Let’s ROCK at Tourism Rocks! | Member DMO Wins State’s Top Tourism Award
October 18, 2011
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TODAY’S ARTICLES
Let’s ROCK at Tourism Rocks!
Tick Tock! Appointment Request System Is Counting Down.
Member DMO Wins State’s Top Tourism Award
It’s here! The Best of the USA: NTA’s Directory for the China Inbound Market
NTA Leaders on the Road
Join STI Webinar for Focus on ‘Destination Stewardship’
Access to North Carolina’s Hatteras Island Fully Restored
Find your Place on NTAonline.com
Where in the World are the Pickpockets?
Industry News and Updates
No one throws a party quite like Tourism Cares, and delegates can experience that firsthand on Wednesday, Dec. 7, at Tourism Rocks! This perennial favorite provides 
NTA delegates the opportunity to dance, network, meet new and old friends and have fun while supporting a great cause—Tourism Cares.
Buyers: You will once again be the guests of the generous sponsors:
- Hard Rock International
- Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority
- Nevada Commission on Tourism
- Vanity Nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Pick up your complimentary tickets when you get to Las Vegas at one of the sponsors’ booths in the Convention Mall.
Sellers: You’ll save $10 if you purchase your Rocks tickets when you register for Convention. (Pay only $40.) Tickets are also available for purchase in Las Vegas for $50.
For more information about Tourism Cares, visit the Web site.
Tick Tock! Appointment Request System Is Counting Down.
Friday is the final day to access the Appointment Request System for Convention ’11. It will close at 5 p.m. ET, so be sure to finalize your request list before then! Remember: The more requests you make, the greater your chance to receive more appointments.
Here are some tips for maximizing your appointment requests:
- Spend time looking at member profiles. Your research can pay off.
- Submit the maximum number of requests: 60.
- Rank your requests in order of importance. Your customized schedule will be created by request priority in this order: 1) perfect matches; 2) operator requests; 3) supplier/DMO requests.
- View the companies that are requesting to meet with you by clicking on "My Shopping List."
You can access the Appointment Request System by logging in with your NTA user name and password.
Your customized appointment schedule will be available online Nov. 15. 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 Vegas.
Questions? E-mail your NTA Member Services Team or call 800.682.8886 (U.S. and Canada) or +1.859.264.6540. But hurry—the clock is ticking!
Member DMO Wins State’s Top Tourism Award
NTA member Visit Tallahassee took top tourism honors at the Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism, capturing the Flagler Award for Advocacy. The award, from the Florida Commission on Tourism honors excellence in tourism marketing within the state.
"This is the first time in Tallahassee’s history to win first place, although we have been a finalist in years past," said Katie Kole, marketing communications director for Visit Tallahassee. "We are very proud of the TOUR Guide campaign and are honored for the recognition."
TOUR Guide stands for "Tourism is Our Ultimate Resource," a campaign used last year to educate residents on the importance of local tourism by providing free admission to select local attractions and discounts from local tourism partners. The six-month program helped residents become ambassadors for Tallahassee, guiding out-of-town visitors to local attractions.
It’s here! The Best of the USA: NTA’s Directory for the China Inbound Market
NTA is pleased to present the 2011–12 The Best of the USA. (Read our digital edition here.) As the number of Chinese travelers visiting the United States grows (up 16 to 20 percent in the second quarter of 2011, according to NTA’s approved China operators), NTA continues to educate this market about the diverse travel opportunities the United States offers. The annual directory has been a popular way to achieve that goal.
This publication is hot off the press in China and will be distributed directly to Chinese travel agents and tour operators at the NTA Visit USA Center in Shanghai as well as through the mail and at trade shows and road shows. It includes the list of approved tour operators who have been qualified by NTA* to serve this market. The directory also explains the programs and services offered at the NTA Visit USA Center and by NTA’s China Inbound Program. Plus it showcases advertisers.
To learn more about the China Inbound Program or how you can participate in the next edition, contact NTA headquarters today by phone (+1.859.264.6540) or by e-mail.
*NTA is the only U.S.-based trade association to have a tour operator qualification program approved by the China National Tourism Administration.
NTA leaders have been behind the podium at a number of conferences during the last few weeks—and this week. Here’s rundown of where they’ve been and what they’ve been talking about:
- ASTA Expo, Sept. 11 in Las Vegas, Lisa Simon spoke on the value of connecting with NTA tour operators
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, Sept. 20 in San Francisco, Lisa Simon and Cathleen Johnson spoke on communications and crisis management.
- Visit Orlando Hot Topics Conference, Sept. 30 in Orlando, Ed Dresel addressed suppliers on the reach and diversity of NTA members.
- Adventure Travel Trade Association World Summit; Oct. 16 in Chiapas, Mexico; Lisa Simon represented NTA.
- Iowa Tourism Conference, Oct. 19 in Des Moines, Cathy Greteman will talk about how to increase group tourism.
- Ontario North American Trade Symposium, Oct. 20 in Toronto, Lisa Simon will talk about increasing tour operator-packaged travel into Canada.
- Cuba 2011 Video Conference; Oct. 21 in Washington, D.C.; Lisa Simon will deliver keynote remarks on the status of travel from the U.S. to Cuba.
Join STI Webinar for Focus on ‘Destination Stewardship’
Mark your calendar for another free Webinar from Sustainable Travel International. 
STI’s Vice President Jon-Paul Bowles will lead "Destination Stewardship: An Innovative Approach to Sustainable Tourism Development" on Thursday, Nov. 17, at 1 p.m. ET.
"Destination stewardship" is an approach to tourism development that benefits local communities and the natural environment while enhancing economic viability. The focus of this STI session will be on strategies to attract new visitors while protecting destinations; it will include carbon neutral tourism programs, marketing plans and capacity building. Click here to sign up for this free session.
Access to North Carolina’s Hatteras Island Fully Restored
Hatteras Island is over Irene—finally. Lorrie Love, tourism sales director for the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau in North Carolina, said with the reopening of state Highway 12, damaged by Hurricane Irene, the travel restrictions for Hatteras Island have now been lifted.
"It’s been a long six weeks, but Hatteras Island is now open for all traffic via NC 12," Love said. "Motorcoaches will be able to navigate the entire length of Highway 12, and businesses on Hatteras Island are ready for visitors."
The North Carolina Department of Transportation announced last week that all restrictions have been lifted for all villages on the island, including Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco, and Hatteras Village.
Find your Place on NTAonline.com 
Competitive Web analytics show that NTAonline.com is the most visited site in our industry. With an average of 37,300 hits per month, NTAonline.com gives you a way to get in front of qualified buyers for as little as $375 a month.
To learn more about placing your banner ads on NTAonline.com, contact +1.859.264.6559 or advertising@NTAservicesinc.com.
Where in the World are the Pickpockets?
To keep your customers on their toes when traveling, refer them to PickPocketMap.com, a Web site that lists exact locations of thievery (of wallets, phones, laptops, luggage, etc.) in cities around the world.
The site collects incidents of theft, reported by victims via Twitter or to the site itself, and plots them on a Google map. Each incident includes the date and time of the theft, along with a brief description of the incident.
While the site does not report every crime, it can at least allow travelers to see which areas are particularly dicey. And it also serves as a reminder for travelers to secure their valuables.
- Flexibility and problem resolution boosted Delta Air Lines to the highest ratings in the 2011 Business Travel News Annual Airline Survey.
- Whether you believe in ghosts or not, you should know that some U.S. hotels carry a reputation for spooky occurrences. With Halloween lurking, see Travelocity’s Top 10 Haunted Hotels.
- Gallup reported a sharp increase over the past several months in the percentage of Americans, including upper-income consumers, saying the economy is "getting worse."
- "Chat-downs" are the latest strategy employed by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration to detect risks among air travelers.
Click here for the Tuesday archive.