NTA Goes Further

NTA is going further in 2017 with a new brand, new website and a dual-convention year. The organization's new brand position includes the tagline: Together. We go further.

"Our core values—collaboration, professionalism and innovation—reflect the culture of NTA, and our new brand statement defines it," said Pam Inman, NTA president. "Our members value the professional and personal relationships they form through NTA; it's those connections and partnerships that truly make NTA what it is. Our to, from and within North America focus is going further, but it's more than physical distance. We strive to provide excellent customer service, develop new specialty markets, such as our Faith Travel Association and China Inbound Program, and create programs that help our members make and save money. There are no limits to where NTA can take you, and by doing it together, we'll all go further."

To further help their members, NTA launched a redesigned website in September.

NTA had three primary goals for the new site: a fresh modern look, easy to navigate and accessible from any device. The association worked with Mightily, an award-winning agency in Louisville, to produce an appealing and useful site. The new look is the result of two years of refining content, mapping user patterns and boosting functionality.

"Members visit NTA Online to get an answer," said Inman, "and our job is to get them there as quickly as possible, but to also engage them along the way."

Unique for 2017, NTA will host its signature event, Travel Exchange, twice.

"At the request of our members, we're moving our convention back to fourth-quarter dates after five years in the first quarter," said Inman.

To make the transition, NTA will hold Travel Exchange in both quarters of 2017: St. Louis, Missouri, February 26 - March 2, and San Antonio, Texas, December 14 – 18. The two events will help NTA sync with the new Travel Exchange schedule. The association is already planning the 2018 event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for early November.

NTA urges member tour operators, travel agents, suppliers and DMOs to attend both conferences next year.

"Travel Exchange is where NTA members collaborate to create the hottest itineraries for the next year and beyond, so if you bypass a convention, you'll pass up your chance to confer with preferred partners," said Inman.

If members miss the St. Louis conference in February, they'll go nearly two years from the 2016 conference in Atlanta until the opportunity for face-to-face meetings in San Antonio in December. Similarly, if members miss the December conference, they'll spend another 20 months until Milwaukee in November 2018.

For more information about NTA or Travel Exchange—or to explore the redesigned website—visit NTAonline.com.

 Written by Cassie Westrate, staff writer for Groups Today.