Family Matters

FAMILY

MATTERS

BLANKENSHIP BECOMES GROUP TRAVEL’S NEWEST CONVERT

SALEM, Ohio — Cassandra Blankenship joined the travel industry six months ago and has already become a devoted believer in the value of group travel. As a member of the marketing staff at Group Travel Family of Brands, she attended the Select Traveler Conference at Cheyenne, Wyoming – her first travel industry event – where delegates from 25 states got to know the city, explore its travel possibilities and build relationships with other travel industry professionals.

“I immediately recognized the value that our travel planner delegates gained at the Select Traveler Conference Marketplace,” Blankenship said. “They networked with other travel planners, shared ideas and met with destinations, hotels and operators to build new tour packages for their groups.”

“It’s nice to see a sharp new face like Cassandra recognize the value that group travel brings to people’s lives,” said Charlie Presley, president of Group Travel Family of Brands.

The Group Travel Family of Brands’ mission is to help group travel leaders develop skills to better serve their communities.

“It’s true, when a group travel planner leads a tour, the destination is the focal point. But the undiscussed value is the improved quality of life that traveling with friends and family brings,” Blankenship said. Travel planners enjoyed over 5,000 business appointments at the conference. Those one-on-one meetings with destinations, hotels and tour operators resulted in hundreds of new group tours being planned. CASSANDRA BLANKENSHIP It is estimated each travel planner at the conference has a membership in excess of 250 travelers and operates six group tours annually. That results in a total of 24,000 travelers per year. “It was an honor to think I had a small part of helping travel planners return to their communities, build better tours and really help people enjoy life,” Blankenship said. The Group Travel Family of Brands has a membership of 25,000 travel planners and is the parent organization or management firm for seven national group travel or meetings conferences. To contact Blankenship, email to cblankenship@ grouptravelfamily.com or call 800-628-0993.

30 YEARS OF STS MARKETING COLLEGE

ATLANTA, Georgia — Southeast Tourism Society (STS) will celebrate 30 years of Marketing College, its unique continuing education program for the travel and tourism industry, this summer. Since its inception in 1992, the annual STS Marketing College has hosted tourism professionals for one week on a three-year path to earning their Travel Marketing Professional (TMP) certification. What began as the vision of the late Dorothy Hardman has now graduated over 1,200 TMPs across the association’s 14-state region. Marketing College has become a staple of professional development for tourism organizations throughout the Southeast. “We are excited to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Marketing College this year.” said Monica Smith, president and CEO of Southeast Tourism Society. “The longevity of this program, and the 1,200-plus TMPs to date, are a testament to the quality of education, leadership development and networking that are the cornerstones of Marketing College.”

This year’s Marketing College will take place June 5–10 on the campus of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Class topics will include Vital Tools to Empower Your Online Marketing Strategies; Tourism Product Development; Trends and Best Practices for Sports Tourism Marketing; and Perception is Reality: Creating a Crisis Communication Response Framework.

Registration is open and can be accessed, along with a complete schedule, at southeasttourism.org.

ARK ENCOUNTER &

CREATION MUSEUM PASS 10 MILLION MARK

PETERSBURG, Kentucky — The Ark Encounter and Creation Museum, internationally popular attractions of Answers in Genesis, welcomed their 10 millionth visitor in April.

The attractions have been visited by a wide range of internationally well-known people over the years, from President Jimmy Carter and a Nigerian king to celebrities like Bill Nye and rock star Ozzy Osborne.

“We’re thrilled with our total attendance number, as visitors come here from around the world,” said Ken Ham, founder and CEO of Answers in Genesis and its two attractions. “It gives me confidence that 2022 will be our best year, especially as we continue to expand and hold special events.”

The Ark Encounter, featuring a 510-footlong Ark as its centerpiece, and the Creation Museum, with high-tech experiences, are faithbased attractions that have found significant appeal with tour groups.

“The Ark Encounter and Creation Museum attendance will only increase as more international visitors resume traveling and as bus tours return to levels we’ve experienced before, such as up to 55 tour buses in a day,” Ham said.

With attendance returning to pre-pandemic levels, Answers in Genesis is working on expansion plans. The the organization hopes to build a future Tower of Babel attraction that will tackle racism issues, showing how all people have developed from one biological race.

Over the years, directly and indirectly, the Ark Encounter has added tens of millions of dollars into the state and local treasuries and has spurred the construction of several new hotels to meet guest demand, especially in the cities of Dry Ridge and Florence, Kentucky.

The Ark Encounter, Creation Museum and Answers in Genesis employ over 1,000 staff, which makes them significant employers in northern Kentucky.

ANSWERSINGENESIS.ORG