Video of New Chinese Center Becomes a Hot ‘Potato’ | ‘Not Your Father’s NTA’
December 7, 2010
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TODAY’S ARTICLES
Video of New Chinese Center Becomes a Hot ‘Potato’
‘Not Your Father’s NTA’
Where Is NTA Taking Travel? Next Year, Scotland, Rhode Island and Las Vegas
Hotels: Check Out New ADA Requirements
Help Tourism Cares Keep Mystic Seaport Shipshape
9 Ways to Boost Your Bottom Line in 2011
Join the 60th Celebration in Courier
How to Grow Your Business with Smart Phone Technology
Partner Up with Go-green Organization
Industry News and Updates
NTA Job Center
Video of New Chinese Center Becomes a Hot ‘Potato’
A video news report on the Nov. 20 opening of the NTA Visit USA Center has received 293,852 hits so far at Tudou.com. Tudou, which means potato in Chinese, is the Chinese equivalent of YouTube.
Admittedly more engaging if you speak Chinese (NTA President Lisa Simon doesn’t, so she speaks in English at the 1:17 mark), the video’s click-through rates reflect the many studies that show just how interested the Chinese are in traveling to the United States.
"I’m not surprised by the number of hits," said Haybina Hao, NTA’s director of international development (who does speak Chinese, by the way). "There are four times more people in China! Also, NTA and traveling to the United States are such hot topics there."
Simon and Hao attended the event, welcoming a contingent of Chinese and U.S. tourism officials and journalists.
"They’re packed and ready to travel," said Simon of the burgeoning Chinese tourist market. "They’re just trying to decide where to go. We’re working to bring them to the U.S."
The NTA Visit USA Center has three priorities: (1) educating both the U.S. and Chinese trade; (2) facilitating connections between U.S. and Chinese-approved tour operators and agents; and (3) marketing the United States as a tourism destination. The center also provides an opportunity for Chinese travel agents to learn about leisure group travel and the China Inbound Program.
For more information on the center, see this Nov. 23 Tuesday story.
In case you didn’t get a chance to chat with NTA President Lisa Simon in Montréal, Jeff Gayduk did—and he’s sharing his conversation online. Gayduk, publisher of LeisureGroupTravel.com, asks Simon about NTA’s international initiatives and newest Business Builder events, and the appeal of the association to North American tour suppliers and DMOs.
In his accompanying article, Gayduk writes:
The association has opened up its borders in recent years with an aggressive worldwide expansion as it seeks new business opportunities for domestic tour operators sending travelers overseas, while providing new business for North American destinations seeking to increase their share of inbound travelers.
This shift is most evident at Convention with international destination pavilions, and inbound and outbound international tour companies taking appointments. This is not your father’s NTA.
Watch the video now:
Where Is NTA Taking Travel? Next Year, Scotland, Rhode Island and Las Vegas
As you’re unwrapping new calendars (and budgets) for 2011, be sure to include NTA’s Business Builder events, designed to give you more business, new contacts and diverse product.
- Montage, Aberdeen, Scotland, April 12-14: Casual networking; serious business—Montage helps NTA buyers and sellers forge new relationships and partners around the world.
- Contact, Newport, Rhode Island, Aug. 1-3: Our newest North American event, offering operator-to-operator business and three education tracks—CEO/owner, sales & marketing, and operations.
- NTA Product Development Trips. Destinations and suppliers, this is your avenue for introducing your destinations and properties to NTA tour operators through firsthand experience. PDTs for 2011 include
– Splendid China, Feb. 16-24
– Explore Saskatchewan, Aug. 30-Sep. 4
– Exotic Land of Morocco, Nov. 3-13 - Convention ’11, Las Vegas, Dec. 5-9: Hands down, the most diverse group of buyers and sellers of any industry travel show—and this one’s in Vegas!
Hotels: Check Out New ADA Requirements
Starting in January 2012, U.S. hotels will have new regulations to help individuals with disabilities reserve appropriate, accessible guest rooms. Updating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the U.S. Department of Justice issued three new requirements for hotel reservation systems. Hotels must:
- Identify the specific features of their accessible guest rooms, along with information about accessible—and inaccessible—areas of the hotel in general.
- Hold back their accessible rooms until there are no other rooms to sell.
- Remove any reserved accessible room from their reservation system to ensure against double-booking.
Hotel companies should begin assessing their reservation systems now because, while 2012 seems far off in the future, the new requirements might involve significant system reconfiguration.
Help Tourism Cares Keep Mystic Seaport Shipshape
Show your commitment to preserving the travel experience by becoming a sponsor for the 2011 Tourism Cares for Mystic Seaport volunteer project. From merchandise to t-shirts, there are sponsorship opportunities that let you get involved and show your support. Click here for more information.
Tourism Cares volunteers will help Mystic Seaport staff complete tasks that would otherwise fall by the wayside. Volunteers will be involved in a number of projects throughout the 40 acres of property including roofing, painting, landscaping, ship maintenance and more. For sponsorship details, contact Jessica Ahern at Tourism Cares.
9 Ways to Boost Your Bottom Line in 2011
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Mine the member searches on NTAonline.com for potential partners.
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Buy and sell with your fellow NTA members online through Partner2Partner.
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Take advantage of NTA Business Builder events (Montage, Contact, Convention ’11 and Product Development Trips) to forge partnerships, build more business, add to your list of contacts and expand your industry knowledge.
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Use the research and social media tips from Tuesday and Courier.
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Save money through NTA corporate partner benefits.
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Renew or sign up for your subscription to "The Trend." (It was free to all members in 2010 only.)
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Rev up your education—check out the new CTP discount.
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Renew your NTA membership. It’s the only way to access numbers 1 though 8.
Join the 60th Celebration in Courier
Help us celebrate NTA’s 60 years of rich history and high standards in the February issue. Show your support by purchasing ad space in the magazine that is preferred by tour operators nearly 3 to 1 over the other industry publications. Courier also enjoys an average pass-along rate of 3.3, with NTA tour operator readership of nearly 5,000. There’s not a better way to highlight your brand while reaching thousands of top buyers. And showing your support for NTA’s 60th anniversary is just an added bonus! To advertise today, call +1.859.219.3533 or e-mail advertising@NTAstaff.com.
How to Grow Your Business with Smart Phone Technology
Ford Saeks, a business growth expert, recently reviewed four smart-phone-driven marketing techniques that can help you increase brand awareness, build relationships and grow your business. With 45 million smart phones now active in the United States alone, the technology is, says Saeks, "the new wave of communication" and suggests the following as ways to harness its marketing potential:
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Advertise via text message: Why? People use their mobile phones more for texting than makingphone calls.
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Create a smart phone app: All you need is the idea; there are plenty of companies who can help you develop the actual app for you to sell or offer for free.
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Make your Web site smart phone compatible: Chances are your customers are now viewing your Web site via their smart phones. Is yours smart phone friendly?
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Engage mobile customers through social networks: If you’re not using social media, you’re missing out on a lucrative opportunity to connect and engage with your target market.
For the in-depth how-to on each of the bullets above, read Saeks’ full article in the Bulldog Reporters’ Daily Dog.
Partner Up with Go-green Organization
Sustainable Travel International, an NTA strategic partner and nonprofit organization that promotes sustainable development through responsible travel, has created a new program to help travel and tourism providers of all sizes integrate sustainability into their daily operations and promote their business to the growing market of responsible travelers.
The program’s services, tools, and marketing benefits include a listing on several green travel Web sites, a Sustainability Management Framework license, and education services.
STI’s Partner Program is open to travel providers and any travel-related businesses or organization seeking to operate more responsibly and reach new customers. Annual fees range from US $250-$750, depending on the size of the organization.
For more information, visit the STI Web site, send an e-mail or call +503-488-5500.
- Travelex has introduced a prepaid "currency card" that allows U.S. residents traveling abroad to pack on the pounds (or Euros) as a safe alternative to shopping with cash, ATM cards and credit cards.
- The U.S. government is now checking all passengers on flights within or bound for the U.S. against terrorist watch lists, taking over that responsibility from airlines.
- NASA, turning its focus to inner space, says airliners need to be quieter, greener and more fuel efficient—and they’re doling out cash to help them do that.
- The U.S. Department of Commerce announced that for the first nine months of 2010, 45.3 million international visitors traveled to the United States, an 11 percent increase over the same period in 2009.
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.
Collette Vacations — Air Operations Supervisor
Collette Vacations currently is seeking an Air Operations Supervisor for our Pawtucket, Rhode Island, office. This person will be responsible for the supervising, scheduling and coordinating work of all air operations staff in an effort to increase revenue and maximize profit. The supervisor will act as liaison to the director for all operational functionality within the air department and collaborate with other departments. Additional responsibilities include strong time management skills with focus on operational efficiencies and customer retention. As well, they will be responsible for first tier air emergency response on and off hours, to the director’s second tier. To view a full job description and apply online please visit www.ColletteVacations.com/careers.cfm.
Wanderlust (Troy, New York) — Director of Business Development
Are you a competitive person? Are you a producer, not a manager? Can you work well within a system? Can you take direction but also operate with little supervision and without subordinates? Do you have prior experience selling conceptual or professional services to marketers? Do you possess a balanced mix of sales drive and problem-solving skills? Can you nurture and maintain positive relationships with prospects? Do you have the focus to only pursue business that’s a perfect fit?
Apply online at http://www.createwanderlust.com/hospitality-marketing-business-development.
A 2010 Capital Area Best Places to Work
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