Spealty Market Educational Seminars at Travel Exchange Just Announced: Faith-based Travel, Young Professionals, Food/Culinary Travel, China Travel Market, Women in Travel, Hispanics in Travel, Agritourism and More

For more info visit:
http://businessbuilder.ntaonline.com/convention/Education/NTASessionDescriptions.aspx

Tuesday, Feb. 18
Championing your Sustainability, at the Presentation Stage on the NTA Floor
9–10 a.m.
Join Jeremy with NTA’s strategic partner, Sustainable Travel International, as he helps you develop effective marketing and communications so you can champion the work you do with sustainability. It will help you achieve ROI for your sustainable efforts, as well as bring on new customers.

Discovering the World of Food Travel

10:30–11:30 a.m.
NTA’s newest strategic partner, World Food Travel Association, has a wealth of information to share on the booming business of food, drink and culinary travel. WFTA Erik will share relevant trending news on the farm to table movement, as well as look at the tried-and-true that continues to appeal to travelers worldwide.

China Market, at the Presentation Stage on the NTA Floor

10:45–11:45 a.m.
Speaker: Haybina Hao, NTA
NTA China market expert Haybina Hao will share how to get started and work with the influx of Chinese visitors to the United States.  Everyone talks about this market and wants to attract the Chinese traveler, and Haybina can help you understand the culture and the needs of these travelers so you can effectively attract and serve them.

Product Development: Canada Style, at the Presentation Stage on the NTA Floor

2–3 p.m.
Thinking about expanding a current tour program or starting a new program into Canada? This is the session for you. In this seminar, the Canadian Task Force will bring you information about new product and destination offerings. But this is no sales pitch –this session will show you how you can work within the different provinces and territories to build programs around many of the emerging markets!

Wednesday, Feb 19

Women in Travel — Women in Power
9–10 a.m.
Did you know that 61 percent of the representatives of NTA member companies and organizations are female? Also, when we look at the business titles, we see Director, Manager, President and CEO across all our member categories. But, when you look at the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, only 3 percent are women. Join NTA for a session celebrating the power of women in travel and hear how key influencers made it to the top.

Social Marketing Integration & Influence — Time-saving Secrets (Intermediate Session)

9–10 a.m.
Uncover time-saving secrets to integrate your social and e-marketing practices. We’ll capitalize on the power of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, micro-video sites, Google+, blogging and e-mail in this intermediate session.

You’ll walk away with the how-tos and the whys.

* How to hone in on your key words and use them across multiple platforms
* Why and what to monitor and measure
* How to repurpose your unique creative content
* Everyone receives a customized tourism industry social checklist, and you’ll discover savvy strategy to take your social influence to the next level.

Advanced Social Media Marketing — Tactics & Tools for your Business

10:30–11:30 a.m.
Delve into savvy practices to grow your fans and followers, influence new relationships and use new tools to drive your business to the next level.

In this advanced, interactive session you’ll show examples of how you can create and implement strategies to engage your clients across existing platforms. You’ll explore new emerging platforms while studying the time and resources needed to keep ahead of the curve. Don’t miss these ways to understand what’s relevant to measure and monitor NOW.

In this session you will learn how to:

* Grow your group and FIT business with proven and emerging strategies
* Use engagement tactics to get your audience talking
* Add unique content to offer enhanced value
* Maximize media integration

 Ask the Young Professionals

2–3 p.m.
New this year! Here’s your chance to find out firsthand what the young professionals are thinking and where they stand on any number of topics. It’s your turn to ask the questions.  Want to know:  What do millennials want/expect when they travel? What are young professionals looking for in an employer? How do you attract young professionals to your tours/company? This is your opportunity to get the answers you’re seeking straight from the young professionals traveling and working in the industry. (See the companion session at 3:30 p.m., Ask the Veterans.)

 NTA-ASTA Hispanics in Travel Caucus

3:30–5 p.m.
Hispanic travel professionals are invited to attend the NTA-ASTA Hispanics in Travel Caucus to join the discussion about this important and dynamic market. Through its Hispanic Business Development Task Force, NTA and ASTA established the Hispanics in Travel Caucus in recognition of the importance of the U.S. Hispanic market. Following the keynote, attendees will participate in a dynamic discussion on the needs, aspirations and business development opportunities for Hispanic travel professionals. It is important to have your voice at the table for this thought-provoking event.

Increasing Faith-based Travel Profits through Special Events

3:30–4:30 p.m.
Speaker:  Kevin Wright, NTA
Did you know special events comprise one of the largest sectors of the faith-based travel marketplace? Each year countless faith-based celebrations, festivals and anniversaries take place in North America and around the globe drawing thousands of individuals and groups. Such events range from the Catholic church’s “Year of Faith” pilgrimage proclamation and the Reformation 500th Anniversary to Quebec’s 350th Anniversary of Notre Dame de Quebec to Major League Baseball’s “Faith Days” and Wet n’ Wild’s (waterpark) Glory of Waves Christian-music festival. 

How will your organization benefit by attending this educational seminar? If you’re a tour operator, you’ll discover not only the many faith-based jubilee offerings that exist, but also how to integrate them into your travel portfolio offerings for maximum success. If you’re a tourist office or supplier, you’ll learn how to take advantage of such prominent faith-based declarations in your own local destinations, as well as how to re-create your own uniquely themed events or celebrations to draw faith-based groups in large droves.

Thursday, Jan. 24

Agritourism Market Product Development
9:15–10:15 a.m.
From the farm to table culinary craze to travelers’ demand for hands-on experiences, agri-tourism is growing in popularity. Currently, 20 percent of NTA tour operators offer agri-tourism experiences and NTA research shows nearly 54 percent plan to offer this type of travel in the future. If you are looking to expand your business in this market join our panel of industry leaders and agri-tourism experts.