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Seven travel organizations came together June 23 in Washington, D.C., in the spirit of cooperation to discuss ways to leverage the collective voice for packaged travel. The associations established five areas for collaborative work in the future including government relations, research, airline issues, sustainable travel and promoting the use of professional travel providers.
This first meeting of the coalition, hosted by SYTA, was held in cooperation with the NTA Grassroots Symposium. It involved volunteer and staff leaders from the American Bus Association, the American Society of Travel Agents, the National Tour Association, the Ontario Motor Coach Association and Motor Coach Canada, the Receptive Services Association of America, the Student and Youth Travel Association and the Travel Industry Association. The Travel Industry Association of Canada, the United Motorcoach Association and the United States Tour Operators Association also have committed to be a part of the coalition.
For each of the areas of focus, champions were named to each area to oversee the work, and the group plans to meet later this year to review progress. These issues and the coordinating associations are:
1. Government Relations — NTA
2. Research and Trends — NTA
3. Sustainable Travel — ABA and ASTA
4. Airline Issues — NTA and USTOA
5. Promoting use of professional travel providers — SYTA and USTOA
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
