The message of travel and tourism in America is reaching a whole new audience on a greatly enhanced scale this National Tourism Week, May 12-20. TIA and AOL ® Travel are partnering on a promotion that heightens awareness of the travel industry with a dedicated page for NTW, hosted on AOL Travel (travel.aol.com). Live from May 1-20, the page is designed to engage users with features on American destinations and provide a platform to share videos and photos from users' favorite U.S travel sites. The page will also feature travel fun facts and consumer message boards. AOL Travel is providing support and content for the site. Over 80 tourism organizations representing cities and states across Americaare planning to participate in this promotion by integrating a special web tile, designed by AOL and distributed by TIA, on their web site that links to AOL Travel's National Tourism Week page. Beyond the links provided by city and state tourism marketing organizations, AOL is building awareness through its web properties and its AOL Travel Newsletter. A link is also available at www.tia.org. Go to http://travel.aol.com or to www.tia.org to visit the AOL Travel-National Tourism Week page.
Focusing on Boomers big spenders (women age 50 -70), Marti Barletta, internationally acclaimed author and founder/CEO of the TrendSight Group, will discuss how to win their hearts, minds and business this August at TIA's ESTO 2007. Combining gender expertise, marketing experience and a lively sense of humor, Marti will deliver eye-opening, enlightening, entertaining and actionable insights. ESTO delivers cutting edge education to the destination marketing community and unparalleled networking opportunities. Join the ESTO Community this August 15 – 18 at The Phoenician in Phoenix, Arizona. Visit www.tia.org/ESTO to view the preliminary program and learn more about ESTO.
In mid-February, Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) introduced legislation (H.R. 1061, or the Protecting American Commerce and Travel Act – PACT Act) to ensure the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) is implemented in a fashion that does not impede cross-border travel and trade. Original cosponsors of this important bill were Reps. John McHugh (R-NY), Collin Peterson (D-MN), and Donald Manzullo (R-IL). H.R. 1061 would, among other things, cap the cost of the passport card at $20 for the first year to encourage participation and would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to hold off on land and sea implementation until at least one driver's license pilot program is completed. TIA, Travel Business Roundtable, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other organizations strongly support this legislation.
This bill currently has only 39 total cosponsors and needs much broader support from both northern border Members of the House of Representatives, as well as Representatives from states visited most frequently by Canadian visitors (e.g. Florida, California, Nevada, etc.). State tourism directors are urged to ask your Representative(s) to cosponsor H.R. 1061.
Finally, on March 23, DHS signed an MOU with the State of Washington for a Washington-British Columbia pilot program that may lead to the use of an "enhanced" driver's license for crossing the border between the U.S. and Canada. In addition to supporting the use of passports and the passport card that is under development, the industry has generally endorsed the concept of allowing travelers to use an enhanced state or provincial license to cross the land border or take a cruise. With regard to the passport card, production and distribution of this lower-cost, wallet-sized passport (good for land and sea travel only) would begin no sooner than spring 2008, and possibly later. The outside deadline established by Congress is June 2009.
Click here for the original "Dear Colleague" letter from Rep. Slaughter and the original cosponsors asking support for the bill. Click here for a current list of cosponsors for H.R. 1061.
Industry efforts under the banner of the "Discover America Partnership" to achieve passage of legislative language reforming the U.S. visa and entry systems for international travelers continue unabated. There are numerous travel industry organizations and Washington representatives working to protect what is currently contained in the Senate version of 9/11 legislation (S. 4). Alternative legislative vehicles are also being sought. There appears to be little or no opposition to the substance of these reforms, but these efforts continue to be subject to the same political dynamics challenging all legislative initiatives on Capitol Hill at the present time. If and when calls and letters from back home are needed to secure victory, TIA will call on state tourism directors and other travel industry leaders.
The NCSTD Online Resource Center is a password protected area of the TIA website dedicated to state and territory tourism office interests. You can find the following NCSTD surveys posted as PDFs: The Survey of U.S. State and Territory Tourism Office Budgets; The Survey of U.S. State and Territory Tourism Office Structure & Operations; The Survey of U.S. State and Territory Tourism Office Travel Information Center Programs; and The Survey of U.S. State and Territory Tourism Office Website Practices. In addition, summaries of listserv discussions through early 2007 are included. Your help is needed to maintain current information in the Center. Plans are underway to update the site with current state tourism office organizational charts and agendas for 2007 Governor's Conferences. Please forward these materials to kriley@tia.org at your earliest opportunity.
Industry leaders from various segments of the travel industry attended the first meeting of the DiscoverAmerica.com Advisory Council on April 5th in Las Vegas during TravelCom. The council consists of over 30 members including representatives from the following state tourism offices - Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia. According to council chair George Zimmermann, vice president, Travel Michigan, the council will provide strategic insight and input as well as ensure the site represents the diverse needs of the broad travel and tourism industry. During the meeting the group reviewed the objectives and requirements of the cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce as well as common themes that emerged from interviews with industry subject matter experts which kicked off the research phase of the project. Additionally, they discussed the project timeline, branding and content strategy. All agreed regarding the importance of developing a customer driven site with localized content. A design subcommittee including George Zimmermann; Bonnie Carlson, Bloomington CVB; and Bill Schallenberg, Marriott; was also appointed to review the wireframes and design comps. The full council plans to meet during ESTO.
Be on the look out for a call from TIA during the next few weeks. A representative from TIA will be contacting you about content that you would like to make available on DiscoverAmerica.com to potential international travelers.
At the invitation of Joe David Rice, vice chair and tourism director for the Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism, the spring meeting of the TIA Board of Directors was held April 10-11 in Little Rock. At a welcome dinner at the Clinton Library, Governor Mike Beebe shared his views on the importance of tourism for the state, and commended TIA on its efforts at the national level. A focus of the Board meeting the following morning was on the significant successes of the Discover America Partnership including the fact that several points of the "Blueprint to Discover America" were included in the 9/11 bill that recently passed Congress. There was considerable discussion around the need for TIA to dramatically increase its advocacy role particularly since the Partnership will sunset at the end of the year. A task force has been appointed to develop a plan for discussion at the July meeting of the Board.
According to the World Travel & Tourism Council's Tourism Satellite Account research, world travel and tourism is expected to generate in excess of $7 trillion in 2007, rising to over $13 trillion over the coming decade. The TSA results show strong performance for travel and tourism demand in 2007, growing at a rate of 3.9 percent. The forecast points to a mature but steady phase of growth for world travel and tourism in the short and medium term, averaging 4.3 percent per year between 2008 and 2017.
The Arizona Office of Tourism has released the National Geographic Arizona-Sonora Desert Region Geotourism MapGuide. The map focuses on the Sonoran Desert that encompasses southern Arizona and the northern Mexico state of Sonora and promotes visitor experiences that follow the principles of geotourism, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of its residents. It is the first bi-national initiative that the National Geographic has undertaken. The guides may be obtained online at www.arizonaguide.com.
Travel Oregon has launched its first-ever digital media advertising campaign called "365 Things to do in Oregon." The six-week, online campaign features interesting things to do in Oregon with banner ads depicting images or video of unusual, uniquely-Oregon events and experiences. Officials predict the campaign will generate more than 10 million impressions for TravelOregon.com.
In May, Virginia celebrates the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in the New World. The Queen of England will travel to Virginia to commemorate the occasion, as she did for the 350th anniversary. A three-day celebration is planned for May 11-13, including musical performances, fireworks, exhibits and a flotilla of 17th-century replica ships.
For a comprehensive listing of upcoming state and regional tourism conferences, industry meetings, conventions, and trade shows, check out TIA's online Meetings Calendar.
StateSide is the official e-newsletter of the National Council of State Tourism Directors (NCSTD), an industry council of the Travel Industry Association (TIA). StateSide is a free service of TIA, produced by its National Councils Department under the direction of Patty Hubbard, Vice President, National Councils. You receive this communication as a benefit of your NCSTD membership within TIA. Please direct comments or suggestions to Kathleen Riley, Manager, Council Programs at 202.408.8422.
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The National Council of State Tourism Directors (NCSTD), an industry council of the Travel Industry Association (TIA), is comprised of the tourism directors of the 50 states, the U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. The mission of the NCSTD is to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and leadership on travel industry issues impacting states and territories. For more information on NCSTD programs and activities, visit http://www.tia.org/councils/ncstd/index.html.
The Travel Industry Association (TIA), in existence since 1941, is:
The Washington DC based, non-profit association that represents and speaks for the common interests and concerns of all components of the U.S. travel industry;
The recognized leader in promoting and facilitating increased travel to and within the United States in order to make America the world's number one tourism destination; and
The authoritative and recognized source of research, analysis and forecasting for the entire industry and its primary spokesperson to the domestic and international media.
For information on TIA programs and activities, visit www.tia.org. For additional consumer destination information, visit www.seeamerica.org.
Visit TIA's TravelMarketingSearch.com for immediate access to a broad array of products and services listings that will aid TIA members in their purchasing decisions.
TIA members get one year of free, unlimited job postings and resume access on the only comprehensive online job board in the travel industry, GetATravelJob.com. Follow the link to learn more.
For more information about TIA, go to www.tia.org.
