Listen to Convention Insider Webinar Online; Industry Expert Inspires Leadership
September 14, 2010
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TODAY’S ARTICLES
Listen to Convention Insider Webinar Online
Industry Expert Inspires Leadership
Operator Owners… Experience the Owners Network
U.S. Corporation for Travel Promotion Board Announced by Secretary Locke
Volunteers Make a Difference in Washington, D.C.
Luxury Travel a Growing Trend for Swiss Tourists
NTA Special—500 Profile Forms for Only US$265 & No Shipping Charges
Tour Operators: Get 10 Percent off Your Berkely Insurance
How a Company Blog Gained 4 Million Users in 2 Years
Tour Operators Pay it Forward
Industry News and Updates
Listen to Convention Insider Webinar Online 
Did you miss last week’s Convention Insider Webinars? Not to worry. Recordings of both the Sept. 7 and 9 Webinars and the PowerPoint presentation are available on the Convention Web site.
Whether this is your first Convention or your 15th, you can always learn something new in these informative Webinars. Download the sessions to listen and learn about the happenings in Montréal at your leisure. If you have any questions, e-mail your NTA staff and we’ll be happy to answer them for you.
Industry Expert Inspires Leadership
"The strength of a leader begins with the team." Listen to this podcast with Paul Vitale as he touches on the values of an influential person, the results produced from a powerful team, and reminds us the importance of the first impression. To get more on these topics, attend Paul’s session at Convention ‘10 on Sunday, Nov. 14. The session will be driven by member teamwork, so come prepared to get involved and learn how to be an inspiring leader!
Paul’s success began in the travel industry, so he knows your business. As the former director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Vitale headed the successful sales team responsible for more than 3 million visitors annually.
Learn more about Paul’s seminar here. And, for another sneak peek of the session, visit his Web site and watch the short Dare to Dream video.
Take advantage of all the education Convention ’10 has to offer. More partners. More contacts. More business. Register here!
Operator Owners … Experience the Owners Network
NTA’s Owners Network would like to extend an open invitation to all NTA tour operators to experience the networking, brainstorming and money-making, and saving, ideas that come from being a part of this unique NTA program.
"The kind of information that comes out of an Owners Network meeting is invaluable to running my company more efficiently," said network member Michele Michalewicz, CTP. "I can’t tell you how much money I’ve saved just by taking a simple human resources idea I heard and using it in my company."
If you’d like to see what an Owners Network meeting is like, the group is inviting you to attend their meeting in Key West, Florida, October 25. The meeting will take place at the offices of network member Hanns Ebensten Travel/Alyson Adventures. There is no fee to attend this open meeting, although attendees are responsible for travel expenses. If you like what you see, become a part of the Owner’s Network for only US$300 per year.
Jay Smith of Sports Travel and Tours of Hatfield, Massachusetts, recently sat in on an Owners Network meeting in New Jersey. He knew right away that he wanted to be part of this group. "It’s a great group of experienced tour operators that share so many important aspects of our individual companies," said Smith. "What I like most is that the Owners Network is all about quality time set aside for us to share rather than just conference calls or quick meetings at Convention. I am glad to be part of the Owners Network family."
If you’d like more information or would like to attend the meeting in Florida, please contact Lisa Thompson.
U.S. Corporation for Travel Promotion Board Announced by Secretary Locke
U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Locke has appointed the 11-member board of private tourism industry professionals that make up the Corporation for Travel Promotion. In March, U.S. President Obama signed the Travel Promotion Act, which called for the creation of a Corporation for Travel Promotion, a public-private partnership led by a board that will work with the U.S. Department of Commerce to seek ways to market the United States internationally as a destination. The newly appointed board is:
State Tourism: Caroline Beteta, California Travel and Tourism Commission
State Tourism: Diane Shober, Wyoming Office of Travel and Tourism
CVB: George Fertitta, NYC & Company
Hotel: Stephen Cloobeck, Diamond Resorts International
Travel Distribution: Tom Klein, Sabre Holdings
Attractions: Al Weiss, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
Rail: David Lim, Amtrak
Visa Immigration: Lynda Zengerle, Steptoe & Johnson
Airline: Mark Schwab, United Airlines
Restaurant: Roy Yamaguchi, Roy’s Restaurants
Small Business: Daniel Halpern, Jackmont Hospitality
The anticipated next steps for the Corporation include hiring an executive director, developing a global marketing strategy and launching a private sector fundraising effort. The private sector is responsible for raising 50 percent of the Corporation’s budget. The other 50 percent is generated from the $14 fee travelers from Visa Waiver Program countries now pay to enter the United States; $10 of that fee goes to fund the Corporation and its marketing efforts. The 2010-2011 Travel and Tourism Works for America report showed that travel industry brings $704 billion in direct spending by domestic and international travelers and $113 billion in tax revenue to the United States.
Volunteers Make a Difference in Washington, D.C.
Tourism Cares, NTA’s official philanthropy, hosted a successful Tourism Cares for America day at the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Sept. 10. Volunteers associated with the travel, tourism and hospitality industries demonstrated their commitment to giving back by assisting with much needed painting projects at 12 locations, including the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, Lafayette Park and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Their efforts upgraded the overall appearance of the benches and walkways. It also helped the National Park Service that oversees the area by providing this work at no cost, while also encouraging more participation in volunteerism and public service.
"The event was a huge success," said Bruce Beckham, Tourism Cares executive director . "The weather cooperated and everyone had a great time. The 250 volunteers that participated in this project saved the financially-strapped National Park Service over $26,000." In addition, Tourism Cares presented a check for $20,000 to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
NTA President Lisa Simon, Chairman and CEO Cathy Greteman and Vice President of Communications Catherine Prather served on behalf of NTA. For more information about Tourism Cares, please visit http://www.tourismcares.org/.
Luxury Travel a Growing Trend for Swiss Tourists
Switzerland’s leading tour operators are noticing a growing trend among Swiss tourists toward more expensive trips and luxury hotels, including air travel in business class, as opposed to economy class. Also, in 2009, nearly 325,000 Swiss tourists visited the U.S., a 3 percent increase from the previous year’s figure. As a whole, the share of Swiss outbound travel sales made via the Internet is growing and registered about 18 percent of the total market. However, most Swiss still turn to travel agencies for purchases of packages above US$1,000 per person and long haul travel. Internet sales were primarily for flights, individual hotels and car rental reservations from travel within Europe. Swiss travelers widely use the Internet as a source of information in planning a vacation.
Request the full report FREE here, including information on Swiss inbound travel to the U.S. This is the second monthly segment in a series of international data articles from the U.S. Commercial Service.
NTA Special—500 Profile Forms for Only US$265 & No Shipping Charges
Save time and money—upload, create, print and ship your profile forms to Montreal using the newly launched NTA On Demand site built by corporate partner, Angstrom Graphics. Click here to log in, create an account and get started. if you have questions or need help, e-mail NTA@AngstromGraphics.com.
Find the Angstrom Graphics booth in the Convention mall and learn about what’s coming for the On Demand site. Supporting NTA corporate partners supports NTA. For a list of all NTA corporate partners, go online.
Tour Operators: Get 10 Percent off Your Berkely Insurance
How? Participate in the Berkely Risk Management session at Convention ’10, Saturday morning, Nov. 13. Attending this session earns you a premium credit of 10 percent toward your next policy* and you receive invaluable tips and information for your business, including:
- how to avoid or minimize liability claims using risk management techniques
- an action plan for preparing for a lawsuit
- how to build a crisis management plan into your business
- information and updates on tour operator claims
Register today for Convention. Attend the session. Get your 10 percent.
*subject to maximum credits allowed be each state
How a Company Blog Gained 4 Million Users in 2 Years
Evernote, a software company based in California, revamped its Web site and blog, creating an appealing platform that has garnered a community of 4 million users, with an additional 300,000 to 400,000 visitors attracted to the blog each month. The question is, how can you take their success to improve your Web presence?
First of all, Evernote streamlined its Web site to focus on content, user feedback and social media links. The Web site home page shows three items to navigate to, including the blog, Noteworthy, which is chock full of information and an added twist of multimedia to attract and keep their target audiences of Evernote users and the technically savvy.
The site also includes Twitter and Facebook in the blog strategy and the company now boasts 52,000 Twitter followers and 33,000 Facebook fans. Categorizing posts by subject or interest keeps the content accessible to visitors who visit the blog. To top it off, the writing is sincere and conversational, with podcasts, user testimonials and step-by-step tips to keep the information usable.
To help you develop your social media strategies, NTA is offering four social media education sessions at Convention ’10 in Montreal, Quebec. Click here to learn more about the exciting speakers or here to preview the information social media expert Catherine Heeg will share. Don’t miss your chance to improve your online presence, register today for Convention ‘10.
The commitment to and investment in NTA that our DMOs and tour suppliers demonstrate throughout the year is truly amazing. Our Business Builder events-Convention, MONTAGE and CONTACT-wouldn’t be at the level they are without them, nor would our association’s monthly magazine, Courier.
Tour operators: Help show your appreciation by joining with Cathy Greteman in contributing to a tour supplier/DMO appreciation reception to be held at Convention ’10 in Montreal. These tour companies have already signed up to participate:
Academic Travel Abroad Inc.
Beyond Times Square Inc.
Cruises and Tours Worldwide
Destinations Unlimited, Inc.
Sports Leisure Vacations
Star Destinations Inc.
Thank you! We would like to recognize your company, too. To contribute, click here or contact Karla DiNardo at 1.800.682.8886, ext. 4232 (U.S. and Canada) or +1.859.226.4232.
Here’s a look at recent research, statistics and news that may apply to you and your business:
- Read about the body scan machines that are appearing at airports across United States.
- European passenger traffic up 6.3 percent during July.
- Two U.S. states report promising tourism growth: Hawaii and Maryland. How does your destination rank? Send your information to questions@ntastaff.com.
- Rotating strikes continue at Toronto hotels. Click here for more.
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.