FROM THE EDITOR
Where in the World is ?
Bob Rouse Editor in Chief 101 Prosperous Place , Suite 350 Lexington , KY 40509 USA + 1.859.264.6548 bob . rouse @ ntaservicesinc . com
AFTER A LONG , COLD WINTER , I intend to take full advantage of spring .
My first stop is in Florida for spring break . I know it sounds cliché , but my youngest son plays college baseball , and I ’ ll be cheering for him . If I know baseball , I expect the coach has scheduled a game for every waking minute of the trip .
Thank goodness I will return to work in time to attend Contact in mid-April . Say , I have not verified this , but I ’ ve heard that not all of you are joining us in Charleston . This can ’ t be true . Contact would be a fun and fulfilling event even if it were held in a remote warehouse , but in Charleston , South Carolina ? In springtime ? Shut my mouth ! ( written in my best Southern drawl ) I hope you can find a way to make this trip . Speaking of trips , I took a doozy . You ’ ve surely heard of Tourism Cares with Jordan and the remarkable journey that 67 travel industry types took together . In this issue , I ’ ve got a Jordan-related business article on page 14 , some photos from our adventures on page 47 and a couple of pics on this page . I will write more on what we saw and experienced in the next issue of Courier .
I want to guard against Jordan fatigue : inflicting too much of my experience on those of you who didn ’ t go .
But let me say this about that : For me , the 10-day trip was about people — those who populate the places we visited …
April / May Courier Destination Index
Alabama 26 – 27
Iowa 36
Argentina 42
Kansas 34
Arizona 27 – 28 , 48
Mexico 43
Arkansas 40
Missouri 35
Atlantic City 30 – 32
Nebraska 35
Australia 44 North Carolina 26
Brazil 41
Oklahoma 40
California 24 – 25
Peru 41
Colombia 42
Québec 20 – 23
Colorado 18 South Carolina 50
Costa Rica 18 South Dakota 49
England 50
Spain 28
Germany 50
Switzerland 49
Hawaii 44
Texas 38 – 39
Illinois 50
As a reward for a hefty hike to view The Monastery , a remarkable monument in Petra , Jordan , these delegates with Tourism Cares with Jordan broke out copies of Courier . Pictured from left are Reagan Stulbaum , Pam Inman , Bob Rouse , Catherine Prather , Clayton Whitehead , Jay Smith , John Meyer , Kami Risk and Greg Takehara .
and those who traveled with me . I can ’ t say this event would have been as enjoyable in that remote warehouse — because the physical environs were absolutely spectacular — but I can say that what powers my memories of Jordan are humans .
And humanity translates . You ’ ve got people at your place , too , I bet . And I hope you can not only put up with my ramblings about Jordan , but also gather ideas and inspiration from them that apply to your destination , to your organization … to your people .
And how about these stories for ideas and inspiration ? Pat Henderson shares more from his recent trip to Mexico in destination coverage of Latin America ( starting on page 41 ), along with top-notch product ideas in Arkansas , Oklahoma and
Texas ( page 38 ).
Kendall Fletcher takes us on a trip through the U . S . Midwest states ( page 34 ), and Gabe Webb reveals itinerary ideas in South Pacific destinations ( page 44 ).
Feature-wise , we ’ re loaded this month . Patti Nickell serves up a fivesome of food-friendly destinations ( page 24 ), and FTA Coordinator Kay Saffari gives her blessing to faith-filled sites in Québec ( page 19 ). And I ’ ve got details ( lots ) of another doozy of a trip I took : The City Spotlight , page 30 , shines on Atlantic City .
And finally , don ’ t miss an informative essay — with a killer photo — by Michael Weinberg , CTP , on page 56 .
Read on ,
On the cover :
Québec ’ s National Shrines , including Ermitage Sainte-Antoine ( pictured ), are part of the reason that the province is a popular spot for faith-based tours .
Photo : Ermitage Sainte-Antoine
4 April / May 2018