September 2012 NTA News
NTA News is a compilation of stories from Tuesday newsletter, which NTA members receive each week.
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September 2012 Top Stories
Industry & Association News
Are You Looking for New Business?
Exactly How Qualified Are NTA Tour Operators?
What Does Your Company Stand For?
3Qs with Kim Wright, 9/11 Memorial
Hispanic Caucus Launched in L.A.; Next Stop: Orlando
Here's What Prospects Ask When They Visit Your Web
You Can Pay Lower Shipping Rates. Here's How.
Tourism Cares Creates Online Alumni Group
Rhode Island Tourism Division to Host China Workshop
Are You Looking for New Business?
NTA's annual show, Travel Exchange, is the show for companies and organizations looking for new business. Attendees at last year's NTA convention booked more than
- $78 million in new business alone.
- On average, tour operators booked more than $58,000 each in new business.
- Tour suppliers averaged close to $45,000 each in new bookings.
- DMOs averaged just under $40,000 each in new bookings.
And, this year, we expect an additional 600 tour product buyers to attend from the United Motorcoach Association.
How much business could you take home?
Travel Exchange—January 20-24, 2013, in Orlando, Florida—combines the NTA convention with the UMA Motorcoach expo to put the buyers, sellers, equipment manufacturers and support
That means lots of opportunities for all attendees to meet new buyers, sellers and partners:
- on the floor
- in appointments
- at social functions
- in seminars
Become a member of our family so you can frontload your year with new product, new partners and new business at Travel Exchange.
Exactly How Qualified Are NTA Tour Operators?
NTA tour operator members are the cream of the crop. How do we know? Because each tour operator applicant goes through a series of crucial steps to be considered for membership.
Tour operator applicants must:
- Provide a company brochure, tour itinerary and/or Web address, which we review to be sure that they are, indeed, a tour operator. (NTA's definition of a tour operator is someone who packages travel, which means selling two or more travel components for an inclusive price.)
- Provide documents showing how they are registered to do business (indicating the state or country they do business in) and they must abide by all laws, rules and regulations.
- Have a minimum of three consecutive years in the business as a tour operator by actively engaging in the business of developing, packaging, promoting, selling and operating packaged travel.
- Maintain general public liability insurance coverage, providing a copy of the certificate with their application.
After meeting these minimum requirements, their information is posted on NTAonline for public viewing for five consecutive days. During this time any member has the opportunity to submit comments or concerns to the staff or to other members.
Once the five days have passed, the board of directors has the opportunity to cast their votes for approval. If accepted, the new tour operator is granted membership and will be published here so others can see the new additions to the NTA family!
It's not over yet. When tour operator members renew their membership each subsequent year, they are required to resubmit their insurance information.
Of course, all members are expected to follow the association's code of ethics and professional responsibility to maintain their memberships and credibility within the association.
How can you meet these qualified buyers?
- Become a member of NTA! Once you're a member if NTA, you'll have access to the online database, all corporate partner benefits, the annual convention and tour operator retreat as well as the opportunity to network with hundreds of tour operators just as qualified as you! After you become a member:
- Register for Travel Exchange to network with them and request a sit-down business appointment. You can see who's attending here.
- Conduct an NTA Online search and download a member leads list customized just for your needs, which you'll have 24/7 access to once you're a member!
- Post your deals on the Partner2Partner site. (More information here.)
- Sponsor and/or advertise at one of NTA's Business Builder events and in NTA publications.
Interested in becoming a member of NTA? Call 859.264.6540 or 800.682.8886, e-mail us, or visit NTAonline.com and meet other qualified buyers today!
What Does Your Company Stand For?
That's what the new generation of employee candidates will be asking. Are you prepared to answer?
Become a member of NTA, sign up for Travel Exchange and you'll have the opportunity to attend the new Tourism Cares seminar: Doing Well by Doing Good: Corporate Social Responsibility, Thursday, Jan. 24. This seminar will give you new ways to build your business, boost employee morale and improve your company's image!
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), a company's sense of responsibility toward the community and environment, is important for the future of your business. In this seminar, you'll learn why that is, and:
- The initial key planning stages for setting a CSR policy
- How to choose programs or strategic charitable partners
- How to communicate your CSR message to suppliers and customers
- Best practices and success stories from peers and nonprofit professionals
- And, ways for your employees to make a positive impact
Improve your company while improving the community all at the same time!
For a look at other must-attend seminars, read Dark to Light: Travel Exchange Seminars Offer a Broad Range of Insight, in the September 2012 issue of Courier.
See the full list of educational seminars at Travel Exchange here!
3Qs with Kim Wright, 9/11 Memorial
The 9/11 Memorial opened last year on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. A third attempted attack by air resulted in a crash landing in a western Pennsylvania field. In all, the 9/11 attacks killed 2,977 people from more than 90 nations.
During the past year, some 4.5 million people have visited the 9/11 Memorial at the site of the trade center's twin towers, now a pair of reflecting pools with 30-foot waterfalls. Visitors have come from all 50 U.S. states and 170 countries. Kim Wright, director of marketing and reservations for the 9/11 Memorial, answered three questions about the memorial:
1. What was September 11 like this year at the memorial?
The 9/11 Memorial hosted a commemoration ceremony for only the family members of the victims of 9/11. As in years past, the names of all of the victims, who are now forever memorialized on the twin reflecting pools, were read aloud. There were also six moments of silence observing the time at which each of the twin towers and the Pentagon were hit, the crash of Flight 93 near Shanksville, Pa., and the fall of each of the towers.
2. In the year the memorial has been open, what has surprised you about groups visiting the memorial?
Visiting the 9/11 Memorial is free, but we accept donations during the reservation process. We've seen a lot of groups who had previously not made a donation contact us after their visit to make a contribution because the memorial and the importance of honoring and remembering the victims moved them to do so.
3. What suggestions can you give tour operators to maximize their groups' visit?
Tour operators should take advantage of the resources we provide on our website, 911memorial.org, prior to their groups' visit. From tips on talking to children about 9/11 to the Memorial Guide app, which allows users to explore the arrangement of the names on the memorial, operators can help put the visit to the memorial in context for the guests before they arrive.
A free Commemorative Guide provides background information on the World Trade Center, the story of the Survivor Tree and more. It's available on site and online and helps provide visitors with information and an understanding of the significance.
For more information about the 9/11 Memorial, or to start receiving the monthly newsletter, go to the website.
Hispanic Caucus Launched in L.A.; Next Stop: Orlando
The NTA-ASTA Hispanic Business Development Task Force conducted two events at last month's ASTA Expo in Los Angeles: a Hispanics in Travel Caucus and a panel discussion. Both were sponsored by the Mexico Tourism Board and led by Olga Ramudo, task force chair. The sessions generated positive media coverage, including a story in Travel Weekly and a mention in Travel Market Report.
"The task force has a threefold objective: to provide a voice for Hispanics in the travel industry, to educate NTA and ASTA members about the fastest-growing market for travel and tourism, and ultimately, to get more Hispanics traveling. These events were just the beginning," said NTA President Lisa Simon, who attended the task force sessions. "We exceeded our turnout expectations by more than 50 percent for the Hispanics in Travel Caucus, which demonstrate there is a long-overdue need for this type of gathering in tourism."
The next Hispanics in Travel Caucus is slated for Tuesday, Jan. 22, at NTA's Travel Exchange in Orlando, Fla. Other specialty markets in the spotlight during Travel Exchange are faith-based tourism, family travel and adventure tourism.
Here's What Prospects Ask When They Visit Your Website
A company website isn't built in a day, and your site has likely been edited, expanded and rearranged several times. You might even be tired of looking at it. But remember that new visitors are landing on your website every week, and they're arriving with questions, says Lisa Barone in Small Business Trends.
In her article, Barone lists a load of questions that online visitors will have. Her list is a good reality check for the effectiveness of your website. Those questions include:
- What's your story? Who are you in the market?
- What about product or service reviews? What's everyone else saying? Am I making a good decision if I commit to this?
- If I'm not ready to buy yet, how can I stay in touch? Is there a blog? A newsletter? Some other way to stay up to date with you?
- Are you fun? Serious? Quirky? Stuffy?
The title of the article is The 25 Questions Your Site Must Answer, but each question leads to several others. Does your website have the answers?
You Can Pay Lower Shipping Rates. Here's How.
NTA Corporate Partner FedEx offers these discounts to all NTA U.S. members on select FedEx® shipping services:
- Up to 26 percent on select FedEx Express® U.S. services
- Up to 20 percent on select FedEx Express international services
- Up to 12 percent on select FedEx Ground® services
- Up to 10 percent on select FedEx Home Delivery® services
NTA U.S. members can also receive discounts on FedEx OfficeSM business services:
- 20 percent on select printing and copying® services
- 10 percent on select signs and graphics production and on select finishing services
To become a member of NTA, call 859.264.6540 or 800.682.8886, e-mail us, or visit NTAonline.com and start taking advantage of this great member benefit today!
Tourism Cares Creates Online Alumni Group
Tourism Cares past scholarship recipients now have a resource to establish and maintain valuable networking connections with fellow recipients. The organization (NTA's official charity) has launched an alumni networking group through LinkedIn exclusively for Tourism Cares scholarship recipients, going back two decades. The group, Tourism Cares Alumni, engages in networking, job/internship postings, discussion forum and Tourism Cares updates, with the goal of facilitating scholarship recipients' journeys from classroom to careers.
Discussion forums have already begun, with recipients expressing appreciation to NTA for both the scholarship and the mentoring program. One recipient wrote, "I won last year, and the NTA Conference exposed me to the tour operator aspect of the industry, which really intrigued me. I will now be interning in Ecuador with a tour company until December, thanks to NTA piquing my interest!"
Tourism Cares invites all past scholarship recipients to join the Tourism Cares Alumni group on LinkedIn.
Become a part of something positive and get involved in the Tourism Cares group through NTA. If you have questions about membership and member involvement opportunities, please contact Lori Rempe at lori.rempe@NTAstaff.com or call 859.264.6544.
Rhode Island Tourism Division to Host China Workshop
New England travel industry professionals who are eager to attract the ever-increasing number of Chinese visitors can get insight and ideas during a workshop on Oct. 12 in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The product development workshop, hosted by the Rhode Island Tourism Division, will be led by Haybina Hao, NTA's director of international development.
The session will focus on understanding the expectations and preferences of the Chinese travelers and how restaurants, hotels, attractions and destinations can interest tourists who are ready to see more of the United States.
For more information about the China market, see this interview with NTA President Lisa Simon in Travel Market Report. You'll also find a sidebar on the Rhode Island workshop. For details about the workshop, including registration information, follow this link.
For more business information and tips like these delivered to your inbox weekly, call +1.859.264.6540 or 800.692.8886, e-mail us, or visit NTAonline.com to join NTA.