get CEO support behind your attendance.
Available to any supplier or DMO member, the Executive Program includes the complete Convention week program; your executive is welcome to stay the week or just a few days.
When you register for the Convention, simply register your CEO or executive decision-maker (it’s FREE) by entering the special promotion code: EXECNTA11. (Note: the code is case sensitive.)
The program includes:
- Access to any and all days of the Convention.
- Access to the floor to experience the energy of the Destination Pavilion and see the networking that goes on in the Tour & Travel Exchange.
- Evening events.
36 New NTA Members in August—You Helped Make it Happen
August became "Welcome Month" at NTA, as 36 new members joined the association. These new members represent 18 U.S. states, Canada, Greece, Jordan and Turkey. Click here to see the list of suppliers, tour operators, DMOs and associate members you can start doing business with.
If you have a colleague to recommend for membership, check with NTA’s Recruitment Rewards Club page for ideas and instructions. These three members joined the Club by recently referring new members:
- Ali Bedard of the Charleston Area CVB referred Low Country Hotels, LLC.
- Bill Slovinski of the Omaha CVB referred Regency Lodge.
- Dawn Rueckl of Wells Gray Tours referred Quaaout Lodge.
Showcase Your Destination at Shanghai’s Largest Mall
The NTA Visit USA Center in Shanghai is helping SkyMall celebrate its first year in business—and you can join the party and promote your U.S. destination to some of China’s most affluent residents in Shanghai’s Min Hang district.
SkyMall, Shanghai’s largest shopping mall, attracts tens of thousands of shoppers every day and houses more than 20 American vendors, including Gap, Nike, DuPont, Dickies and Burger King.
For a basic fee of $400, you can sell products and display or distribute brochures, samples, gifts and souvenirs throughout the three-week anniversary celebration. The NTA Visit USA Center will have staff members working at the festival and promoting your company. You’ll need to move quickly, though: The deadline to join the party is Sept. 13.
The theme of the three-week celebration is "American Cultural Festival," and the NTA Visit USA Center kicks off the celebration on Sept. 18 with giveaways and presentations by local civic and tourism officials. On subsequent weekends, the celebration focus will be on tourism (Sept. 24), food/cuisine (Sept. 25), sports (Oct. 1) and entertainment (Oct. 2). NBA players will be on hand to add an American allure to the events.
For details on how you can get your message to some of China’s most affluent residents, contact Haybina Hao, NTA director of international development.
4 Layers of Silver Lining within Every Disaster
While no one would ever invite a hurricane or blizzard into their community, business managers can nonetheless gain a thing or two when natural disasters are poised to strike. So says small-business expert and Convention ’11 speaker Barry Moltz. Forced to navigate his way into an apprehensive New York City just before Hurricane Irene arrived, Moltz came away with four upsides of adversity:
-
Assessing your staff. When a predicted storm is on the horizon, team members must come together and, hopefully, bond to solve problems. As a manager, you can see which members effectively step up and which ones shy away from the task at hand.
- Addressing employees’ needs. You can do some team-building of your own by being attentive to your employees’ personal needs outside of work. By giving them time off to deal with their homes and families, you can earn your staff members’ loyalty.
- Earning client trust. You can also build loyalty among your current clients-and collect new ones-when you boost customer service during a stressful time, especially if they’re looking to you for quick solutions.
- Examining personal priorities. As frantic as the hours can be leading up to a natural disaster, they also allow you the opportunity to step back and re-examine the priorities in your life-a sort of calm before the storm.
For the entire story, click here. And to hear more from Moltz, catch his seminar, "Managing Customer Service in Today’s Social Media World" at Convention ’11. Click here to read about all the seminars in Las Vegas this December.
Reach 60 Percent More Qualified Operators through Courier (2,400 in all!)
NTA’s largest and most popular Courier issue is about to close, and here’s why you need to be in it:
- It’s the annual Convention issue, which is sure to be read by every NTA member, including 1,500 tour operators.
- In addition to NTA’s 1,500 tour operators, this issue will also be mailed to UMA’s (United Motorcoach Association) 900 motorcoach operators, for a total of 2,400 qualified buyers!
- It contains features like Convention, Working with UMA Members, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Eastern Canada, Québec, America’s Historic East and the San Francisco Bay Area.
With incredible (and must-read!) features like these—plus the increased distribution—this is issue is one of Courier’s finest. Contact us today to be seen by qualified buyers and to start promoting yourself prior to Convention! Space deadline is Sept. 9, so call 859.264.6559 or e-mail today!.
Help Memorialize the World Trade Center’s Place in History and Culture
New York’s World Trade Center was not only one of the world’s greatest and most recognized business centers; it was an architectural wonder and an iconic sightseeing attraction on the New York skyline. Anyone who viewed it, from its plaza or from miles away, marveled at its magnificence.
And when people visit the National September 11 Memorial & Museum that will open at Ground Zero next year on September 11, 2012, they can get an up-close look at
the last remaining scale model of the World Trade Center as designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki in the late 1960s. This model, seven-plus feet tall, will be in a special gallery that memorializes the World Trade Center as one of the most visited and photographed sightseeing attractions in the world.
People in the travel and tourism industry from around the world are donating funds, through Tourism Cares, to provide the custom-made glass case that will enclose, protect and preserve this precious piece of art and history. A plaque in the gallery will recognize the industry for its generosity.
You can help by making a tax-deductible donation at Tourism Cares: Helping the World Remember. Or you can instantly make a $10 donation on your phone by texting TOUR 911 to 50555.
Thank you for support of this important contribution from the tourism industry to this very special place.
Photo Contest Winners Equate Travel with Art
Twenty-five images from around the world—from Kenya to Jackson Hole to New York City—are included among the winners of The Washington Post’s annual travel photo contest. Editors selected these shots from the 2,400 entries submitted by amateur photographers. The images are apt to inspire readers to pack their bags—and their cameras.
- For the 18th consecutive month, the United States saw an increase in spending by international visitors—up 9 percent in June (over June 2010).
- Hawaii will see an increase in air traffic from Japan and Korea as additional charter and commercial flights are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter.
- Get familiar with what London has to offer visitors during the 2012 Summer Olympic Games with this list of Visit Britain’s top 10 venues to visit.
- Gulf Coast beach towns from Alabama through the Florida Panhandle report a strong summer rebound after a 2010 marred by tar balls, oil sheen and cleanup crews.
Click here for the Tuesday archive.