Tuesday Newsletter – March 30, 2010
March 30, 2010
Volume 30, Issue 13
Interested in advertising in Tuesday? E-mail Kelley Burchell at kelley.burchell@NTAstaff.com.
TODAY’S ARTICLES
MONTAGE Memo 13: Educate / Educar
U.S.-Cuba Travel Summit a Success
National Parks Week is Coming up, Let NTA Tell Your Story
NTA Urges Senate Foreign Relations Committee to Allow Video Visa Interviews
Tourism Cares and Travel South Restore Civil Rights Trail
OTTI 2009 Report: 54.9 Million International Visitors Traveled to U.S. in 2009
NTA President Lisa Simon Southeast Tourism Society Keynote Speaker
Jordan Extension Added to Egypt Product Development Trip
Learn Some Trivia and Discover Historic Homes in the April Courier
Update on British Airways Strike
Reach Religious Travel Buyers through NTA’s Special Offer
MONTAGE Memo 13: Educate / Educar 
Learn. Expand. Grow.
Whether it’s social media trends, green travel, tips for working with travel agents or business and product development, MONTAGE seminar sessions offer takeaways for professional development and to help boost your bottom line.
Speaker Catherine Heeg (she spoke at Convention ’09) will be presenting a three-part session on social media. Want a preview? Here’s her podcast.
DMOs/Suppliers: Putting a twist on the popular Convention "Ask the Tour Operator" sessions, at MONTAGE these seminars have suppliers on one panel followed by DMOs on the other panel with the tour operators in the audience "asking the supplier" and "asking the destination." These are opportunities to hear what your seller colleagues are doing, as well as another chance to network with tour operators and educate them on your destination/product. There’s also the "New Rules in Sales and Customer Relations" crackerbarrel targeted specifically to DMOs and suppliers.
Tour Operators: Scott Koepf, president of NTA strategic partner the National Association of Career Travel Agents, is presenting a must-attend session on how you can work with travel agents to find a new distribution channel and enhance your business. Peter Krahenbuhl with Sustainable Travel International, another NTA partner, will share how green practices can actually have a great return on investment. And, fellow NTA tour operators are presenting business and product development sessions on Africa, China and India.
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.
No restrictions on attendance. No Boundaries to Selling. That’s MONTAGE.
U.S.-Cuba Travel Summit a Success
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The U.S.-Cuba Travel Summit, presented by Alamar Associates in association with NTA and sponsored by USTOA, concluded Friday after three days of relevant and informative presentations from top Cuban officials and local travel specialists on the state of tourism and opportunity for investment in Cuba.
Speaking to the value and productivity of the event, Summit attendee Phil Sheldon with Florida-based Hanns Ebensten Travel and Alyson Adventures said, "I had private face time with the CEOs of the top six Cuban travel companies. There will clearly be challenges on both sides once travel opens up, but I feel like a 747 waiting to take off-revving up the engines and waiting for clearance to release the brakes! Once travel is open for all Americans, I want to be ready, and now I know that I am."
Highlights from the Summit include:
- Attendees were able to connect with or hear from Cuban travel leaders, including Jose Miguel Diaz, president of Cubanacan; Luis Miguel Diaz Escrich, president of Marinas Marlin; Norma Estrada, vice president of Gran Caribe; Abelardo Fernandez, president of Palmares; Rigoberto Julia, vice president of Gaviota; and Xiomara Martinez, president of Havanatur. These companies operate hotels, ground transportation, receptive services and excursions within Cuba.
- Senator Byron Dorgan (D–North Dakota) addressed the Summit by teleconference and expressed his confidence that the current bill (S 428), which authorizes open U.S. travel to Cuba, could meet the 60 vote threshold required in the U.S. Senate this year, giving the conference extra momentum. He asked the Cuban delegates to assist the movement of the legislation by helping to resolve controversies that could impede passage.
- Cuban Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz outlined the growth of hotel room inventory, including many four-and-five star properties and a significant number of joint projects with international investors, expansion of Cuba’s airports from three to 10, a fleet of motorcoaches and over 10,000 rental cars, fishing and sailing vessels, beaches along all the shores, cultural and heritage sites and a variety of eco-tourism sites.
For more information click here to read official NTA releases on the Summit. Also, see a sampling of the news coverage on the event from the Associated Press, The New York Times and Bloomberg Business News.
National Parks Week is Coming up, Let NTA Tell Your Story 
Did you know that National Parks Week is April 17–25? This presidentially proclaimed week is designed to celebrate the U.S. National Parks. Best of all, entrance to U.S. National parks is free for the duration of the week. This year’s focus is on fitness and April 24 is Junior Ranger Day, the perfect time for families to have some outdoor fun together.
Tell NTA how you or your company is taking advantage of National Parks Week. Do you have special tours planned or groups scheduled specifically because of it? Have you had a special experience or trip to an unusual or little-known park? NTA wants to tell your story to the media. Contact NTA Public Relations Specialist Madeline Vied at 800.682.8886 or +1.859.226.4275 so we can share the great work you do.
Also, don’t forget Canada’s Parks Day on July 17. Canada’s Parks Day will recognize the International Year of Biodiversity as well as the 125th anniversary of the creation of Banff, Canada’s first national park. Starting in May, the Parks Day Web site will have event information.
NTA Urges Senate Foreign Relations Committee to Allow Video Visa Interviews
NTA, as well as other travel sector organizations, is focused on the successful implementation of the Travel Promotion Act. With as much as US$100 million annually coming to the new Corporation for Travel Promotion from matching funds from the Electronic System for Travel Authorization fees, it will be important that barriers to travel into the United States be minimal, while still being secure.
NTA requests that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee include language allowing the Department of State to test and then use video conference interviews as "in person" qualifying interviews, similar to an action taken in the House of Representatives, thereby stimulating many more international visitors. Any video conference interviews should be held in secure locations under State Department approved procedures.
The single biggest obstacle for international travelers from non-visa waiver countries is likely to be the "in person" interview requirement for a visa. For those who live in or near cities with a U. S. embassy or consulate this does not pose much of a problem. Others, however, who live thousands of miles away from such an office, in a country like China or Brazil, are required to "make a trip" to "take a trip." With all travelers having to be interviewed "in person," it can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars just for the interview—a big deterrent to visiting the United States.
Tourism Cares and Travel South Restore Civil Rights Trail 
Tourism Cares, NTA’s official philanthropy, is partnering with Travel South USA to raise funds for the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail, which documents the events of the civil rights movement in Alabama in the 1960s using signs and displays at sites of historic significance around Birmingham. The trail routes include:
- "The March to Government" route opened in February. It traces the footsteps of the marchers protesting Birmingham’s segregated city code.
- "The March to Retail" includes 22 signs that chronicle African Americans gaining access to restaurants, department stores, buses and other places of business.
- A third route commemorates 35 sites downtown where strategic planning for the civil rights movement occurred, including the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, Sardis Baptist Church, the Gaston Motel, Phillips High School, City Hall and the Masonic Temple.
Funds will be raised by selling Tourism Cares wristbands on site at the 2010 Travel South Showcase in Birmingham and at tourismcares.org/. Travel South USA and Tourism Cares will each match all donations up to US$5,000.
OTTI 2009 Report: 54.9 Million International Visitors Traveled to U.S. in 2009
The U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Travel and Tourism Industries released its 2009 U.S. inbound visitation report last week. While international arrivals to the United States were down five percent, visitation was up five percent in Dec. 2009 compared to Dec. 2008, marking the third straight month of increased travel to the United States.
While these increases are promising, there is lost ground to make up. Successful implementation of the Travel Promotion Act and enacting change such as allowing in-person visa interviews to take place via secure video conferencing are important steps in gaining ground.
In 2009, seven of the top 20 U.S. arrival markets posted increases, with Brazil and Argentina registering double-digit increases. To view the full 2009 Annual Visitation Report, click here.
NTA President Lisa Simon Southeast Tourism Society Keynote Speaker
NTA President Lisa Simon, CTP, spoke at the Southeast Tourism Society Spring Meeting as its opening ceremony keynote Monday, March 22. The theme was Refresh, Renew and Recharge, and Lisa tied that theme to the new economic climate we are starting to see in the industry.
Travel surveys show that people are traveling or they intend to travel. NTA tour operator members reported that business is growing, in part due to "pent-up demand." Lisa also shared how NTA is helping affect change in the industry through grassroots efforts, work in Washington DC to support passage of the Travel Promotion Act and newly introduced TRIP Act and the Visit USA Center in Shanghai which will open in May. Finally, Lisa left the group with five tips on how to recharge a business in a recovering economy:
- Nurture the Old— Take care of the customers and business partners you already have.
- Build the New—Look into new niche markets and trends.
- Differentiate yourself—Showcase what you do that no one else does.
- Get involved—Volunteer or become a leader in the industry to gain notoriety.
- Be Smart—There is no excuse in today’s connected world to not be "in the know." Read newsletters, magazines, newspapers, blogs, etc. to stay on top of the news and trends.
Jordan Extension Added to Egypt Product Development Trip
NTA’s Discover Egypt Product Development Trip has added an exciting extension option—a five-day trip to Jordan. For an additional US$475 per person (shared room, flight not included) you can add Jordan to your list of new products!
The Egypt PDT takes place Sept. 2–10 and the Jordan add-on is Sept. 10-14. Registration for the Egypt PDT is US$890 (shared room, flight not included) and, if you bring at least six customers back to the PDT host (Big Five Tours & Expeditions), the cost of your Egypt PDT will be rebated.
Go to NTAonline.com for full itineraries on both portions of the PDT or to register by the June 30 deadline. Contact Lisa Thompson with questions.
Learn Some Trivia and Discover Historic Homes in the April Courier
Did you know that George Washington is seen as the father of the American whiskey industry? Or that Sept. 16 is Mexican Independence Day and this year it will mark the 200th anniversary of the call to arms that began the Mexican War of Independence in 1810? Or that the Metropolitan Museum in New York City has a collection of rare baseball cards and the oldest piano in existence?
All of these facts are part of stories that appear in the April issue of Courier. This month’s feature articles cover gardens and historic homes, and the destination spotlights include updates from the U.S. Antebellum South, New York City, France, Mexico, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. In the business section, 2010 Convention Chair Dawn Rueckl, CTP, looks ahead to this year’s Convention in Montréal, Québec, Nov. 13 to 17.
Advertisers in this issue:
The Berkley Group (TPP)—Bank of America—Casa Loma—Empire State Building Observatory—Pensacola CVB
Upcoming Deadlines:
July Issue—Ad Space: April 28; Editorial: Past; Zoos & Aquariums; Faith-based Travel; Southern California; Classic New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island & Vermont); Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia; Kentucky; Ohio; Tennessee; West Virginia.
August Issue—Ad Space: May 26; Editorial: May 3; Theaters; Faith-based Travel; Greece & Turkey; Pacific Northwest (British Columbia, Oregon and Washington); Illinois; Indiana; Michigan; Minnesota; Ontario;Wisconsin.
September Issue—Ad Space: June 30; Editorial: June 7; Museums; Sightseeing Rail; Ski Resorts & Destinations; Alaska & Yukon; Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma & Texas); Germany, Switzerland & Austria. Georgia; Florida; North Carolina; South Carolina.
Please click here to view the 2010 Editorial Calendar online.
Update on British Airways Strike
The 12,000 British Airways flight attendants who are a part of Unite, the UK’s leading union and official union of British Airways, will end their second strike at midnight (GMT) March 30.
Disruption of flights has been focused on London’s Heathrow airport, with the capital’s Gatwick and City airports unaffected. Unite predicts that British Airways’ loss from the walkout will total 100 million pounds. If no agreement is made between the two parties there will be another strike in mid-April. The cabin crew has agreed to not strike over Easter weekend.
To stay on top of the strike and to make sure your flight or your customers’ flights are not canceled, click here for British Airways’ official Web site.
Reach Religious Travel Buyers through NTA’s Special Offer
Just one of the many benefits of NTA membership is the opportunity to gain visibility to religious travel buyers through our strategic partnership with the World Religious Travel Association. This expanded audience can be reached by advertising in WRTA’s annual Buyers Guide which will be published June 2010. It will be distributed to 10,000 travel agents, tour operators, religious travel planners and church organizations and e-mailed to an additional 36,000 travel professionals. Additionally, NTA will once again feature a faith-based travel article in the July issue of Courier magazine. By advertising in both publications, you have an effective marketing reach to this huge audience through two different leading industry associations.
Through our alliance with WRTA, we are able to offer NTA members the one-of-a-kind opportunity to purchase any size display advertisement in either publication and automatically receive half off the second publication (any size ad). Space must be reserved by April 15 to qualify for this package deal. Please contact us at 800.682.8886, ext. 4241 (U.S. and Canada) or +1.859.226.4241 to reserve your space or to obtain pricing and sizing information.
Click here for the Tuesday archive.