tables and had people sit at tables
based on specific criteria that we deter-
mined in advance. The first grouping
was based on type of supplier, and to
give you an idea of the diversity, the
members at the passenger-vessel table
ranged from a family-owned boat in
Alaska to Jodi from Norwegian Cruise
Line. The second grouping was based
on geography—Northeast, Southeast,
Southwest, Midwest, etc.—and the final
grouping was based on the number of
full-time employees.
Courier: How do you see this group
moving forward?
Berry: The consensus was that this net-
work is needed. I saw a lot of business
card exchanges, which I take as a great
sign of connection. We are planning a
program for the day after Contact, and
we’ll also start a LinkedIn group for the
Supplier Network. And I want to find
a way to keep the discussion going on
various topics, but we haven’t finalized
anything yet.
Lisa Itel,
Travel Oregon
DMO Network
Courier: How did your
group get started?
Itel: In talking with
owners about their
network, and with NTA staff, I knew it
would make sense for DMOs to organize
ourselves, too. We see each other once
a year at Travel Exchange, but things
come up during the rest of the year.
There are opportunities we’ve been
missing that we can discover when we
get together.
Courier: What did you observe?
Berry: First, the group discussions
allowed for a lot of networking with
people they probably would not have
spoken with otherwise. And breaking
into specific topics helped steer con-
versations. Also, we created an environ-
ment where people could have detailed
discussions. Weather and its implica-
tions was a popular topic when we
broke up by region. I also heard the pas-
senger vessel group talking about new
laws and how those laws impact their
sector of the industry.
DMO Network
I’ve been an NTA
member for 28 years,
and this is by far the
single-best benefit
that’s come along.
—Mark Hoffmann, CTP,
Sports Leisure Vacations
Courier: How was your session in
San Antonio structured?
Itel: We had a designated topic—and
a moderator—for each table, and
attendees made their way to each topic
around the room. The topics included
partnerships, budgets and how to make
the most of your NTA membership. The
people at my table took a lot of notes
and shared a lot of ideas.
Courier: Was there anything that
surprised you?
Itel: The discussions themselves were
surprising. I had envisioned that DMOs
would sort of align according to the size
of their destination and discuss their
issues and successes. What I observed,
though, was that large DMOs were
learning from small DMOs and vice
versa, and the idea sharing generated
very positive take-aways for everyone. I
was also surprised that the participants
were so engaged with the topics, which
was very exciting.
Courier: What’s next for the DMO
Network?
Itel: The group will meet again in
Charleston after Contact, and we are
working on an online meeting as well. We
have also started a platform on Facebook
so people can communicate year-round.
We now have a network of colleagues we
can reach out to, and this will really fill a
void that this segment of the industry has
been looking for. This network is some-
thing NTA does really well: Add a benefit I
don’t have to pay for.
Network nexts
The Owners Network will meet
March 23 in Washington, D.C.,
following Destination Capitol Hill.
For details, contact Laurie Lincoln of
Main Street Experiences, at laurie@
mainstreetexperiences.com.
The DMO Network
and Tour Supplier
Network will
meet April 22 in
Charleston, South
Carolina. Watch your
inbox for information
about registration—
or contact Morgan Maravich at
[email protected] to
get details or to suggest topics for
discussion.
NTAonline.com
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