VOICES OF LEADERSHIP
Pam Inman President 101 Prosperous Place , Suite 350 Lexington , KY 40509 USA + 1.859.264.6551 pam . inman @ ntastaff . com
WE ARE WELL INTO THE NEW YEAR ( and only 277 days until the next Travel Exchange … but who ’ s counting ?), yet I am still reveling in the afterglow of Travel Exchange in San Antonio .
Our friends at Visit San Antonio outdid themselves — helping us plan , connecting us to key partners and throwing a fantastic icebreaker . And allowing NTA to be part of the celebration for the city ’ s 300th anniversary was over the top .
I was recently in Boston for a Tourism Cares meeting , and Bruce Beckham , who was president of NTA in 1983 , told me that he thought the event was the best NTA convention he had ever attended , and he credited the city of San Antonio for making it fabulous . That ’ s high praise coming from someone who has attended NTA conventions and Travel Exchanges for decades . This successful , enjoyable event couldn ’ t have happened without your encouragement and participation nor without the excellent planning and execution by the NTA team that works every day to support building value for your membership .
One way to build value is to enhance Travel Exchange , which is why the board hired Minding Your Business , a research firm that specializes in association events . Thanks to everyone who responded to the survey from Minding Your Business and to those of you who provided input to MYB ’ s Sue Tinnish on-site at Travel Exchange . Your opinions will be sliced and diced by MYB , which will in turn give recommendations to the NTA Board of Directors in April . The primary goal is to increase your ROI when you attend Travel Exchange .
Speaking of the board , make sure you go to NTAonline . com ( or page 2 ) and see the results of the election , which were announced at Travel Exchange . If you don ’ t already know your board members , get to know them by email or phone and share your thoughts with them .
New benefits that kicked off at Travel Exchange in San Antonio were the DMO Network and the Tour Supplier Network . These are industry communities where NTA members can exchange ideas , talk shop and explore new partnerships . At its first meeting , the DMO Network had 70 members attend , and the Tour Supplier Network had 55 participants . The feedback we ’ ve heard was that the sessions were too short because the conversations were so engaging and everyone was learning from one another . Many found this to be one of the most valuable parts of the show .
I hope you will get engaged with these networks and attend the next meetings , scheduled for April 22 in Charleston , South Carolina , the day after Contact concludes . Attendees who travel to Charleston for those sessions will have the opportunity to catch Contact ’ s closing event on the USS Yorktown . Of course , I hope to see you for the entire Contact meeting .
Before Contact , though , we have Destination Capitol Hill , March 21 – 22 . This is your opportunity to come to Washington , D . C ., to meet your members of Congress in their offices on Capitol Hill and to share your insights about what is important to you and to your business . Always remember that the impact of influence is greatest from constituents — the ones who vote !
Check NTA Online and watch your inbox for information about Destination Capitol Hill , Contact and the member network meetings in Charleston . I hope to see you at one — or every — event in 2018 !
Sue Tinnish of Minding Your Business engaged with a number of NTA members while she attended Travel Exchange to research the association ’ s keystone event . “ I was impressed with delegates ’ willingness to share their opinions about — and their loyalty to — NTA ,” she said . “ And I love to travel , so being at Travel Exchange gave me several more destinations to add to my bucket list .”
NAIM HASAN
6 February 2018