Your Three-week-out Convention Checklist | Breakfast With Steve Hartman Kicks off Convention
October 19, 2010
SPECIAL CONVENTION ’10 ISSUE
Volume 30 Issue 42
Interested in advertising in Tuesday? E-mail Kelley Burchell at kelley.burchell@NTAstaff.com.
TODAY’S ARTICLES
2010 Convention Chair Dawn Rueckl Highlights This Week’s Tuesday
Your Three-week-out Convention Checklist
Breakfast With Steve Hartman Kicks off Convention
Whitley, Stachnik to be Honored on Sunday
Free Podcast Teaches the Basics of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
Watch for Convention Snail Mail
Tips for Travel to Montréal
Sign Up Now for Saturday’s Sightseeing Tours
Show That Tourism Cares! Dance, Bid, Donate and Volunteer.
Sponsor and Get Noticed on a Global Scale
Category Breakout Sessions Are Back
Count on FedEx to Deliver to Montréal
2010 Convention Chair Dawn Rueckl Highlights This Week’s Tuesday
Your Three-week-out Convention Checklist
Here is your list of 10 things to do before Convention begins (it’s only three weeks away!):
- Book your transportation and housing (NTA special room rates disappear Oct. 29!) If you plan on flying into Vermont and taking the 1.5-hour Sugar Tours shuttle to Montréal, you need to make your reservations!
- Sign up for one of the sightseeing tours (They fill up quickly!)
- Check your passport and read these travel tips.
- Review and respond to any Direct Request appointments online. (Remember, Direct Request Scheduling opens Nov. 1.)
- Print out your appointment scheduling list and review the products you’re marketing — are they the newest you have? That’s what tour operators are looking for! (We’ll be sending you a folder to organize your Convention materials in.)
- Order your t-shirt! (Here’s an order form and the design.)
- Pack appropriately. Check the weather and bring some warm clothes! Here’s a good guide.
- Make sure you have enough business cards (we suggest at least 500); and don’t forget them!
- Be part of the Convention success — volunteer! It’s a great way to meet other members and support NTA.
- Learn the Hustle and bring your ’70s outfit.
Breakfast With Steve Hartman Kicks off Convention 
Join us for a light breakfast during the NTA Opening Ceremony with Steve Hartman, CBS news correspondent and keynote speaker, on Sunday morning (8:15 a.m.). Hartman takes his CBS News audiences around the world with unique travel stories that are a testament to how similar we all are (no matter where we live in the world) and the importance of traveling to experience our similarities.
"Those who work in the travel industry have a unique opportunity, not just to show people the planet, but to change it," he said. "The best way to achieve peace and tolerance is to get people out of their own little worlds and into the great big one. People need to meet the people they think they hate. They need to meet the strangers who are just like them."
Hartman will stay with us throughout the week as the official emcee for Convention!
Here’s another clip from his series "Everybody in the World Has a Story."
(Opening Ceremony sponsored by Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau.)
Whitley, Stachnik to be Honored on Sunday 
During Sunday’s Luncheon and Annual Business Meeting, which is sponsored by the Alaska Travel Industry Association, the accomplishments of two industry legends — Bob Whitley (near right) and John Stachnik — will be recognized. The late Whitley, who served as USTOA president for 32 years, will be honored with the NTA Pioneer Award and Stachnik of Mayflower Tours will receive the Bob Everidge Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, NTA will announce the winner of its 2010 Volunteer of the Year award at the luncheon.
Whitley’s distinguished career in the tourism field spanned more than 40 years. He was selected to be president of USTOA in 1978 and served in this role until his passing earlier this year. Before joining USTOA, Whitley held positions as director of the Florida and Pennsylvania departments of tourism and director of the Virginia Beach Convention and Tourist Bureau.
Stachnik began his career in 1966 with a hotel company based in Washington, D.C. In 1970, he founded an Illinois-based tour company and, along with his wife Mary, established Mayflower Tours in 1979, now one of America’s most widely recognized tour companies. Stachnik is a member of the Tourism Cares board of directors and is in his second term as USTOA’s chairman. He also served for 15 years on the NTA Board of Directors, including a year as president in 1992.
Free Podcast Teaches the Basics of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
Listen to Catherine’s Heeg’s newest NTA-exclusive podcast, to learn how to gain a foothold in social media marketing and prepare for her session in Montréal on Nov. 13.
Should you create a business page for a local business or a fan page? How do you pick a Twitter name? Heeg’s podcast walks you through, step-by-step, how to set up a Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn account.
This is the second podcast of her two-part series that helps you to prepare for her sessions in Montréal. If you missed the first podcast about blogging and podcasts, you can listen to it here.
Heeg is also offering 15-minute one-on-one sessions with NTA members in her booth (#317) at Convention! Spots are going quickly, so sign up today.
Watch for Convention Snail Mail
We’ll be sending you a final packet of information for Convention in a handy folder you can use to collect all your Convention paperwork to bring with you to Montréal. The information will be landing by snail mail the first week of November. (Unless you opted for the digital version, and then your copy will be e-mailed to you.)
Pack your folder in your carry-on — it’s great reading material for your travel to Montréal.
A few things to remember:
- Whether you are entering Canada at an air, land or sea border, you will need a valid passport when you arrive.
- Depending on your country of origin, you may need a visa to enter Canada. Visas are required for citizens from these countries, and you can click here to see the exempt list..
- If you need to contact your country’s Canadian embassy, here’s the list.
To find out more about these and other arrival topics, click here.
Sign Up Now for Saturday’s Sightseeing Tours 
Saturday afternoon you can take in some of the highlights of our magnificent host city by taking part in one of the sightseeing tours. The six different tours that will be offered from 2 to 6 p.m. are:
- Cultural Tour for Museum Lovers
- Exclusive Shopping A LA MONTRÉAL!
- Greater Montréal Tour
- Montréal, the City of a Hundred Bells
- Flavors and Aromas of Old Montréal (walking tour)
- Montréal’s Great Attractions
Once you’ve decided which one you want to take, click here to register and you will receive a confirmation e-mail soon after. The deadline to register is Friday, Oct. 29, and registrations will be received on a first-come, first-confirmed basis.
For questions, contact Christiane Gingras at +1.514.933.6674 or info@vdmglobal.com.
Show That Tourism Cares! Dance, Bid, Donate and Volunteer. 
Tourism Cares, the official philanthropy of NTA, has a number of exciting programs happening at Convention this year, including the return of the Silent Auction.
Convention delegates are invited to bid high and win big at the Tourism Cares live and silent auctions (featuring Premium Outlets). Fantastic travel packages, group tour packages and unique items will be available for online bidding Nov. 3-8 and at Convention Nov. 13-16. Click here to preview some of the great items available for bidding or if you want to donate an item, there is still time if you click here.
The annual Tourism Rocks event will take place Monday night at Newtown, a multi-level nightclub in Montréal’s famous Crescent Street neighborhood. Tour operators receive complementary tickets, while DMOs and suppliers can purchase theirs in advance for $40 or in Montréal for $50. (Sponsors are Hard Rock International, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and the Nevada Commission on Tourism)
Through its Experience the Industry Student Program, Tourism Cares will bring its scholarship recipients and Montréal-area tourism students to Convention. The travel, tourism and hospitality students will get a firsthand look at industry professionals in action. Mentors are needed, so if you are willing to have a student sit with you during your Destination Pavilion and Fast-pitch business appointments, e-mail Tourism Cares’ Lisa Schmiemann to sign up.
Another special event that will take place during Convention ’10 is the NTA and Tourism Cares Give Back project at Saint Joseph’s Oratory. Sponsored by Sports Leisure Vacations and Luray Caverns, the event will take place Saturday night.
Sponsor and Get Noticed on a Global Scale
Attendees from 29 countries, 10 Canadian provinces and 50 states will be in Montréal for Convention ’10. Will they notice your property, product or destination? Get their attention through sponsorship! There is still time to sponsor at Convention to up your visibility in Montréal. Plus, sponsoring at the US$5,000 level or higher also gives you a booth on the mall floor. A great sponsorship (such as NTA’s Cyber Center or a tasty refreshment) with a booth is the best way to maximize your exposure to all Convention participants.
Sponsorships are sold on a first-come, first-served basis and are going fast. So contact Karla DiNardo at 800.682.8886, ext. 4232, (U.S. and Canada) or +1.859.226.4232 today. All sponsorship levels qualify you for a great suite of benefits. Click here for additional details so you don’t miss out on these great opportunities!
Category Breakout Sessions Are Back
This year’s Convention will mark the return of the category breakouts for tour suppliers and DMOs. These sessions break down members into subgroups for more focused discussion times.
The tour supplier category breakouts will take place Monday from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m., with suppliers being divided into seven subgroups — attractions, casinos, hotels, passenger vessel companies, restaurants, receptive operators and transportation companies.
The DMOs will be split into two groups, city/regional and state/provincial/country, and these sessions will be Wednesday from 8:45 to 9:45 a.m.
Count on FedEx to Deliver to Montréal
Need to ship your Convention materials to Montréal? Count on FedEx to deliver.
NTA members based in the U.S. 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.
Whether you’re just beginning to explore international shipping or you’re interested in expanding your business globally, you should Think FedEx First for solutions, resources and support to help get you where you want to go. And by the way, you can save money on your international shipping by taking advantage of your member discounts.
To enroll and set up your shipment, call 1.800.MEMBERS (1.800.636.2377) between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. (ET) Monday to Friday to speak to a dedicated member service representative.
Click here for the Tuesday archive.