FROM THE EDITOR
Bob Rouse
Editor
101 Prosperous Place, Suite 350
Lexington, KY 40509 USA
+1.859.264.6548
[email protected]
WALK A MILE IN MY BOOTS.
If you were at Travel Exchange in San Antonio, chances are
you saw an NTA staff member on the move—searching for
someone, carrying boxes or scurrying to the next assignment
throughout the massive convention center.
Beth Engel, a colleague who staffed the Courier booth,
tracked her mileage for the seven days (and 121 on-duty
hours) we worked the convention, and it totaled 53. I think
her steps speak for all of us.
We’re not complaining, though, we’re bragging. Serving you
and the NTA community—and heck, the tour industry—is our
badge of honor. We proudly prop our sore feet up.
Of course, our work didn’t end with the final toast of Travel
Exchange, and every staff member has long since gone back
to their “normal” job at NTA. Here in Courierland, we’re lucky
that our jobs involve frequent interactions with members.
Our goal is to focus attention on you and your organization.
But sometimes when we ask for guidance on exactly what to
spotlight, our queries go unanswered.
Maybe you don’t know it’s us when we email.
If you don’t recognize the bad hombres in the photo, that’s Pat
Henderson and me. But despite our realistic portrayal in the photo,
we aren’t the only ones who are holding down the editorial fort.
Gabe Webb, although he has left NTA Headquarters to pur-
sue a master’s degree in The Netherlands (!), will continue to
contribute to Courier as his academic demands allow. Before
he headed off to Europe, Gabe led the charge on assembling
images and comments from Travel Exchange; his convention
recap starts on page 20.
Pat set aside his six-shooter to explore the beauty and cre-
ativity of Western Canada, pages 49 and 50, and he takes the
helm on the stories (and guide) detailing NTA-member cruise
companies, pages 29–34.
Kendall Fletcher, now with a full year of NTA experience,
covers a ton of territory in her look at members in the U.S.
Great Frontier, which spans pages 41 to 48.
I invite you to take sit down with The Interview on pages 14
and 15. You can learn about the success of three member-specific
networks—and perhaps commit yourself to getting involved.
And we introduce Patti Nickell, as Patti introduces you to
NTA members in the Atlantic Coast states, pages 36–40. Patti
is a travel writer whose articles appear in newspapers across
the U.S., and now she’s contributing to Courier. Don’t ditch her
email if she comes knocking on your inbox!
Truth be told, I was sorry to leave San Antonio and the com-
pany of my favorite travel professionals. But we’ve got lots of
Courier articles ahead of us. And I still have my cowboy hat.
Read on,
February Courier Destination Index
Alaska 29, 32 North Carolina 38
Alberta 49 North Dakota 44
Arkansas 19 Québec 53
British Columbia 19, 50 San Antonio, Texas 20–27
Florida 40 Saskatchewan 49
France 31 South Carolina 36
Georgia 36 South Dakota 45
Idaho 47, 48 Virginia 38
India 53 Washington 53
Manitoba 50 Washington, D.C. 18
Massachusetts 30 Wisconsin 53
Michigan 18 Wyoming 42
Montana 46 Yukon 50
4
February 2018
On the cover:
During the Travel Exchange
icebreaker at the Witte Museum,
NTA’s Pam Inman and Visit
San Antonio’s Dave Krupinski
light the cake to celebrate the
city’s 300th birthday.
Photo: Courtesy of
Visit San Antonio