Insider Insights
MY TRAVEL TEAM
By Jay Smith
As a tour operator who specializes in sports-themed itineraries , I know that travel is part of baseball . Major league players crisscross the country on airplanes , minor league players journey to away games on motorcoaches , high school players hop on a school bus and kids on travel teams ride with family and friends .
The National Tour Association is my travel team . NTA connects tour operators like me with other travel experts who represent hotels , attractions , restaurants , transportation companies , etc ., and together , we create memorable tours . But it took me a few years to figure out how to play like a team .
Some of us tour operators are Type A personalities who often want to do it all on our own . But that only makes the job harder . To create an itinerary , I need to find everything from group-friendly hotels and parking spaces to memory-making activities . Teaming up with my NTA partners — destination marketing organizations and tour suppliers — is the smart play . They are the local experts who not only make my job easier , they also help create unforgettable , unique experiences for travelers . I ’ ll give you some examples of how I work with my industry friends :
• Ten years ago , my company , Sports Travel and Tours , began organizing tours to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown , New York . We ’ re now an official travel partner . Along with arranging tours to the induction ceremonies — with features not available to the general fan — we have a ceremony of our own right there in Cooperstown . Clients who have traveled with us to least 30 baseball stadiums through the years are inducted into our company ’ s hall of fame .
• In Columbus , Ohio , my travelers made their own baseball bats at a family-operated wooden bat company — a hands-on experience that ’ s custom-made for a baseball fan . I would have never found this hidden gem without the help of my local destination marketing friend in Columbus .
• In Birmingham , Alabama , we were able to get a close-up look at Rickwood Field and hear stories from men who played in the Southern Negro League , all orchestrated by the Alabama Travel Council and the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau .
The planning for tours like this happens behind the scenes , long before the traveler steps onto the motorcoach . I connect with colleagues from all over North America and around the world at NTA conventions and meetings . By meeting face-to-face , I ’ m able to establish a relationship with an expert I can call on when I add a new destination to a tour or if I need updated information on a city I ’ ve included before . I couldn ’ t run my business without these relationships .
Every tour operator who belongs to NTA has a travel team of their own . Our association ’ s slogan is Together . We go further . And it ’ s true teamwork . That ’ s why a trip planner who doesn ’ t do this every day can trust a tour operator — and their team — to hit a home run for the group .
Jay Smith is the owner of Sports Travel and Tours , based in Hatfield , Massachusetts . He also chairs the NTA Board of Directors .
Groups with Sports Travel and Tours visit baseball stadiums as exotic as El Palmar de Junco in Matanzas , Cuba ( top ), and as iconic as Yankee Stadium ( middle ) and Fenway Park ( bottom ) in New York City and Boston .
SPORTS TRAVEL AND TOURS
72 NTA Trip Planner for Group Leaders