News from the National Tour Association: May 2009 Update
If you have any questions about any of the programs detailed in this newsletter or about becoming part of the National Tour Association community, contact NTA Director of Membership Development Chris Horsley at 800.682.8886, ext. 4354 (U.S. and Canada) or +1.859.226.4354.
ARTICLE HEADLINES
NTA’s 2009 Convention Registration Opens May 28
Webinar on NTA Membership Scheduled for Thursday, May 28
Stay Current with U.S. Travel Regulations
WRTA Announces Management Partnership with NTA and IMG Associations
New NTAonline.com Tool Helps Track ROI
NTA and CBS Promote Members and Travel and Tourism
Results of NTA Survey on Economic Trends
Latest Travelhorizons Survey Finds Intent to Travel Not Declining
Sen. Olympia Snowe Shares How the U.S. Stimulus Bill Helps Small Businesses
NTA’s 2009 Convention Registration Opens May 28
Mark your calendars for May 28, as registration for the 2009 NTA Convention will go live at noon (ET) that day. This year’s event will take place in Reno, Nevada, from Nov. 14 to 18. NTA's Convention is the place to find product and buyers of every kind. From inbound and outbound to domestic, NTA has it all.
Convention also maintains a tight buyer-to-seller ratio in the prescheduled business appointment sessions to ensure that tour suppliers and destinations have a high-quality book of appointments and a waiting list typically forms shortly after registration opens. If you are planning to become a member and attend Convention, you are encouraged to join prior to May 28 and register as early as possible.
The 2009 event brings exciting new business opportunities as NTA’s Convention model begins its evolution to the future. For the first time in NTA Convention history, destination attendees will take their appointments in a geographically arranged Destination Pavilion, which allows tour operators to take appointments in the same order they plan tour itineraries. Tour suppliers can work through their DMOs to gain exposure through the new destination format, then will take their prescheduled appointments in the traditional buyer seated Tour & Travel Exchange.
An added value opportunity for tour suppliers is the new Fast Pitch session which was created just for tour suppliers to ensure that many of their appointment requests are fulfilled. Tour operators will love the new Convention format which provides added flexibility in their appointment schedule, more productive business opportunities and added time to explore new product concepts all wrapped together in one show.
Webinar on NTA Membership Scheduled for Thursday, May 28
Attention tour suppliers and DMOs: want the inside scoop on how you can market your property or destination to NTA's 700 tour operator members? NTA will be holding a free Webinar Thursday, May 28, at 3 p.m. (ET) and this is one session you won't want to miss.
During this Webinar, you'll hear NTA Board Member Wayne Chandler, of the Grand Ole Opry/Gaylord Attractions, talk about how becoming a member of NTA can give you access to leads, help you build strong partnerships and book business with NTA's quality tour operator members. There will be a time for questions at the end of the short session.
To register for this FREE program, contact Christina Horsley at 800.682.8886, ext. 4354 (U.S. and Canada) or +1.859.226.4354.
Stay Current with U.S. Travel Regulations
Travelers heading to the United States need to be aware of updates in U.S. travel regulations and document requirements that will affect their visits. The two main programs that will have the greatest impact are the Electronic System for Travel Authorization and the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.
Requirements under ESTA mandate that residents of the 35 Visa Waiver Program countries visiting the United States have to obtain a travel authorization prior to traveling to the United States. To do this, international travelers must complete and submit biographical information via an online form (essentially an electronic I-94) to Department of Homeland Security officials who will review it and either approve or deny the request. An FAQ document as well as fact sheets in 10 languages offer more information on ESTA.
The final portion of WHTI, which requires travelers to present one government-approved document to enter the United States at land and sea borders, will take effect June 1. For U.S. citizens, the two main government-approved documents that may be used for re-entry are the U.S. Passport Book and the new U.S. Passport Card. Information on documents needed by Canadian citizens visiting the United States is available on the Canada Border Services Agency Web site.
WRTA Announces Management Partnership with NTA and IMG Associations
Earlier this year, NTA and the World Religious Travel Association announced plans to co-locate their annual events this year in Reno, Nevada. Now, WRTA has signed an agreement to be fully managed by NTA's management company, IMG Associations.
NTA and the IMG staff will power the back-of-the-house operations of WRTA, including communications, marketing, member services, administrative support, event management and technology services, as well as selling advertising and corporate partnerships. IMG Associations currently provides management services for NTA and will be supporting WRTA in its expansion efforts over the next three years.
"As an association that has experienced remarkable growth and visibility in its first two years, we are confident that the travel management expertise along with the knowledgeable staff, proven systems and intimate knowledge of the travel business that NTA and its management partner, IMG Associations, provides will further our development as a world-class organization and leader in the travel industry," said WRTA President Kevin J. Wright.
NTA Convention delegates will benefit greatly though added exposure to WRTA buyers. In addition to being able to meet WRTA buyers who browse the NTA Convention, NTA members can register for the WRTA Expo at a greatly reduced rate.
New NTAonline.com Tool Helps Track ROI
NTA has developed an online ROI/Tracking System as a way to help DMO members gather this vital information. Tour operators can find any NTA member DMO and easily send tracking information by going to the ROI/Tracking Resources page, selecting the name of the DMO, including information on the destinations they visited, attaching an itinerary and hitting send. Every time a DMO receives one of these e-mails, they can help justify their marketing efforts to the tour operator segment of the industry.
In addition to those e-mails, DMO and tour suppliers members also receive an e-mail notification to let them know the number of times their NTAonline.com profile has been viewed. This new tracking tool allows tour supplier and DMOs to easily tally views and click-throughs associated with their listing on NTAonline.com and it is hoped that these numbers will help them in their ongoing challenge to track ROI.
NTA has been an industry leader in answering the call from DMOs for help in being able to track the valuable packaged travel business.
NTA and CBS Promote Members and Travel and Tourism
NTA has developed two incredible marketing opportunities that will help promote the association and travel and tourism. The first one is based on an offer from CBS television to get clients of NTA tour operators and receptive operators on U.S. national television during "The Early Show" on CBS.
Through this exclusive invitation, NTA tour operators' groups that travel to New York City can be part of the audience for "The Early Show," and CBS will guarantee to turn the cameras on them during the broadcast. As a bonus, the group will receive a free backstage tour of the studio after the show. NTA announced this opportunity last Friday and two groups are booked already with CBS.
Besides that promotion for NTA and its members, your association also has secured 91 days of advertising time on the CBS "Super Screen" in New York's Times Square. The NTA ad, which will be seen by 1.5 million travelers each day, promotes a "Live Life and Travel" message that directs viewers to a newly created consumer section of the NTA Web site and encourages them to find an NTA tour operator. NTA tour operator members can place a free classified ad on this site.
Results of NTA Survey on Economic Trends
In a recent e-mail from NTA Chairman and CEO Michele Michalewicz, CTP, all members were asked to provide feedback to a quick, two-question survey on current economic trends and what NTA could do to help.
From this quick read survey, NTA learned that 82 percent of the 103 members who responded are cutting costs in an effort to improve financial performance. Additionally, 59 percent are working more with partners, 52 percent are offering promotions, 47 percent are reducing business travel for staff and 45 percent are seeing some downsizing in staff. Conversely, 38 percent said they were increasing their marketing efforts and 31 percent are diversifying their product lines. The survey results also indicated that NTA members wanted information on consumer and travel trends, on what they are doing and on new product ideas.
To keep monitoring trends within the membership throughout this economy, NTA will be doing quarterly economic trend surveys to all operators, suppliers and DMOs.
Packaged travel professionals wanting an in-depth analysis of those and many more trends within the industry and the traveling public, can subscribe to NTA's monthly e-newsletter The Trend. For more information on this survey or to subscribe to The Trend, contact NTA Vice President of Marketing Lisa Thompson.
NTA also has been reaching out to help members cope with the economic conditions by reducing 2009 dues by nearly 15 percent. The association also maintained 2008 pricing for Spring Meet and Convention registration fees, and the low Reno hotel prices for Convention should make it more affordable for members to attend.
Latest Travelhorizons Survey Finds Intent to Travel Not Declining
The most recent Travelhorizons survey, released April 1, finds that despite continuing reports of the decline of perceived unnecessary business and meeting travel and postponed leisure vacations, travel in the United States remains robust.
The February 2009 edition of the survey of 2,200 U.S. adults, which is conducted by YPartnership in conjunction with the U.S. Travel Association every 90 days, revealed that almost two-thirds (63 percent) of U.S. adults are planning to take at least one overnight trip primarily for leisure purposes during the next six months. This figure is up slightly over the 60 percent figure reported in January 2008.
The likelihood of traveling is greater for those with a household income above $75,000, as eight out of 10 households falling into this income bracket are planning at least one overnight trip for leisure purposes during the next six months. The study also found that 16 percent of adults are planning to take at least one overnight trip primarily for business purposes during the next six months.
One area where the economy does seem to be having an impact is in the length of stay. As a cost-saving measure, more than half of all travelers who said they are likely to modify their future travel behavior plan to do so by staying fewer nights. This type of cutback by both business and leisure travelers is likely to have a significant impact on the lodging, cruising and attraction industries in particular.
For more information about the survey's findings, visit the publications section of http://www.ypartnership.com/.
Sen. Olympia Snowe Shares How the U.S. Stimulus Bill Helps Small Businesses
One of the topics that continues to grab headlines is what impact the U.S. stimulus bill will have on various sectors of the business world. In an article for the May issue of Courier magazine, U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, shares her thoughts on the bill's benefits for small businesses — including travel companies.
Snowe is the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and was instrumental in getting a number of small business provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was signed into law in February. The article talks about different types of incentives and loans that are available, and here are some excerpts from the article:
- Included among the key, small business tax provisions in the act was a section to extend ... small business expensing at a level of $250,000. This provides small firms the opportunity to make investments in plants and equipment that they can deduct immediately.
- I authored a provision in the bill that will greatly enhance the cash flow of our nation's entrepreneurs. Under previous law, small business owners had to make so-called quarterly estimated tax payments that total 110 percent of taxes owed during the previous year. My provision required just 90 percent of last year's tax liability to be remitted quarterly, thereby helping owners manage their cash flow while still ensuring their tax liability is met.
- I worked with Small Business Committee Chair Mary Landrieu of Louisiana to include several crucial provisions to increase small business access to capital and assist entrepreneurs. We also established a business stabilization loan program to help banks provide short-term loans to small business borrowers who are struggling to make payments on existing small business loans.
To read the complete article, click here to see the May issue of Courier, then go to page 10.