Tuesday Newsletter – March 23, 2010
March 23, 2010
Volume 30, Issue 12
Interested in advertising in Tuesday? E-mail Kelley Burchell at kelley.burchell@NTAstaff.com.
TODAY’S ARTICLES
MONTAGE Memo 12: Commit / Comprometer
Vote to Save Our Sites
ATA and NTA, What This Partnership Means to You
Travel Leaders Meet with U.S. Secretary LaHood
Don’t Forget Haiti
NTA Leaders on the Road
Gay & Lesbian Tourism Conference
REMINDER: ESTA Compliance Now Mandatory
Ideas for Your Facebook Fan Page
New USTA Meetings, Incentives and Trade Shows Council
MONTAGE Memo 12: Commit / Comprometer 
Commit to broadening your markets
European travel is back, according to the March 5 Travel Weekly. Tour operators interviewed for the story reported sales increases in European travel ranging from 50 to 90 percent. The article also points to trends that show "other long-haul destinations throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East are feeling the uptick too."
MONTAGE is less than a month away and the timing couldn’t be better from a market standpoint. Register today and commit to expanding your connections and offering the products that travelers are looking for now.
DMOs/Suppliers: More international tour operators are registering for MONTAGE each day. This is your time to introduce your destination to the world and forge those partnerships that will bring in business now and in the future.
Commit today and expand your contacts around the world. Sign up for MONTAGE.
MONTAGE is just one of the many ways NTA expands buying and selling opportunities for our members. Register and find out where your membership can take you.
To get the most exposure at MONTAGE, take advantage of sponsorship opportunities to receive a variety of benefits including complimentary registration fees and promotions before, during and after the event. Contact NTA Sponsorship Manager Melisa-Beth Rooke at 800.662.8886 (U.S. and Canada) or +1.859.219.3549 to reserve your sponsorship today!
No restrictions on attendance. No Boundaries to Selling. That’s MONTAGE.
Tourism Cares announces the opening of the Save Our Sites grantee voting on the Tourism Cares Web site, http://www.tourismcares.org/. The program, in its second year, invites the travel industry and traveling public to vote for a site in need of care they would like to see supported with grant funding.
The Save Our Sites program, initiated through collaborative work between NTA and Tourism Cares, gives travellers an opportunity to make donations while on vacation to give back to preserve and enhance natural, historic and cultural sites around the world that are important to save for future generations. Tourism Cares is pleased to announce the following five organizations eligible for Save Our Sites voting:
Glacier National Park Fund: Trails Forever Fund
Cuyahoga Valley National Park Association: Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center (CVEEC)
Friends of Acadia: Restoring the bog in the Wild Gardens of Acadia
Joshua Tree National Park Association: Key’s Ranch Restoration
To vote for a site you would like to see supported with a Save Our Sites grant, click here.
ATA and NTA, What This Partnership Means to You 
NTA facilitates buying and selling by giving you access to new markets. Through strategic partnerships, like NTA’s relationship with the Africa Travel Association, you can make the connections you need to expand your business.
Travelers crave authentic experiences, and Africa delivers on this desire. ATA Executive Director Edward Bergman said, "As one of the world’s fastest-growing trael marketplaces, the African continent offers industry trade professionals a diverse range of travel opportunities and products."
Even in the recent down economy, Africa has seen growth in visitors. Through the NTA-ATA partnership you have several benefits that can put you in touch with African travel specialists to help you learn about that market and develop new business to boost your bottom line. NTA member benefits include:
- 50% discount on ATA membership
- ATA member rates at their events (even without joining ATA)
Click here to read about the ATA strategic partnership in the March issue of Courier magazine. To see the full list of NTA strategic partners, click here.
NTA would love to hear your success stories with any of our strategic partners. Please send them to Kate Bunnell.
Travel Leaders Meet with U.S. Secretary LaHood 
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood met with travel sector leaders to discuss the federal highway reauthorization bill, improved air transportation and air traffic control, and more intermodal transportation services. The event was hosted by the Congressional Travel and Tourism Caucus, co-chaired by Representatives Sam Farr (D-CA) and Roy Blunt (R-MO).
In photo (l to r) are LaHood; George Fertitta, president of NYC & Company; Roger Dow, president of U.S. Travel; and the Honorable Jim Santini, legislative counsel for NTA.
Although the news stories are fading and the telethons are over, the people in Haiti still need your help. To see how you can help Haiti, click here. Visit http://www.haititourisme.com/ for information about the current relief efforts in Haiti.
NTA Chairman and CEO Cathy Greteman and NTA President Lisa Simon, CTP, spend their time representing NTA at numerous events.
Through NTA’s relationship with the Indian Association of Tour Operators, Cathy was in India last week to speak to the Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India. She made three presentations: one to a group of Indian tourism officials and two others to an audience of domestic tour operators.
While Cathy returned to the United States, Lisa represented NTA at the Southeast Tourism Society Spring Meeting as the keynote speaker at their opening ceremony. She discussed the current economic state of the travel industry using feedback from operators and industry studies. The feedback was great from both events. To have Lisa or Cathy speak at your event, please contact NTA PR Specialist Madeline Vied.
Gay & Lesbian Tourism Conference
Community Marketing’s 11th International Conference on Gay & Lesbian Tourism will be held at the beautifully renovated Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, Oct. 24-26. This unique educational and networking opportunity draws the leaders of tourism, hospitality and travel industries who are involved in-or interested in-increasing their gay and lesbian market share.
Educational programs include a comprehensive orientation session to the market for newcomers, plus two full days of panel discussions and workshops about gay/lesbian independent travel, meetings and events, sales and marketing, keynotes about gay market demographics and trends plus meals and fun social receptions.
Network with and learn from leading travel suppliers and representatives of gay-welcoming destinations. Attendees come away with a broad comprehension of possibilities, and practical steps to reach and serve this increasingly important niche market.
The International Conference on Gay & Lesbian Tourism is a production of Community Marketing Inc., the global leader in LGBT market research and communications. Sponsors and partners include American Airlines, Qantas, Travelocity, Las Vegas CVA, Passport Magazine and the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association, an NTA strategic partner.
For more information and registration, click here.
Be sure to enter "nta2010" in the "Discount Code" box, for a $50 member discount.
REMINDER: ESTA Compliance Now Mandatory
The U.S. Customs and Board Protection is now enforcing the requirement that residents of U.S. Visa Waiver Program countries must register through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization prior to traveling to the United States.
ESTA is an electronic travel authorization that all citizens of Visa Waiver countries must obtain prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea to the United States. ESTA has been mandatory since Jan. 12, 2009. The requirement does not affect U.S. citizens returning from overseas or citizens of countries traveling on a valid U.S. visa.
ESTA applications may be submitted at any time prior to travel and, once approved, are valid for up to two years or until the passport expires and are valid for multiple entries into the United States. The Department of Homeland Security recommends that ESTA applications be submitted as soon as an applicant begins making travel plans.
Visa Waiver Program travelers are required to log onto the official ESTA Web site at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/ and complete an on-line application.
Ideas for Your Facebook Fan Page 
Now that you have signed up for a Facebook Fan page for your business, what do you do to make it useful for your customers? See the three ideas below to help make your fan site go viral:
- Make it interactive: When your customers go to your site, consider having something for them to do. Have customers load pictures showing them using your product or enjoying your destination. This is a great way to interact with customers while obtaining free, user-generated content.
- To really push your page, create a flash page within your Fan page. Click here for an example.
- Promote special offers to your Facebook fans. Posting Facebook-only specials provides new content for your page and attracts future customers.
By harnessing these tips you can create a Facebook Fan page that furthers your company’s goals and relates to your customers.
Click here to see last week’s article on what to do when a negative post appears on your Facebook wall.
New USTA Meetings, Incentives and Trade Shows Council
The U.S. Travel Association has launched the Meetings, Incentives and Trade Shows Council to establish the value of these business segments in the minds of opinion leaders, policymakers and business leaders. The council’s agenda also serves to drive a proactive legislative agenda that increases domestic meetings, incentives and trade show activity; produce new industry advocates and allies; and expand the U.S. Travel Political Action Committee to include significant contributions from the meetings, incentive and trade show industry.
For more information or to see the list of board members, click here.
Click here for the Tuesday archive.