USTOA Conference Celebrates Transformative Travel
byDavid Cogswell/
美国旅行社协会开放了40ThJ.W.周三的“年度会议和市场”凤凰城的万豪酒店,主题为“变革性”。
USTOA Chairman Dana Santucci, also vice president of EF Education First, told the audience at the opening session that the conference attendance represented 212 countries, counting active member tour operators as well as associate members, which include suppliers of tour operators, such as destination marketing organizations, airlines, hoteliers and so forth.
Santucci shared her enthusiasm for the theme “Be Transformative,” because the community represented by the conference attendees, she said, is “truly transformational.”
“I’m so inspired by the theme of transformative travel,” Santucci said. “To me, this means finding a way to unite people, across cultures and borders, to create meaningful connections and to spark mutual understanding.”
For many attendees, Santucci was introducing herself as she gave her first official speech to attendees as chairman of the association.
“I’m so fortunate for having lived and studied and worked abroad,” she said. “And like you, I have chosen a career in travel. I have worked at a company called EF Education First for the last 23 years, and have had many, many transformative experiences, many with you here in this room. Our mission is to open the world through education, and to me, it is a mission that is even more relevant today than ever before."
为了说明她的观点,桑图奇描述了最近与儿子们一起去肯尼亚的旅行,以及她的孩子们在学校拜访了一些肯尼亚的孩子。他们谈论了各自的“挑战,目标和梦想”,在校园里一起跳舞,并一起自拍照。在这种互动过程中,所有文化障碍似乎都消失了。
“This day for me,” she said, “my boys came away with a newfound understanding that, despite having different views and coming from completely different cultures, and living under different circumstances, they really have common aspirations and share so much with these students.
谈论改变旅行,这是真正的我t.
“As a parent of these two, I could really see them being transformed in front of my eyes, and their perspectives shifting. So, I am so grateful to be part of this USTOA travel community. To me, it is a community that now, during a time when countries and people and communication are becoming more closed off, we are a community that is truly transforming the world to a better place by continuing to build across borders and cultures.”
As the year 2018 draws to a close, the USTOA has much to be thankful for, Santucci said. The association welcomed two new active members this year: Authentic Vacations.com and Yankee Leisure Group, as well as 118 new associate members.
ustoa按数字
USTOA总裁兼首席执行官特里·戴尔(Terry Dale)在2018年的演讲中使用开幕式回顾了贸易协会的成就,称为“ 2018年ROI报告”。他总结了该组织在过去一年中的里程碑。
Dale reported that the association completed its Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) auditing, which it now undertakes every other year to enable an outside authority to ascertain its economic impact.
The PWC study found that USTOA members are responsible for generating almost $19 billion annually, a 26 percent increase from the last audit two years ago. Members purchased $13 billion worth of goods and services, including 21 million hotel room nights and 5.8 million airline seats.
该调查具有91%的小组成员参与的优势。受调查的人中有百分之一百分之一百在2019年增长更多。
公开主义
尽管旅行社担忧恐怖主义和阿宝litical instability has gone down, this year’s list of concerns included a new category: overtourism, which took its place among terrorism, political instability, economic disruptions, etc. With some local communities in tourist destinations rising up to protest tourism, the subject has become a matter of concern for USTOA and its membership.
USTOA and USA Today
戴尔(Dale)谈到了2018年与《今日美国》(USA Today)建立两年的营销合作伙伴关系的结果,该伙伴关系远远超出了该协会进入安排时的期望。
Through the partnership, four destinations partnered with four USTOA active member tour operators to create videos and other content that was distributed by USA Today. The project generated 1 billion media impressions, Dale said, which was 29 percent over the original goal. The effort generated nearly 6 million social media impressions, which was 98 percent more than the goal.
戴尔说:“这种伙伴关系远远超出了我们所希望的。”“这确实引起了我们所有人都试图与之联系的客户的共鸣。”
Advocacy
2018 was the year of USTOA’s Seventh Annual Congressional effort. A delegation of more than 50 members joined forces in Washington, D.C., to lobby for the interests of tour operators and the travel industry. Among the issues discussed with legislators were travel to Cuba; national parks; travel infrastructure; and government regulations that affect travel.
USTOA humor offensive
USTOA一直在寻找新颖的方式来推广自己的方式,因此决定利用幽默的力量,以全力以赴,以促进USTOA旅行社。营销委员会与同事和活跃成员进行了集思广益的会议。
戴尔说:“我们想试图让我们的手臂围绕我们能做的事情,这将为我们提供一个讲述故事的平台,但会为我们提供一个平台,但会超越太多的混乱以至于今天存在于我们行业中。几个小时后,我们意识到我们需要更多地微笑。让人们微笑的方式是通过幽默。因此,如果Ustoa与喜剧演员合作并在我们的核心消息传递周围创造了一些讲故事,但是以一种非常不同的方式呢?”
结果,该协会与Harrison Greenbaum建立了合作伙伴关系,Harrison Greenbaum是最近的“ America's Get Talent”入围者,最近也出现在“ Conan O’Brien”上,创建了一系列六个幽默的旅行者。
旅行社计划
USTOA活跃成员的销售量中有三分之二是通过旅行社来的,因此该组织采取行动来加强零售部门以帮助确保自己的持续成功。
USTOA的旅行社培训计划现在已经培养了2,600名毕业生和5,700名入学者。该协会还为旅行社发布了季度新闻通讯,并计划为明年9月的旅行社提供特别促销。
戴尔说:“我们希望与旅行社社区的这种伙伴关系不仅生存,而且蓬勃发展。”