NTA Members Report Strong Finish for Year |Easy Arrivals (and Departures) at Montage
February 15, 2011
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TODAY’S ARTICLES
NTA Members Report Strong Finish for Year
Easy Arrivals (and Departures) at Montage
Better Get Serious about Cybercrime
5 Factors That Motivate Most
Additional 67 Million Chinese Now Eligible for Travel to U.S.
Have You Boarded the New BusRates.com?
NTA’s Owners Network Meeting: Attend First, Join Later
Before You Bash Your Boss Online …
Nominate a Significant Site for the 2012 Tourism Cares Event
Make Contact with 100+ NTA Tour Operators in Newport, RI
Here’s How to Localize National Travel and Tourism Week
Be a Hosted Buyer at Tianguis Turistico
Industry News and Updates
NTA Job Center
NTA Members Report Strong Finish for Year
The Fourth Quarter 2010 Economic Snapshot Survey of NTA members is complete, and the findings are an exciting cap on a good year of recovery for the majority of members.
NTA tour operators and DMOs again reported increases in sales volume and/or visitors in the fourth quarter 2010 over the same quarter of 2009. The best news from the fourth quarter of 2010 was from NTA’s DMO members, who saw a 37 percent increase in visitors over the second quarter 2010—going from 51 percent reporting increases in the second quarter 2010 to 70 percent reporting increases in the fourth quarter! Tour suppliers were the only group that saw a slight decrease from the second quarter to the fourth quarter, with 55 percent reporting increases in the second quarter and 53 percent reporting increases in the fourth quarter 2010.
Thanks to all of you who took the time to complete their survey—your feedback is invaluable to your fellow NTA members! To see a complete summary of the fourth quarter findings, visit NTA online for a summary.
Easy Arrivals (and Departures) at Montage
Isn’t it beautiful? And, it’s not hard to get here!
Whether you’re participating in the Scotland Product Development Trip, coming to Scotland for Montage or thinking about both because you’re interested in the international market, we’ve made it quite easy to get to this beautiful destination. Find where you fit:
If you are participating in the Scotland PDT:
Arrival: Plan to arrive in Edinburgh on Friday, April 8. Fly into EDI airport, and there will be a transportation waiting to take you to the welcome dinner.
The PDT will end in Aberdeen the night before Montage begins. You will not need to worry about transportation going forward.
Departure: You may elect to depart from either Edinburgh (EDI) or Aberdeen (ABZ) airports.
For Edinburgh departures: Please don’t schedule your flight any earlier than the evening of Friday, April 15. We have a transfer shuttle to take you from the Montage host hotel to the Edinburgh (EDI) airport mid-morning.
For Aberdeen departures: Flights can be scheduled at your convenience. There are no shuttles provided for you to the airport, but you can take a taxi (and you can share rides with other Montage attendees). The host hotel is approximately 7 miles (11km) from the Aberdeen airport.
If you are not participating in the PDT, you can fly to Edinburgh or directly into Aberdeen. Here are some options:
If flying to Edinburgh:
Arrival: Upon arrival into Edinburgh, the recommended transfer option into Aberdeen is via train—it’s about a 2½-hour ride. Visit this Web site to view the train schedule and purchase a one-way ticket. (NTA will provide shuttle service back for your departure.) If you choose this option, you’ll have to take a cab (about 30 minutes) from the airport to the Edinburgh City Center for the ScotRail at Waverly. A one-way ticket should be no more than $15USD if purchased in advance (it is more for first class.) It will take you to the Aberdeen Railway Station on Guild Street. To get to the hotel, the station has the options for taxi, car hire services or a bus. The station is less than four miles from the hotel.
Departure: Please don’t schedule your flight any earlier than the evening of Friday, April 15. We have a transfer shuttle to take you from the Montage host hotel to the Edinburgh (EDI) airport mid-morning.
If flying through Aberdeen:
Arrival: Flights can be scheduled at your convenience and arrival should be planned for Monday, April 11. There are no shuttles provided for you to the hotel, but you can take a taxi. The host hotel is approximately 7 miles (11km) from the Aberdeen airport. (Look for an e-mail to attendees with more detailed information a few weeks before travel.)
Departure: Flights can be scheduled at your convenience. There are no shuttles provided for you to the airport, but you can take a taxi (and you can share rides with other Montage attendees). The host hotel is approximately 7 miles (11km) from the Aberdeen airport.
If you’re interested in the international travel market, already package international travel or are thinking about packaging the U.K in the future, then register for Montage! If not, we’ve got other Business Builders—Contact and Convention—that may be right for you.
And for a look at the seven top attractions in Aberdeen, go to page 30 in the February Courier!
Better Get Serious about Cybercrime
Computer hackers are targeting small businesses more than ever, due partly to the online availability of "attack tool kits," according to a story on Fox Business. A thief who acquires such a kit can capture usernames and passwords that business owners employ when accessing their bank account, which the thief later taps into. The tool kits actually expand cybercrime to unskilled thieves.
This story highlights the need for next Tuesday’s Webinar: Managing Your Cyber and Data Risk, presented on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 2 p.m. ET by Jeremy Ong, Division VP for Technology and Cyber Risk Insurance at Great American Insurance.
To participate in the Webinar, complete this registration form and fax it to NTA by Friday, Feb. 18, to secure your company’s spot. The cost is US$25 (payable by credit card). And if you’re a CTP or a CTP candidate, it’s free! If you have questions about the Webinar, please e-mail Lisa Thompson, NTA’s director of research and education.
A story in Sales & Marketing Business Brief shares the motivational triggers that salespeople respond to most readily, according to author Tom Hopkins. And while the story focuses on spurring a sales force, you might also relate these incentives to other types of work and personal behavior:
- Money: No surprise here. Cash is the carrot that’s most effective.
- Security: Holding on to a job means having a sense of purpose and a steady paycheck (see No.1).
- Achievement: Reaching a personal benchmark can be its own reward.
- Recognition: Receiving praise for behavior and the result is doubly satisfying.
- Acceptance: Feeling included and valued leads to loyalty.
To see the full story, click here.
Additional 67 Million Chinese Now Eligible for Travel to U.S.
The U.S. Department of Commerce recently announced another expansion of travel from China to the United States, adding provinces with 67 million more Chinese citizens to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by China and the United States (which allows Chinese leisure travelers to visit the United States in group tours). This third phase of the MOU expands its reach to include three additional Chinese provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, in addition to the 21 provinces included in the first two phases.
If you want to stay on top of this market and understand how the recent expansion and other factors affect the influx of Chinese leisure travelers to the U.S., be part of NTA’s China Travel Trade Barometer. You can sponsor at levels that include customized questions on the survey, or you can subscribe to receive the quarterly Barometer reports. Submit your order form today to receive NTA’s China Travel Trade Barometer. For questions, contact Lisa Thompson, NTA’s director of research and education, or Scott Johnson with Travel Market Insights.
By exhibiting at the COTTM U.S. Pavilion, you also can be out front in your promotions to the Chinese traveler. The China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market, scheduled for April 13–15, is the only show dedicated to outbound travel. Contact Ken Goode today to learn about cost-effective opportunities to participate. You can exhibit, have your brochures distributed, participate in post-COTTM trade activities and have your brochures translated and printed at the NTA Visit USA Center in Shanghai.
Have You Boarded the New BusRates.com?
Is your company looking to target the group tour industry? Would you like those tour groups to begin stopping at your hotel, restaurant, attraction or event? If the answer is yes, then get ready to meet the new BusRates.com! BusRates.com is expanding its industry-leading Charter Bus Operator Directory and will now include listings for hotels, events, attractions, restaurants, and all other group travel services and activities. Exclusive to NTA members: BusRates.com offers a three-month free trial, with no obligation to join.
From BusRates.com, group travel planners are able to build a full itinerary of suppliers and submit their information directly to your group sales manager.
In addition to your company and contact information, each posting will include:
- Location details and specifications
- Social media links
- YouTube videos
- Multiple photos
- Brochures
- Customer reviews
- And more!
Unlike other tour and travel directories, BusRates.com is open to all users, free of charge. Also, because of strong search engine optimization, BusRates.com had more than 119,000 site visits in January and averages more than 100,000 group planners each month throughout the year. This success is what has separated BusRates.com from the pack.
To get started, e-mail nta@busrates.com or call 866.375.0800. Have questions? Please contact Eric Elliott at 703.838.2955 or e-mail at eric@busrates.com.
NTA’s Owners Network Meeting: Attend First, Join Later
NTA’s Owners Network—a program designed for tour company owners and CEOs—will hold its first meeting of 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 11. Members of the Owners Network invite fellow owners to see for themselves the kind of knowledge sharing that takes place at these meetings—before making the investment to join.
Laurie Lincoln, CTP, president and CEO of Main Street Tours in Torrance, California, joined the Owners Network in 2010. She appreciates having a group of peers she can rely on for advice in running her business.
"The Owners Network has become one of the most valuable benefits to me as an NTA tour operator member," Lincoln said. "Before tackling some restructuring in our office last year, I turned to this group for their wealth of knowledge and expertise, and what I learned helped ensure our success."
Lincoln values the environment of openness. "The overall atmosphere during our meetings is one of trust," she said. "I highly recommend the Owners Network to any tour operator owner who is looking for a group to share ideas with on a peer-to-peer level."
If you’d like to sit in on the Phoenix meeting, please contact Lisa Thompson, NTA’s director of research and education, for more details. Your only investment is your travel costs. For more information on the Owners Network, visit NTA online.
Before You Bash Your Boss Online …
… check your company’s Internet policy. A story on Portfolio.com outlined the saga of a Connecticut woman fired for trash-talking her boss on Facebook. (The story, found here, gives the specific, coarse words she used.)
The woman’s job was restored after she claimed (in a lawsuit) her employer’s rules about Internet use were too broad and didn’t specifically spell out that blogging, Internet postings, and communications between employees were subject to company approval. Employers can avoid conflict and courtrooms by giving employees incentive to be company ambassadors, dealing with conflict in a timely way, and making sure workers understand the reach of Internet postings.
Portfolio.com also advises employers to cover the legalities of online interaction:
- Make it clear what’s acceptable in the office. Is it OK to access personal e-mail, Facebook and Twitter accounts at work?
- Create specific guidelines for staffers who tweet, blog, post, etc., as part of the job: writing product reviews, making comments about competitors and using information from other sources.
- Make sure employees understand they have no right to privacy over anything written, posted or retrieved from the Internet while using an employer’s computer.
Nominate a Significant Site for the 2012 Tourism Cares Event
Tourism Cares is taking nominations for the site of the 2012 Tourism Cares for America restoration project. Sites must be tourism-related and culturally or historically significant to the area. Got something in mind? If you’d like to suggest a destination, please e-mail Jessica Ahern for a full information packet.
Tourism Cares has led restoration projects at Ellis Island, New Orleans (before and after Katrina), Mount Vernon, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Virginia City, Gettysburg and Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. On May 5–6, Tourism Cares will bring volunteers to Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut, to shore up the shipbuilding center. For more information and to register for the event, please click here.
Make Contact with 100+ NTA Tour Operators in Newport, RI
"Over the years of sponsoring many travel industry events, I have found NTA’s tour operator events—like Contact—to provide the best return on my investment."
JeanPierre (JP) Dansereau, Contact ’11 Chair
Director of Travel Industry Sales
Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center
Member Since 1986
Suppliers and DMOs: 100 or more tour operator CEOs and principals will head to Newport, Rhode Island, August 1-3, for Contact ’11, NTA’s only tour-operator-exclusive event. Want access? Sponsorship is your ticket in.
Sponsorships are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis so call or e-mail Karla DiNardo at +1.859.226.4232 or karla.dinardo@NTAservicesinc.com today!
Here’s How to Localize National Travel and Tourism Week
It’s not too early to gear up for National Travel and Tourism Week, May 7–15, when the U.S. Travel Association wants you to champion the power of travel in your community. Check out their online tool kit, which includes excellent ideas and resources, including:
- Steps for staging a rally
- Social media tips
- Details about a Webinar series for advocating travel
- A list of ways to celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week
- A fact-packed answer sheet about the U.S. travel industry
U.S.Travel plans to expand the online toolkit as May approaches, so visit it often.
Canada’s National Tourism Week is slated for June 6–12; stay tuned for details.
Be a Hosted Buyer at Tianguis Turistico
Tianguis Turistico is Mexico’s premier tourism event for tour operators, wholesalers, corporate and incentive travel planners, charter operators, associations and travel agents. The trade show, March 25–28 in Acapulco Beach, will give buyers the opportunity to meet with more than 500 suppliers of Mexico’s tourism-related products and services in two and a half days of pre-scheduled business appointments.
Buyers can register by e-mail from now until March 4. All buyers should commit to sign a minimum of 20 appointments and attend at least 14; if not, a registration fee of $US200 will be charged. The Hosted Buyer Program offered this year includes the following:
- Air transportation (from hometown to Acapulco)
- Ground transportation (airport-hotel-airport)
- Accommodations in a 5-Star Hotel
- Hotel breakfast, plus lunch at Teotihuacan salon mezzanine
- Buyer badge with appointment schedule
Following confirmation, buyers will get additional information for special events and offers.
- Thirty five percent of 1,403 consumers surveyed by travelocity.com said they will increase their travel in 2011, and 37 percent plan to spend more for travel.
- Pegasus Solutions reports 2010 rise in hotel bookings, foresees more increases in 2011’s second quarter.
- Rapidly climbing fuel surcharges are adding significantly to the total cost of air travel—especially for long-haul flights and economy class travel.
Gulliver’s Travel Associates, one of the world’s leading wholesalers of hotels, ground products and services to the travel industry is seeking a seasoned Director of National Accounts to lead the strategic planning and National Accounts sales operations team. This position will have a high impact on the company revenue and margin of the company. The Director of National Accounts will evaluate, analyze and implement key partnerships, provide innovative thinking, work with the North America and the Global leadership teams to execute, plan and conduct statistical analysis. S/he will also establish and cultivate key business relationships. This includes utilizing statistical analysis to support partnerships, products and services; interpreting market research to identify new business areas and recommending opportunities operational efficiencies. S/he will also be responsible for periodic reporting and business insights. Qualified candidates will possess a BA with a focus on Business and between 4 to 7 years of experience in project management and/or business development and strategic planning. Travel industry experience is required. Please submit your resumes online to hr@gta-travel.com .
Gulliver’s Travel Associates, one of the world’s leading wholesalers of hotels, ground products, and services to the travel industry is seeking a Group Sales Manager to qualify and develop sales leads into a successful business project and, as a result, increase both revenue and profit within the sales and operations department. This key role involves working with existing clients to target high-yield repeat business, but also requires new opportunities within a market to be identified and actioned. Primary responsibilities will include negotiating and managing group customer accounts, achieving targets and objective sets, building on business within a market through personal contact, phone and regular e-mail updates. Qualified candidates will possess a BA with experience in a sales role within the travel or leisure industry; proven commercial awareness of hotel pricing, service and travel-industry issues; and product knowledge of leading European and worldwide group travel destinations. Please submit your resumes online to hr@gta-travel.com.
NTA Chief Representative in China (Shanghai)
Responsibilities:
Manage operations of the NTA Visit USA Center to achieve its three-fold purpose: developing education for both U.S. and Chinese trade, facilitating connections between U.S. and Chinese approved tour operators and agents, and marketing the U.S. as a tourism destination. - Develop and implement a business and marketing plan to achieve the vision and purpose of the center while expanding the business scope in China.
- Develop and implement the Center budget while maintaining a clear understanding of the Center’s bottom line so all budgetary goals are met and even exceeded.
- Coordinate trade shows and other marketing/promotional events in China, as well as organizing activities to the United States such as study tours.
- Supervise personnel to help effectively manage day-to-day operations of the Center.
Requirements:
- Bilingual in Chinese and English.
- Work experience in the United States is preferred.
For more information about this position, e-mail Haybina Hao, NTA’s director of international development.
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