Who wants an easy $100? | NTA Well-represented at DMAI Convention This Week
July 19, 2011
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TODAY’S ARTICLES
Who wants an easy $100?
NTA Well-represented at DMAI Convention This Week
Calling all Runners
Top 5 Pitfalls of a Family-owned Business
‘The Importance of’ the August Courier
Milan Meet-up Will Showcase U.S. Travel Products and Destinations
Satisfied Customers: Dining? Yes. Hotels? Yes. Air? Not So Much.
What Does Kim Hickie at Yankee Candle Company Call One of the her ‘Best Investments’?
Tourism Cares for Yellowstone National Park
Industry News and Updates
NTA Job Center
When you refer new members to NTA, you’re customizing your network, strengthening your association and expanding your business opportunities. And, for the referrals you make during August, Member Referral Month, you’ll receive another benefit: $100 for each referral who becomes an NTA member before November 1.
Here’s how:
- Start now. August is just around the corner, so start pulling your list of referrals together now so you can e-mail them on August 1.
- If you’d like to send a personal e-mail to your referrals explaining why you belong at NTA, feel free to use these online tools to help shape your message. Then, when they’re contacted by NTA, your referrals will already be familiar with the association.
- Between August 1 and August 31, send your referral’s contact information to Lori Rempe at NTA headquarters.
- When your referral’s membership is approved before November 1, you’ll receive $100!
While this special bonus is only available during Member Referral Month, you can refer new members at any time during the year and still make some cash. For each new member you refer during the other 11 months, you’ll receive a US$25 gift card PLUS your name will be entered into a drawing this November to have your 2012 membership dues paid in full.
NTA is your association, and this is another opportunity for you to get even more return on your investment!
NTA Well-represented at DMAI Convention This Week
Destination Marketing Association International, an NTA strategic partner, will open its annual convention tomorrow in New Orleans, Louisiana, and attendees can say hello to three NTA representatives: Lisa Simon, NTA president; Steve Richer, public affairs advocate; and Haybina Hao, director of international development.
"Our focus is finding more success for our DMO members," said Richer, who serves on the DMAI Allied Advisory Board and on the Advocacy Committee. "Lisa, Haybina and I will be there to communicate all the new activities at NTA as we prepare for Convention ’11 in Las Vegas."
NTA will display at Booth #615. Some of the services DMOs can investigate are those provided by the NTA Visit USA Center in Shanghai, China, which include translation, production and distribution of marketing collateral materials to the Chinese trade at trade shows and road shows. If you’re attending DMAI and are interested in penetrating the Chinese market-or just want to say hello-stop by the NTA booth. You can also e-mail Haybina Hao.
Participating in an NTA 5K Fun(d) Run/Walk provides you with more than just exercise. Every step you take helps the entire industry.
With the funds raised by the NTA 5K Fun(d) Runs (we’re hosting one at Contact and Convention), our government relations team works to represent the best interests of your business and the travel industry in Washington. NTA’s lobbying efforts are successful only with your support. (If you’d like to see recent victories on your behalf, check out these six GR successes from just this year.
If you haven’t yet registered for an upcoming NTA 5K Fun(d) Run/Walk, there’s no better time than now! And, if you’re not into exercise, you can choose to ‘sleep in’ for GR, for the same $25 donation.
NTA 5K Fun(d) Run at Contact
NTA 5K Fun(d) Run at Convention
Top 5 Pitfalls of a Family-owned Business
A family-owned business, big or small, carries a lot of positives: stability, flexibility, shared commitment, etc. But whether you’re together on a corporate board or in a storefront, there are a few minefields to avoid.
Katie Morell discusses common mistakes in an article on Open Forum. If your travel business is a family-run endeavor, watch out for these danger zones:
- Mixing work and personal matters: Respect each other’s boundaries, and don’t drag up an old issue from your personal life and drop it in a meeting at work.
- Taking work home: While it’s one thing to mention schedules or reminders, you should declare most work-related issues off-limits at home.
- Assuming your kids will want to join the business: Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. Let the choice be theirs when they’re old enough to decide.
- Feeling entitled to a job: Make sure all employees-family and nonrelatives-understand that positions are filled based on ability, not last name.
- Keeping loose financial arrangements: Better to put all major agreements in writing than to rely on memory
And for a related article on managing a family business, click here.
‘The Importance of’ the August Courier
The title of Tourism Cares Executive Director Bruce Beckham’s column in the August Courier, "The Importance of Beginnings," could be a broad title that applies to much of the rest of this issue as well. Another way to celebrate beginnings is to walk in the footsteps of those who came before us. That sense of heritage is a great draw for travelers to discover new attractions close to home and around the globe.
In this issue of Courier, you can read about some great history-based product in the Our Claim to Fame feature story, as well as in destination articles on Greece and Turkey, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ontario and the Pacific Northwest region. Don’t forget to check out the annual theaters article, which includes details on some of the new plays and musicals that will be part of the 2011-12 Broadway season.
Repeat advertisers in this issue are The Berkely Group (TPP), Blue Man Group, Casa Loma – Toronto’s Castle, Empire State Building Observatory, Maid of the Mist, and Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism. We’re grateful to our repeat advertisers (those who book in three or more issues of Courier per year.) Click here for more information.
Upcoming content and deadlines:
November issue: Convention; Delaware; New Jersey; New York; New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia & Prince Edward Island; Quebec; America’s Historic East (Maryland; Pennsylvania; Virginia; Washington, D.C.); San Francisco Bay Area; India.
Ad Space: Aug. 24
Editorial: Aug. 1
December issue: Restaurants; Shopping; Alabama; Louisiana; Mississippi; The Rockies (Alberta, British Columbia, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming); Smoky Mountains (Ashville, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge); Spain & Portugal
Ad Space: Sept. 29
Editorial: Sept. 6
January Issue: Convention ’11 Recap; Sightseeing Cruises; Top 10 Favorites; Alaska; California; Nevada; Oregon; Washington; United Kingdom & Ireland
Ad Space: Nov. 2
Editorial: Nov. 16
Please click here to view the 2011 editorial calendar.
Milan Meet-up Will Showcase U.S. Travel Products and Destinations
If you’re interested in connecting with inbound Italian tourists, SHOWCASE USA-ITALY is your big chance. The Nov. 10-12 event in Milan is the only marketing event exclusively dedicated to promoting Italian tourism to the United States. Created by the Visit USA Association Italy and the U.S. Commercial Service Italy, Showcase gives the Italian travel and tourism industry the opportunity to stay current with the wide variety of "Made in the USA" travel products and destinations available.
At this, the 14th annual edition of SHOWCASE, U.S. exhibitors can meet individually with the major Italian tour operators and incentive planners, as well as media representatives (about 25 appointments). The Visit USA/Commercial Service team will provide matchmaking appointments for U.S. exhibitors with Italian companies, logistical assistance, on-site business counseling and support, as well as a pre-event briefing.
SHOWCASE USA-ITALY will take place at the Grand Visconti Palace Milano. Along with appointments, workshops and networking events, participants will receive a two-night hotel stay and five meals for the following cost:
- Basic Rate: $2,650 per person
- Visit USA Association Italy’s members rate: $2,350 per person
- Group Rate: $1,990 per person (minimum five participants belonging to the same organization or geographical area)
For more information click here or e-mail Simonetta Busnelli, commercial specialist for U.S. Commercial Service.
Satisfied Customers: Dining? Yes. Hotels? Yes. Air? Not So Much.
Satisfaction levels with restaurants and hotels are on the rise, but customers are not so pleased with air travel, according to a recent report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
Dropping three points from this time last year, the ACSI score for the airline industry is 65, tied for the lowest of the 47 industries ACSI tracks. (Also at 65 are newspapers.) The decline is attributed to the fact that nearly half of all passengers now pay baggage fees.
Southwest Airlines retains the top spot among major carriers with a score of 81, followed well behind by Continental (64), American (63), United (61), US Airways (61) and Delta (56). "All others" tallied a relatively high score of 76.
Guest satisfaction with hotels rose slightly to a score of 77. Hilton leads at 80, followed by Marriott and Starwood 79, Hyatt at 77, Intercontinental (Holiday Inns) and Best Western tied at 76, Choice Hotels at 74, with Wyndham Worldwide (Ramada, Super 8, Days Inn) at 73. "All others" were at 77.
There was little distinction in customer satisfaction ratings among full-service restaurants, with most scoring at or near the industry standard of 82. Limited-service restaurants polled slightly behind, at 79.
Click here to read the news release, or here to find industry-specific results.
What Does Kim Hickie at Yankee Candle Company Call One of the her ‘Best Investments’?
Sponsorship at Contact. A veteran sponsor of this event, Kim says "sponsoring at Contact (formerly Spring Meet) is one of the best investments I have made." Between the complimentary attendance to this tour-operator-exclusive event and the abundance of networking opportunities, Contact sponsors receive one-on-one access to 100+ tour operators they may not get at other events (see a list of attending operators here!).
Only three weeks remain to secure a sponsorship at Contact ’11 (August 1-3, Newport, Rhode Island). Check out the remaining sponsorships (and sponsor benefits!) and contact Karla DiNardo today to reserve your spot!
Tourism Cares for Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park and its future visitors are the beneficiaries of a 2011-2012 Tourism Cares Globus Special Grant. Tourism Cares recently awarded a two-year, $8,000 grant to the Yellowstone Association, whose mission is to foster the public’s understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of the park and its surrounding ecosystem. The Tourism Cares Special Globus Grant will help fulfill this goal by encouraging visitors to preserve and protect Yellowstone’s pristine Wyoming wilderness landscapes, spectacular wildlife and magnificent geothermal features for generations to come.
"The Yellowstone Association believes the key to preservation of Yellowstone National Park is through education," said Crystal Leach, the organization’s director of development. "We are honored to receive this Tourism Cares Globus Special Grant. This funding will help us engage more park visitors in affordable, high-quality educational experiences, including field seminars, small group programs and private tours at our newly acquired Yellowstone Overlook Kendeda Field Campus."
For more information about Tourism Cares, please visit the organization’s Web site.
PhoCusWright’s latest U.S. Consumer Travel Report finds that after lackluster numbers last year, the leisure travel market is on a firm upswing-yet with a tinge of anxiety.
After a 20-percent dip following the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Hawaiian Airlines bookings into and out of Japan have returned to pre-quake levels.
A trusted-traveler program would benefit not only enrollees, but also other passengers, tourism hubs-and even the Transportation Security Administration.
Travel Alberta is hiring for two positions of Business Development Director to support the tourism marketing efforts of Alberta, Canada, within the United States of America. Travel Alberta is the provincial tourism marketing organization for the Province of Alberta.
Successful candidates will be responsible for establishing, maintaining and supporting relationships with travel trade accounts and promoting Alberta through various sales and marketing initiatives and strategic marketing partnerships. Daily and project-related work will focus on geographic regions within eastern or western United States. Travel within the United States and to/from Alberta is required.
Positions will be filled through a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) process closing July 22, 2011. For information on the RFP and scope of work and deliverables, please visit:
Business Development Services, Western United States
Business Development Services, Eastern United States
Click here for the Tuesday archive.