VOICES OF LEADERSHIP
Pam Inman
President
101 Prosperous Place, Suite 350
Lexington, KY 40509 USA
+1.859.264.6551
[email protected]
IT’S ALMOST HERE! Our second Travel Exchange in 2017 will be the perfect complement to our fantastic event in St. Louis. Not
only will we have a higher overall attendance, but we’ll see plenty of fresh faces. At press time, at least 50 tour operators who
didn’t go to St. Louis are signed up for San Antonio. We also have more than 70 DMOs and 150 tour suppliers who will make their
2017 debuts at our convention in December.
If you’ve never been to San Antonio before, you’re in for an amazing experience. When you see how the spectacular River
Walk is decorated, it’ll really put you in the holiday mood. And after a day of appointments and seminars, you’ll appreciate our
evening events, both for the fun and the networking.
To remind you of the value of belonging to NTA and attending Travel Exchange, I’m sharing more partnering stories from
members of the executive committee of the NTA Board of Directors.
I’ll see you in San Antonio!
Jay Smith
Sports Travel and Tours
I made a connection with Patti Culp
from the Alabama Travel Council that
was worth its weight in gold. This
past summer we had an issue with a program that
was set to go to Rickwood Field in Birmingham,
the oldest baseball park in the U.S. Two weeks prior
to our group’s arrival, I learned that the stadium
had been condemned and we would not be able
to enter. Needless to say, losing a highlight of our
Southern Swing program, which included Atlanta,
Birmingham and Huntsville, was a big problem.
On a Friday night, I got in touch with Patti, who
had worked with me to build a program to include
Alabama. By Tuesday morning, with Patti’s help,
we not only had an alternative to our Rickwood
visit, but the new activities created with our
friends in Birmingham ended up being better than
the original plans.
We lined up some old timers who played in the
Negro Southern League to visit the group, sign auto-
graphs, tell stories and pose for pictures with our
travelers. We followed that session with a visit to a
museum that had just opened near the stadium.
This is truly a networking success story that
would not have happened had I not established a
personal connection with Patti through NTA.
6
November 2017
Chris Babb
The Group Tour Company
A few years back at Travel Exchange, Mark Kowalewski
with Discover Prince William and Manassas invited me
to spend a day exploring his area. That site inspection
grew into a partnership with Mark, the Fredericksburg CVB, Richmond
Regional Tourism and Visit Norfolk. I became the receptive operator
for their Virginia by Rail program, which focuses on the international
inbound market. This convention conversation with an NTA member
led to a great and profitable partnership!
Kelly Dean
Ottawa Tourism
I had worked for an Ottawa attraction for a couple of years
before I ventured into the full-fledged tourism industry,
taking a job as travel trade sales manager with Ottawa
Tourism. Preparing to attend my first NTA Conference, in Salt Lake City
in the fall of 2000, I signed up for the Scavenger Hunt Sightseeing Tour.
At the beginning of the tour, I was nervous—I didn’t know anyone—
but after just a few items into the hunt, our team started to bond. I
can’t remember if we won or lost the hunt, but I do remember stay-
ing and chatting for hours at the Dead Goat Saloon. These new friends
became my go-to team for the rest of my first NTA. I made so many
contacts at that convention due to the people in that group, and one
became an amazing client for me!
Whenever I mentor new delegates I tell them to get involved—and I
always tell them to go on the sightseeing tours.