Show of Shows in Orlando Jan. 19-23, 2013; NTAOnline Homepage Receives a Tune-up
July 13, 2010
Interested in advertising in Tuesday? E-mail Kelley Burchell at kelley.burchell@NTAstaff.com.
TODAY’S ARTICLES
Experience the Show of Shows in Orlando, Jan. 19-23, 2013
NTAOnline’s Homepage Received a Tune-up
Everyone Wins When NTA Grows
NTA Applauds House Agriculture Committee on Cuba Vote
NTA Unveils New Sponsorships in Montréal
Find Charter Bus Operators with BusRates.com
Still Time to Reach the Chinese Market
Five Ways to Update your Online Content
Use FedEx for Convention Shipping and Save
Gain Added Exposure in the October Convention issue of Courier
Industry News and Updates
Experience the Show of Shows in Orlando, Jan. 19-23, 2013
The first NTA-United Motorcoach Association co-located convention will be held in Orlando, Florida, January 19-23, 2013. This Show of Shows will be held at the Orange County Convention Center.
The Show of Shows will bring together 2,000 buyers with incredible supplier and destination partners. On top of that, the World Religious Travel Association Expo will continue to co-locate with NTA, creating maximum ROI from one convention experience.
NTAOnline’s Homepage Received a Tune-up
The NTAOnline homepage has a fresh look! From the new Quick Links box in the top-right corner to the Partner2Partner real-time feed of your posted content, NTAOnline.com is now more user-friendly. Here are some helpful navigating tips:
- The member log-in box is now at the top right.
- The quick links box will be updated with relevant, need-to-know links to internal pages.
- Get social! Find NTA on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and more. The icons to our social media pages are under the search button at the top right of each page.
- We love our tracking members! Look for a direct link to the tracking program in the middle of the homepage.
- Looking to build business with NTA members? Scroll down to our new Partner2Partner feed
featuring real-time member-to-member packages available through the Partner2Partner program!
Some internal upgrades have also been added to the site:
- A mapping feature has been added to the profile view screen. While viewing a member profile you can click on "Map It" and see a Google map of the company’s location.
- A link to the NTA Partner2Partner Web site has been added to the profile update so you can navigate to the Partner2Partner Web site easily while you’re updating your profile. Need help? We’ll do it for you! Send your packages to us today.
- Find members who track! On member profile pages, NTA members who track will have a green "I Track" icon next to their company logo.
Play around on the new homepage and let us know what you think!
Thank you to all our members who participated in the June Member Referral Month. NTA welcomed 22 members in June. Click here to see the new member list.
Congratulations to our NTA member winners:
- Lisa Sjolund of VisitBritain wins a full-page ad in Courier.
- Pascale Tremblay of Tourisme Laurentides wins ½-page ad in Courier.
- Rachel LeFevre of Jazz At Lincoln Center wins a banner ad on NTAOnline.com.
- Tanya Andrews at the Claremore CVB wins a banner ad in Tuesday.
- Jim Reddekopp from Earth Bound Tours receives a banner ad on the Partner2Partner Web site.
- Pam Duigou at West Edmonton Mall wins a free 2011 MONTAGE registration.
- Allen Glander of Main Street Tours wins a free 2011 CONTACT registration.
- Hui Shao at GH Tours and Travel wins a free 2011 Convention registration.
- Damian Humphrey of WIRTA Hospitality Worldwide receives an enhanced listing in the 2011 Membership Directory.
Remember, we welcome member referrals year-round. In fact, for each referral you send us that becomes a member, you will receive a US$25 gift card and be entered to win 2011 NTA dues! Every member you bring in strengthens your association, so dig through your contact list and send Lori Rempe some names.
NTA Applauds House Agriculture Committee on Cuba Vote
NTA supports the House Agriculture Committee on its successful vote to release HR 4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, which will make unlimited travel to Cuba more of a possibility.
NTA congratulates and thanks the Agriculture Committee, its chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minnesota), bill co-sponsor Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), the co-sponsors of HR 874, the Freedom to Travel to Cuba bill, Bill Delahunt (R-Massachusetts) and Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) and House Tourism Caucus co-chair Sam Farr (D-California), a key co-sponsor of both bills. Farr also accompanied NTA and the United States Tour Operators Association to New York to speak to the national media in September 2009 on this issue.
NTA pledges to continue to work closely with its partners from commerce, agriculture, human rights and travel to see the legislation through the House and Senate, then to President Obama’s desk for signature.
NTA Unveils New Sponsorships in Montréal 
Whether you’ve seen the 40-foot raft at NTA, eaten one of the delicious cookies from the cookie cart, used the hand sanitizer at registration, or taken an aspirin from the Convenience Station, NTA prides itself on creating custom sponsorships designed to meet your marketing objectives and budget. We are pleased to announce the following available sponsorships for NTA’s Convention ’10 in Montréal (Nov. 13-17). By sponsoring, you’ll reach 400+ NTA tour operators and an additional 250 travel agents attending our co-located World Religious Travel Association’s EXPO.
- Escalator Banners—Your logo is certain to be seen on all five escalator locations
- Convention Daily Title sponsorship—Includes daily factoids about your property/destination, plus a bonus seminar
- Massage Booth—Give tour operators a place to relax and remember you for their pampering
- Delegate Notebooks—Used at Convention and beyond, emblazoned with your logo
- Time clock and Scoreboard—There’s no missing your logo hovering over the massive Convention floor
- Message Center or Wireless Zone—A popular place on the Convention floor where delegates can check messages, emails and more
- Opening Ceremony—High-energy event sure to give your company premium marketing exposure
- Sticky Notes—Placed on every tour operator’s table, your logo is sure to be seen
For these and more opportunities, we encourage you to check out our newly released sponsorship brochure, or contact Karla DiNardo at 800.682.8886, ext. 4232 (U.S. and Canada) or +1.859.226.4232.
Find Charter Bus Operators with BusRates.com 
Visit BusRates.com to research and request quotes from UMA charter bus operator members. As one of NTA’s strategic partners, NTA and UMA are always working together for more opportunities for both memberships and this Web site presents a perfect opportunity.
Visit BusRates.com to find information on equipment types, safety ratings, amenities and, get quotes from UMA motorcoach providers. UMA is made up of more than 1,100 members located across North America, with more than 850 charter and tour bus operator members who provide transportation services in all 50 states, Canada and Mexico.
NTA tour operators also will gain exposure to the consumers visiting BusRate.com. UMA has put an NTA logo on the homepage of the site, encouraging visitors to click on the logo to find an NTA tour operator. For more information on BusRates.com, visit their site at http://www.busrates.com/ or contact Eric Elliott. Learn more about UMA by visiting http://www.uma.org/.
Still Time to Reach the Chinese Market
Develop relationships with local tourism authorities and travel agencies, identify potential partners and explore market opportunities in the outbound travel and tourism market in second tier cities of China by exhibiting at the U.S. Commercial Service U.S. Tourism Road Shows to be held Aug. 18-25, 2010. The shows will be based in the Eastern, Northeastern and Western regions of China. Participants will include U.S. Convention and Visitors Bureaus, state tourism agencies, airlines, hoteliers, tour operators and other tourism suppliers. The deadline to reserve one of the limited spots is August 5. Click here to see cost details and contact information.
Five Ways to Update your Online Content
Have you ever considered starting a blog for your company, but have no idea whether you can maintain it regularly? Use the following ideas from Mack Collier, a social media consultant, trainer and speaker who specializes in helping companies use social media to better connect with customers, to put your fears to rest.
- White papers. If you are writing material for a non-blog audience, tweak it a bit and you could have months of blog content that is both interesting and useful to your followers.
- Internal Powerpoint presentations. If information isn’t confidential, it is fair game for a blog. Add the presentations to SlideShare and then embed them on your blog. Each deck can be a separate blog post. Just add a quick explanation and there you go.
- Video interviews with company executives and customers. Embed videos of your staff into posts on your blog, or even your YouTube channel. Make your readers feel a sense of connection to your company by getting to know you.
- Industry Events and Conferences. You can create a huge amount of content at industry events, benefiting your blog and other social media efforts. First, take pictures. You can create hours of video about the event itself. Interview thought leaders and company executives about the event, and show entire speeches. Finally, you can write a blog post recapping the event itself.
- Answer questions from your customers. Many Web sites have a section or contact form where you can ask a question about the company, its products or both. Mine these questions for potential blog post ideas.
Use FedEx for Convention Shipping and Save 
Need to ship your convention materials to Montreal? Count on FedEx to deliver. NTA members based in the United States can use their FedEx discounts on select shipments to Canada (and more than 220 other countries and territories). There are no costs or minimum requirements to take advantage of this great member benefit. Support an NTA Corporate Partner and save on your convention shipping! To enroll and set up your shipment, call 1-800-MEMBERS (1.800.636.2377, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. EST, Monday-Friday).
Gain Added Exposure in the October Convention issue of Courier 
One of the best ways to gain exposure to the tour operator audience every fall is by advertising in the October Convention issue. This informative and widely-read Convention-focused issue is always a great way to get your company or destination in front of tour operators at this key buying time.
This issue receives bonus distribution at the 2010 Convention to NTA and WRTA attendees. This is the only issue of Courier that receives bonus exposure to the WRTA audience.
In addition to the important information about Convention that will be included in this issue, you will find editorial features showcasing the Great Plains (Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, North Dakota and South Dakota) as well as London and Paris. Travel guides will highlight Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Courier was once again rated as the #1 valued magazine in the industry by our NTA tour operators. Additionally, when we asked our operators if they could choose only one travel industry publication, they once again voted Courier the #1 choice-beating the nearest competitor by 26 percent!
The deadline to be included is July 28 so contact your account executive at 800.682.8886, ext. 4241 (U.S. and Canada) or +1.859.226.4241 today.
Here’s a look at recent research, statistics and news that may apply to you and your business:
- European passenger traffic up 5.4% during May 2010 according to the ‘ACI Europe Airport Traffic Report – May 2010,’ which includes data from 117 airports which represent nearly 80 percent of total European passenger traffic.
- Check out the Gulf Coast page on NTAOnline.com for links to all affected state Web sites and information on the Gulf Coast Oil Spill.
- Today, charges for U.S. passports go up. That means a passport for those 16 and over will rise from $100 to $135. Travelers under 16 pay $105, up from $85. Passport cards, which can be used to travel by land or sea to and from Canada, Mexico and non-U.S. parts of the Caribbean, will cost more, too-$55 for adults, up from $45; $40 for a minor, up from $35.
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.
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