Select Traveler January February 2020

THE MAGAZINE FOR BANK, ALUMNI AND CHAMBER TRAVEL PLANNERS

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TA S T I N G C H I C A G O

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FOLLOWING AMUNDSEN

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GO BIG IN LOUISIANA

Don’t miss

CHEYENNE in March JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020

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Contact your Professional Travel Advisor, call our groups department at 844.425.6076 or visit scenicusa.com Terms and Conditions: Offer valid for new 2021 Group bookings only. Offers are based on number of cruise days, and exclude the land portion of the trip. All offers are subject to availability and may sell out. Scenic reserves the right to correct errors or omissions and to change any and all fares and promotions at any time. Availability is correct at the time of publishing but cannot be guaranteed. A nonrefundable initial deposit of $500 per person is required at the time of booking, with full payment required 90 days prior to departure. If air offer is selected, flights must be booked through Scenic, on our choice of airlines and are nonrefundable once ticketed. A secondary deposit will be required at the time of air ticketing. Offer expires upon the release of our 2021 Preview brochure or February 15, 2020 whichever comes first. This offer is not combinable with any other offer. Taxes & port charges are included in the price. Offer available to residents of the 50 United States only. Offer may be extended, canceled, or withdrawn at any time without notice.

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THE MAGAZINE FOR BANK, ALUMNI AND CHAMBER TRAVEL PLANNERS

select T R A V E L E R

VOL.28 NO.1

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020

CHEYENNE CALLING: A CONFERENCE PREVIEW

contents

By Allen Meyer, courtesy Visit Cheyenne

ON THE COVER: One of the world’s largest outdoor rodeos, Cheyenne Frontier Days offers women’s barrel racing and other exciting competitions for 10 days in July.

Courtesy Cheyenne Frontier Days.

cruising

20 24 louisiana ON AMUNDSEN

toolbox: checking in: downtown

CVB MAGIC

DIANE LOUISVILLE ZUCCARINI

culinary marketing:

CHICAGO

TECH HELP

10 12 28 34 40

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MAC T. LACY CHARLES A. PRESLEY BRIAN JEWELL ELIZA MYERS HERBERT SPARROW DONIA SIMMONS ASHLEY RICKS CHRISTINE CLOUGH RENA BAER KELLY TYNER KYLE ANDERSON

KYLE ANDERSON

888.253.0455

DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING SALES

K YLE@ GROUPTR AVELLE ADER.COM

Founder and Publisher Partner VP & Executive Editor Associate Editor Senior Writer Creative Director Graphic Designer/Circulation Manager Copy Editor Proofreader VP, Sales and Marketing Director of Advertising Sales

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SPOTLIGHT ON

36 mountains KNOWN FOR:

Select Traveler, the Magazine for Bank, Alumni and Chamber Travel Planners, is published bimonthly by The Group Travel Leader, Inc., 301 East High Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40507 and is distributed free of charge to qualified travel program directors throughout the United States. All other travel suppliers, including tour operators, destinations, attractions, transportation companies, hotels, restaurants and other travel-related companies, may subscribe to Select Traveler by sending a check for $49 for one year to: Select Traveler, Circulation Department, 301 East High Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40507. Copyright The Group Travel Leader, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of editorial or graphic content in any manner without the written consent of the publisher is prohibited.

NAME OR ADDRESS CHANGES: If your copy of Select Traveler should be mailed to another manager in your organization, or if you personally know another travel director who is not receiving Select Traveler, please send your correction to: Select Traveler, 301 East High St., Lexington, Kentucky 40507, or call (859) 253-0455.

perspective P U B L I S H E R ’ S

O

ur Select Traveler readers are well traveled, so if I asked you as a travel planner what you think the world's top bucket-list travel destination is, what would you answer? Would you guess Italy or the Holy Land or, maybe, a Polynesian paradise like Tahiti?

The correct answer, by a margin of almost two to one, is the Unit-

ed States. According to travel research authored by the firm Destination Analysts using a worldwide sampling of more than 11,000 active travelers, the United States is identified by 33.5% of all global travelers as among their top bucket-list destinations. Mentions for Spain, France and Italy all follow, with percentages of 17.8, 17.1 and 15.2, respectively.

I think that is cool. What that says to me is that one in every three international travelers from countries or markets as wide-ranging as Brazil, Japan and the United Kingdom are choosing America for their bucket list trips. Many of them have already been here and plan to return.

Just like when we traveled to Europe for the first time, most take their first trip here to the best-known places. As we might have done London, Paris or Rome on our first trip, these travelers usually start with New York or California or Disney World in Florida. But, also like us, once they do that first trip, they begin thinking about a return trip where they want to get beyond gateways to explore areas like the South or the Grand Canyon or even the great expanse of Route 66.

The world is very big, but it’s also very small. When you take your group overseas this year to Peru or Portugal, remember another group much like yours is coming here from China or Australia to do a bucket list trip of their own. They’re finding their way to the honky-tonks of Nashville or to the barren beauty of the Badlands.

Email me anytime with your thoughts at maclacy@grouptravelleader.com.

Mac Lacy 6

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CUSTOM CONTENT

IN NORTHERN KENTUCKY:

STORIES OF

TEMPTATION AND SALVATION

BY VICKIE MITCHELL

I

n the early 1900s, people came to Northern Kentucky to drink and gamble. Today, they come by the thousands to visit a replica of Noah’s Ark and a museum dedicated to the story of Creation. In this colorful region across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, stories of temptation and salvation peacefully coexist.

BEGIN AT THE BEGINNING

The Bible’s oldest story is told with holograms and animatronics at the Creation Museum. Ziplines, Eden-like gardens, a planetarium and insectorium, a café and gift shop round out the experience. Some 40 miles south, at the Ark Encounter, a timber frame ark built to Biblical dimensions dominates the rolling hillsides just off I-75.

As visitors walk through the massive ship, lifelike exhibits employing animatronics recount the story of Noah, his family and their animal traveling companions. The ark is just the start; a mammoth buffet restaurant feeds the masses and ziplines, a petting zoo, camel rides and, in winter, a skating rink, entertain.

NEWPORT, THE FIRST SIN CITY

Back on the river in Newport, American Legacy Tours’ Newport Gangsters Tour is offered as a walking tour or step-on guided tour. It’s a colorful trek through America’s first Sin City, where Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe and other stars rubbed elbows with mobsters who made fortunes on gambling and booze until city fathers ran them and their illicit businesses west and Sin City II-Las Vegas-- was born.

NEW TAKE ON BOURBON AT NEW RIFF

After the tour, toast Newport’s sinful past at a local bourbon bar or learn how bourbon, rye and gin are being made at New Riff Distilling, part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour. Fans of less potent brews can break for a beer and brat at Newport’s Hofbrauhaus, the first U.S. location of the iconic Munich beer hall. Long tables, platters of German sausages, frosty mugs and live music make for a convivial atmosphere.

A LINEUP OF REAL DUMMIES

An audience made up of ventriloquists’ dummies that sits silently but expressively in a theater is one of many unexpected moments at the Vent Haven Museum. The appointment-only museum is home to a collection of 1,000 retired “vents.”

SHOP, SEE SHARKS AND RIDE A RIVERBOAT

Next to the river, Newport on the Levee is a scenic shopping and dining destination.

At the adjacent Newport Aquarium, mermaids and Santa swim among sharks depending on the season and visitors can pet a stingray and cross the shark bridge if they dare.

For trips up and down the river, BB Riverboats’ sightseeing and dinner cruises depart from its new dock and special events space.

SIGHTS ON THE CINCY SIDE

Cincinnati is minutes away and packed with promise. See dugouts, the press box and other off-limits areas during a tour of the riverfront Great American Ballpark, home to the Cincinnati Reds. Learn more about base-

ball’s oldest franchise at the newly remodeled Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, where a collection of uniforms, gloves, bats and player videos is augmented by handson fun like making your own baseball card.

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center perches above the Ohio River, which was crossed by hundreds of slaves on their journey to freedom via the Underground Railroad. The award-winning museum opens eyes to the devastation wrought by slavery in this country and to the continuing horrors of human trafficking and other forms of enslavement in the world today.

Signs will never seem the same after a visit to the American Sign Museum, where 20,000 square feet of space is filled with signs of every era, from hand-painted to flashy neon. Popular as an event space, the museum also works well for mystery tours because of its off-the-beaten path location in a warehouse district.

meetNKY.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION Erin Hoebbel, group tour manager meetNKY | Northern Kentucky CVB 859-655-4154 or 859-815-0127 (cell)

ehoebbel@meetNKY.com www.meetnky.com

P L A N N E R S

T A L K

B A C K

what is a new marketing strategy you plan to try this year?

CHRISTA LEEVAN

UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NOTRE DAME, INDIANA “We are marketing a young-alumni trip to the class of 2014, who just celebrated their five-year reunion on campus this past summer. It will be an extension of their reunion and take place in Iceland in July 2020.

We think this is a unique way to market to the young-alumni group.”

CAREY MILLER

MANATEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BRADENTON, FLORIDA “I plan to focus on reaching more new travelers through the local newspaper and magazines.”

AUDRA FERRALL

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA “We are planning to do more on social media to promote travel among our alumni and friends audiences. Instead of just throwing our trips out there, we’re working on a more sophisticated plan to include more fun, personal and interactive posts, such as travel-related polls, quotes from travelers and actual photos from travelers.”

DEBBIE NEWMAN

LAGUNA NIGUEL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LAGUNA NIGUEL, CALIFORNIA “The new strategy is reaching out to a retirement community nearby with disposable income. We are very open to advertising to an affluent audience outside of our chamber and welcome them into our group travel.”

LESLIE JERDEN

TRUITY CREDIT UNION BARTLESVILLE, OKLAHOMA “We recently started doing a combination of a wrap-up social and a kick-start to the tours lined up for 2020. I wanted to create an event to showcase the tours on the 2020 calendar again, all at once and in a social atmosphere. It was an event I called A Taste of the Tours. I had bistro tables set up with a food item and a beverage that paid homage to the destinations on the calendar. I also used fliers that gave snapshots of some of the highlights for each of the tours as table runners. I had a fantastic turnout. People loved seeing others they had already been on a tour with. The members encouraged each other to sign up for tours they themselves were already on. I got several reservations that evening without formal presentations.”

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T R A V E L

T O O L B O X

your first call should be to the local CVB

BY BRIA N JE W E LL

T

o plan an amazing trip to any destination, you need some help from the people who know it best.

If you hire full-service tour companies to take care of all your organization’s trips, you don’t have to put much more thought or work into making tours great. But if you plan and book any of the travel yourself, you can save a lot of headache and gain a lot of benefits by working with the destination marketing professionals in the places you plan to visit.

In cities across the country, convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) are staffed with local experts who are eager to help travel planners like you put together compelling group experiences. Their services are free, and their expertise can make the difference between an average trip and one your group will remember for years to come.

Here are five ways CVBs, tourism boards, visitors councils and similar destination marketing organizations can help you plan engaging group trips.

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TRIP TIMING If you’ve ever been to Washington, D.C., in May or New England in autumn, you know that the timing of your trip can have a major impact on your group’s experience. When you’re considering a tour, the destination’s CVB experts can help you plan a time for your visit that will maximize fun while minimizing crowds and expense, unless crowds are what you’re looking for. They can even steer you toward the days of the week that offer the most optimal hotel rates for tour groups.

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HOTEL HELP When it’s time to research and book hotels for your group’s trip, you don’t have to start with Google or the Yellow Pages. Many CVBs act as clearinghouses for the hotels in their communities and offer accommodation assistance to travel planners. Tell your CVB representative when you want to come, how many rooms you think you’ll need and what your target price range is, and they’ll reach out to qualifying hotel partners around town to gather bids for you. These bids are often more competitive than what you could find on your own, and the hotels have been vetted by the CVB, so you know you can trust them.

WARM WELCOME EXCLUSIVE EXPERIENCES CVB professionals have relationships with the most important people in their local tourism communities, and that often means they have access to experiences and activities that the general public doesn’t. When groups come to town, CVB representatives often help them arrange VIP experiences such as behind-the-scenes, curator-led museum tours or hands-on cooking classes with local celebrity chefs. Taking advantage of these connections will help you make your trips more memorable and add value to your tour packages.

Many CVB professionals love knowing that a tour group is in town and will go out of their way to make them feel welcome. That can mean meeting and greeting your group when you arrive in town, often with a special gift or local coupon book to hand out. They can also arrange a special welcome from the mayor or another local VIP. Some CVBs go even further, hosting welcome receptions at your hotel or offering full step-on guide service to give you a personalized tour of their hometown.

ITINERARY A SSISTANCE Many groups spend only a few days in any given destination, which means they need to make the most of the time they’re in town. To that end, one of the most helpful services CVBs offer is itinerary assistance. They will work with you to craft a travel plan that will include all the local experiences your group will enjoy most, and they’ll help you figure out the routing and scheduling to make sure your group is moving as efficiently as possible.

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DIANE ZUCCARINI TRAVEL CLUB COORDINATOR

checking in W I T H

D I A N E

Z U C C A R I N I

PROSPERITY BANK HOUSTON In 1999, Diane’s Zuccarini’s boss and three of her associates launched their own bank in Houston, calling it First Choice Bank. The bank thrived and in 2008 was sold to Prosperity Bank. The Bank’s Go Club is over 30 years old and has about 380 members.

Born: Hobart, Indiana Education: B.S. in elementary education and M.Ed. in school administration Employment: Zuccarini worked in education for 35 years teaching grades kindergarten through fifth grade and serving as an administrator. She began her second career at the bank in 2016.

Family: Zuccarini’s husband is a retired high school teacher and coach.

The couple have two married daughters, two grandchildren and another grandchild on the way.

Hobbies: Zuccarini loves to travel, both with the bank group and with her family in their R.V. She also loves to read, bike and kayak.

BY ELIZA MYERS

D

iane Zuccarini never hid her love of travel. During her career as a teacher, she used her summers off to go on adventurous vacations, which her friends began to notice.

“Everyone knew I loved to travel,” said Zuccarini, travel club coordinator for Prosperity Bank. “One of the ladies from my neighborhood asked if I would put together a girls’ trip to New York. After that trip, I planned a ladies’ trip to another location every summer until I retired.”

Zuccarini organized trips to Canada, Seattle, Boston, California wine country, Chicago and other major destinations with groups of up to 40 people.

After her retirement, word of her travel planning prowess made it to Prosperity Bank, and management asked her to come on board to lead the FLFG Go Club. Zuccarini turned her group travel planning

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Diane Zuccarini on a trip to Portofino, Italy

hobby into a year-round undertaking for a bank club with about 380 members.

Zuccarini has gone far beyond girls’ trips to travel around the world with a group ready to follow her on any adventure.

C A R E E R SWA P

Though Zuccarini came to Prosperity Bank with some prior group travel planning experience, she still experienced a learning curve with the professional travel program.

“I was planning trips, but I didn’t use trip insurance or other travel companies,” said Zuccarini. “It wasn’t the smartest planning. Men were the biggest transition. I did women’s trips for 20 years. Then I’m suddenly taking men on trips.”

She learned to scale back her shopping excursions and added activities she felt might interest more men.

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Instead of starting small, Zuccarini launched her new career with a 16-day trans-Atlantic cruise from Florida to Spain.

“That was interesting because I planned on 20 to 25 people coming, and 46 people signed up,” said Zuccarini. “That was my first trip. I did not use a travel agent. I did it myself. It was a lot of work, but it was fun.”

She spent the trip learning how to build relationships among travelers.

“We had nine days when we didn’t see land,” said Zuccarini. “I’d always have us meet for dinner. Every day I would set up a new seating chart so the group could mix. Travelers like to meet new people, but it can be awkward to switch seats on your own. There were so many new friendships formed. Many people from that trip are still friends and play games every week.”

After the trip, Zuccarini tried using a travel company to help organize the tour and couldn’t believe how much easier planning became.

B EY O N D ‘S IT A N D G E T ’

“That is a really special event that keeps people in touch,” said Zuccarini. “The hotel told us people aren’t doing these types of events anymore. People appreciate that we still host that party.”

Since Zuccarini travels with the bank group every other month, one might worry that the schedule could become overwhelming. Instead, Zuccarini still loves every second.

“It’s a wonderful way to be retired,” said Zuccarini. “Having retired from 35 years of education, this is such a treat. People like to tell me, ‘You’ve dealt with kids so long. You are still rounding them up; they are just a little older.’ It’s been so much fun.”

T R A V E L

When choosing a new location to explore, Zuccarini looks for authentic experiences unique to that area. Since her travelers live in a big city, she wants to give them experiences they couldn’t find nearby. Instead of a generic cooking class, she will look for a culinary experience that is culturally relevant to the area.

“Luckily, my group is not just a ‘sit and get’ group,” said Zuccarini.

“They will participate in different things. We visited some national parks in August. Almost everybody on that trip went on a rafting ride in Jackson, Wyoming. They are really so positive and open-minded.”

Zuccarini also believes it’s important to include some downtime on tours.

“I don’t believe having every minute planned is a vacation,” said Zuccarini. “When you tell travelers that they have to be on a bus at 8 a.m. every day, that is a lot. I try to make them realize they can slow down and immerse themselves in the destination a bit more.”

The Go Club’s trips don’t follow a template.

Instead, Zuccarini works to offer a wide variety of travel experiences. Travelers sign up for everything from overnight casino trips to international tours. The program averages one international trip a year, as well as four within North America and three in Texas or Louisiana.

Go Club’s trips previously consisted only of senior citizens. Now, anyone over 21 can attend.

“Our trips don’t always work for people still in the workforce,” said Zuccarini. “I’m trying to address that. I had a trip last spring to Sedona and the Grand Canyon. It was a five-night trip. It marketed itself because of its shorter length. So many people said that it was the perfect amount of time for a tour.”

tips

• Offer a variety of travel opportunities, from weekend bus excursions to international adventures.

• Look at new ways of travel. The next generation doesn’t want to “sit and get.” They want hands-on experiences.

• Take your time and listen. Listen to new ideas and listen to travelers wants, needs and dreams.

F ORGIN G FRI E N D S H I P S

Not everyone in Go Club has the resources to travel. Zuccarini wanted to include those members in the program in other ways. A monthly potluck luncheon encourages all members to eat, play games and socialize whether or not they sign up for tours.

“We also meet once a month and try a new restaurant,” said Zuccarini. “Some of our members want companionship but can’t travel. The monthly meals are ways everyone can participate.”

The program has a long tradition of hosting a big Christmas party. The bank rents a hotel ballroom to host a sit-down dinner and dance.

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318 Howard Street • Greenwood, Mississippi 662.453.2114 • thealluvian.com

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C O N F E R E N C E

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DON'T MISS

CHEYENNE!

WYOMING STARS AT THE SELECT TRAVELER CONFERENCE

Twickenham Antebellum District

Courtesy Cheyenne Frontier Days

BY DAN DICKSON

D

elegates to the next Select Traveler Conference have an opportunity to check a travel experience off their bucket lists. The conference will be staged in beautiful Cheyenne, Wyoming, March 22-24. Rugged yet lovely, Wyoming is not a state everyone gets to visit, so the host city plans to give travel planners and travel industry representatives some warm hospitality and a memorable taste of the Old West.

“It’s a chance for us to show off the growth in our community and to highlight attractions such as the world’s largest outdoor rodeo and Western celebration,” said Jim Walter of Visit Cheyenne. “We’re only an hour and a half north of Denver, so we’re accessible for the rest of the country.”

Many of the Select Traveler Conference attendees will fly into town, which means they will touch down at the Cheyenne Regional Airport’s convenient new terminal, which replaced an outdated half-century-old building.

Others who are driving to Cheyenne will likely arrive via Interstate 25 (north and south) or Interstate 80 (east and west).

Both form an important regional crossroads for travelers.

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CONFERENCE BUSINESS

The conference features several hundred travel directors for banks, college and university alumni associations and chambers of commerce, along with travel destination providers who want to win their business. They will meet face-to-face in three strategically planned marketplace sessions inside the beautiful Little America Hotel and Resort, located just minutes from downtown Cheyenne.

These six-minute meetings are a chance for the various travel planners to see and hear about dozens of interesting destinations around the nation. These get-to-know-you appointments are a great way for each side to quickly determine if they might want to do some business together. Later, interested parties often continue their conversations during the remaining conference days and nights, especially during the more informal mealtimes and other events. Follow-ups after the conference can clinch the travel deal.

Nadine Mihaljevic of Destinations With Nadine in Mundelein, Illinois, attended last year’s conference in French Lick, Indiana. She’s devoted to Select Traveler.

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Courtesy Visit Cheyenne

By Judy Myers, courtesy Visit Cheyenne

Cheyenne highlights, left to right: Cheyenne Frontier Days; Dining in Cheyenne; A bull rider at Cheyenne Frontier Days

“Whenever I come, I search for lifetime partnerships with people I can trust and who share my quality customer-service goals,” she said. “I’ve found that year after year at Select Traveler.”

The many travel destination providers found the conference to be very helpful.

“I’m trying to grow my group business and bring everyone to Natchez to show off what we have,” said Valda Harveston of the Magnolia Bluffs Casino and Hotel in Mississippi, who also attended last year’s Select Traveler Conference.

MEALTIMES AND EVENTS

One of the more pleasant experiences at the Select Traveler Conference is for travel directors and their colleagues to sit down, relax, have a drink and enjoy a tasty meal. The host city always puts on a great show, and Cheyenne will not disappoint anyone.

“We’re going to have a lot of fun and get Western,” said the CVB’s Walter. That means that on the first night of the conference, there will be a fast-paced and lively rodeo staged right alongside the evening’s meal.

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The rodeo will include cowboys and cowgirls roping, bull riding and barrel racing inside Cheyenne’s new fairgrounds events center in nearby Archer, Wyoming. Delegates will also get a chance to learn a few rodeo tricks as they try to master some of the skills exhibited by the professionals. Other delegates might take time to learn a little Western line dancing.

“It’s a night of Western entertainment, so bring your boots,” said Walter.

Night two of the conference will feature a dinner sponsored by the host city for the 2021 Select Traveler Conference: Panama City Beach, Florida.

Conference sponsors always bring great value to the threeday gathering. Many are promoting travel companies or specific destinations that present travel planners with dozens of ideas and options to consider. Conference attendees can count on seeing some delightful videos promoting travel around the nation and the world. Many sponsors will have their own booths where more detailed conversations may take place.

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connection CHEYENNE SHINES

There will be no formal FAM tours scheduled before or after the Select Traveler Conference. However, Visit Cheyenne urges travel directors to dig into all of the local information it has available and to speak directly to CVB sales staff about the many opportunities for group travel in the Cheyenne area. In addition, travel planners can contact the Wyoming Office of Tourism about FAM tours that it offers.

There’s a lot to see and do in the area. Cheyenne, the capital city of Wyoming, has 60,000 residents, and many rely on the tourist trade that comes to town.

“We have such a deep history here,” said Walter, who directs marketing and sales for the CVB. He went on to explain that in 1867, Cheyenne was barely a speck on a map when the famed Union Pacific Railroad was searching for a place to begin its historic rail ascent over the Rocky Mountains. Cheyenne was the lucky place the railroad chose, and as a result, the little settlement grew up — fast.

Cheyenne enjoys showcasing its heritage for visitors. The city was named for a Great Plains Native American tribe. A good way for newcomers to absorb the historic narratives of the city is to hop on a Cheyenne Street Railway Trolley for a tour. Riders can board the trolleys at the downtown historic depot building, which is a National Historic Landmark. Veteran conductors will hold visitors’ attention with running commentary about Cheyenne’s Wild West days of muddy streets, gunfighters, vigilantes, notorious saloons and brothels, the railroads and peculiar characters like Wild Bill Hickok and Tom Horn.

The trolley tours operate on a loop, so if visitors choose to get off to check out an attraction, the trolley will return to pick them up. Normally, the trolleys run from May through September, but one will be made available for Select Traveler Conference attendees on the Saturday before the official start of the meeting.

Museums and historic sites help tell the story of Cheyenne and Wyoming, and there are several really good ones to check out. The Cheyenne Depot Museum presents the rich history of the early railroads that connected the young nation. A stroll through the museum will keep visitors busy with photos, exhibits, and audio and video displays. Just outside the door is Depot Plaza, a spirited place with concerts and fun events that draw many people.

The Nelson Museum of the West is another historic gem highlighting cowboy, Native American and military artifacts, and beautiful Western art. The Wyoming State Museum features human and natural history from Wyoming’s prehistoric times to the present.

Wyoming’s state capitol, first opened in 1889, has just been fully restored, and it is worth a visit, as is the circa 1904 Governor’s Mansion, only five blocks away.

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Cheyenne trolley tours

Courtesy Visit Cheyenne

MORE EXCITING ACTIVITIES

While enjoying the minirodeo during the conference, delegates will also be able to learn much more about Wyoming’s foremost annual event: Cheyenne Frontier Days. This massive event takes place each year in late July and will celebrate its 124th anniversary this summer.

“We are home to the world’s largest outdoor rodeo and celebration of Western heritage,” said Walter. “It is a big draw.”

The 10-day event includes everything Western, including the rodeo, naturally, and a cattle drive, a chuck wagon, a carnival midway, an old frontier town, a Western art show, Fiesta Day and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds aerial show. There are several fabulous concerts with top country-music talent, such as Blake Shelton, who will headline this year’s rodeo.

Historic ranch tours are a popular group activity because they give guests a sense of what life on the open range must have been like 100 or more years ago. One of the best is Terry Bison Ranch outside of Cheyenne. Narrated train trips are available, and riders will get close to a huge bison herd, handfeed some of the animals, and also view camels, ostriches and other farm animals.

Cheyenne is justifiably proud of its beautiful botanical gardens. A $13 million addition, known as the Grand Conservatory, was recently completed and contains a lush tropical plant collection, a bonsai house and an orangerie, which holds delicate fruit trees that would never survive Wyoming’s harsh winters.

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connection Cattle drives

Cheyenne Frontier Days’ Indian Village

Cheyenne Frontier Days Courtesy Cheyenne Frontier Days

Courtesy Cheyenne Frontier Days

By Allen Meyer, courtesy Visit Cheyenne

A rodeo fire act Courtesy Cheyenne Frontier Days

“WE ARE HOME TO THE WORLD’S LARGEST OUTDOOR RODEO AND CELEBRATION OF WESTERN HERITAGE. IT IS A BIG DRAW.”

— JIM WALTER, VISIT CHEYENNE

WESTERN

Authenticity. Hospitality. Experience.

Cheyenne offers your group the history and romance of the West, paired with attractions, restaurants, museums, and hotels that will create memorable experiences for your customers.

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CHEYENNE.ORG | 800-426-5009 selecttraveler.com

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S P O N S O R S

ADD VALUE French Lick Scenic Railway, Indiana Photos courtesy Tour ‘IN 64

BY DAN DICKSON

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elegates see their booths lining the main hall of the Select Traveler Conference. They watch their travel videos and hear their pitches during mealtimes, between marketplace sessions and during other conference activities. They are the conference sponsors, and they represent a wide cross section of the travel industry. Sponsors offer special value, and fun and enjoyment to the several hundred delegates who attend the annual Select Traveler Conference.

“The sponsors are really important and rank right up there with our host cities in giving a great experience to our delegates,” said Joe Cappuzzello, president and CEO of the Group Travel Family, which manages the Select Traveler Conference.

Some sponsors buy booths, which give them added exposure to delegates, especially during registration time. Sponsors can hand out “auction dollars” to the delegates they talk to, and those dollars can be used to bid on impressive prizes awarded later during the auction. “That encourages our delegates to engage with the travel industry,” Cappuzzello said.

Interaction at booths between group travel directors and travel industry representatives starts the relationship building even before the three marketplace sessions kick off. It is really a timesaver. With personal introductions already out of the way, the two sides can save time later when the six-minute clock starts ticking during their appointment. At that point, the two sides can get right to the heart of their sales discussion and decide whether they want to do business together.

There are different levels of sponsorship available, said Cappuzzello. Some sponsors get to show beautifully crafted videos of their travel products. Others may speak for 20 minutes or more at one of the six meal functions or at an evening event. Or a company may sponsor a keynote speaker, an educational seminar or a loyalty program breakout session.

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JOE CAPPUZZELLO

Schimpff’s Confectionery, Jeffersonville, Indiana

Mayflower Cruises and Tours Courtesy Mayflower Cruises and Tours

SPONSORS BRING IDEAS

Visit French Lick West Baden, Indiana, hosted the 2019 Select Traveler Conference. In 2020, the CVB will sponsor name badges for all delegates and staff at the conference. The CVB is collaborating with other southern Indiana travel partners to promote a campaign called Tour’IN 64. It promotes southern Indiana along Interstate 64 and includes French Lick, Evansville and the Derby Dinner Playhouse in Clarksville. The clever promotional logo will be rolled out to delegates every chance the sponsors can do it.

“We are presenting that to tour operators as a great option as they drive through the state of Indiana,” said Kristal Painter, executive director of Visit French Lick West Baden. “We’ve pieced together a bunch of things to do along the east-west Interstate 64. We see the Select Traveler Conference as a good way to get our message across. At the conference, we think the quality of the operators and the appointments is very high, so we want to present our ideas to those folks.”

Painter also likes using their booth because it affords her a chance to have longer, more casual one-to-one chats with delegates.

“You don’t always get to meet every operator in the marketplace, so the booth is an opportunity for us to connect with people we may not have an appointment with,” she said. “We feel Select Traveler is a place to spend a little extra advertising money for a sponsorship.”

Mayflower Cruises and Tours is one of the many travel companies going all out to provide extra value to the Select Traveler trip planners. The company will host the icebreaker reception and hopes to meet and educate people who stop by its booth.

“We always have a booth and a trip giveaway,” said Michael Lundquist, the company’s director of sales in the eastern U.S. “We also want to get everyone’s business card for a follow-up by our sales team. We also give out cash for the conference auction, and that drives a lot of people to us. We find the booth to be beneficial to us and to the delegates.”

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connection

Lundquist enjoys delivering a travel talk so he can update attendees on the fun trips his company provides.

“They give me 10 or 15 minutes to present, and I can mention commission deals or special comps that planners might not be aware of or describe some new products that we have. They can learn a lot.”

Among the videos Lundquist likes to use is one highlighting river cruising, which is excellent for groups. It shows details of the ship, how people can use it, all its open spaces, the dining rooms and so on.

In addition to hosting the 2020 Select Traveler Conference in beautiful and rugged Wyoming, Visit Cheyenne will staff a booth and sponsor the meeting’s travel industry report.

“It is a strategy we have used successfully for about six years now,” said Jim Walter, director of sales and marketing for the CVB. “From our standpoint, it’s about the visibility, the opportunity to reach everybody at the conference and to put Cheyenne right in front of them.

We like to be able to show a video, too, and to really make an impact on them.”

With a limited number of marketplace appointment slots open, Visit Cheyenne and other travel industry representatives know they won’t be able to sit down with every travel planner. But they can still reach them during booth time.

“Sometimes we’ll have a conversation with someone we didn’t have an appointment with, and that leads to some new business for us,” Walter said.

The travel industry is built upon personal relationships, and conference organizers believe there is no better way to start the process than with quality networking. When travel planners interact with sponsors, they learn more about the exciting trips and destinations being offered and how they can interest a travel planner’s upscale clients.

“For sponsors, there are a variety of ways to get their messages out there,” said Cappuzzello. “They are all important and valuable."

The Meeting for Bank, Alumni, & Chamber Travel Directors

Cheyenne, Wyoming March 22-24, 2020

selecttravelerconf.com

Call to Register Today:

800.628.0993

m Aboardl

Amundsen’s Legacy Hurtigruten launches an Alaskan classic

BY KEVIN MURPHY

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oald Amundsen opened the door of the telegraph office at Fort Egbert, near Eagle City, Alaska. Established by the U.S. Army to bring law and order to the gold fields of the Klondike, the fort possessed the only means of communication within hundreds of miles. The Norwegian explorer had important news to transmit. The year was 1905, and Amundsen and his small crew of scientists had found their way through the Northwest Passage connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Circle.

Amundsen had left Norway two years earlier when Sweden and Norway were still united under one monarch. To his surprise, the telegraph operator informed him Norway had its own king now. Amundsen quickly changed the addressee of the telegram to His Royal Majesty King Haakon VII and claimed his discovery of the Northwest Passage for the crown of Norway.

FIRST HYBRID ELECTRIC CRUISE SHIP

When Amundsen was a boy, he had a dream about the Northwest Passage, inspired by the explorers who influenced his life’s path. “In my imagination, I created an electric ship that could break through all kinds of ice, that nice and elegantly, fearful and irresistible, could sail through the Arctic oceans, straight to the pole,” he wrote.

While sailing straight to the pole has yet to be achieved, Amundsen’s words were clearly on the minds of those at the helm of Hurtigruten, the Norwegian expedition cruise and ferry company. When it came time to christen their first of 10 new electric-hybrid exploration ships, Amundsen’s name led the list. Not only was he the first explorer to sail through the Northwest Passage, he was the first explorer to reach the South Pole and the first to fly over the North Pole in an airship.

When I boarded the ship in Vancouver, British Columbia, it had recently completed its first cruise following in the wake of Amundsen’s scientific voyage. What took Amundsen and his crew two years was quickly accomplished by his namesake ship in just two weeks. Amundsen’s ship, the Gjøa, was just 47 tons and served a total of six men. Accommodating only 530 passengers and 151 crew, the MV Roald Amundsen is the first purpose-built electric hybrid passenger ship in the world. Its sister ship, the MV Fridtjof Nansen, also named for a famous explorer, is due to launch in 2020. These new ships will minimize emissions on the sensitive environments they will visit; namely the Arctic, Antarctica and, for the MV Roald Amundsen, its first North American cruises in Alaska.

When I boarded the ship in Vancouver, for a tour and overnight stay for travel professionals, it had recently completed its first cruise following in the wake of Amundsen’s scientific voyage.

SCANDINAVIAN DESIGN AT SEA

Stepping aboard the ship was like being welcomed into a Scandinavian home. Clean lines, gracious open spaces, rich woods and neutral colors provide an atmosphere of Nordic modesty. Even the seven-storytall LED screen, the largest at sea and located amidships in the atrium, seemed understated.

The main restaurant on board is called Aune, named in honor of the chandler Tinus Aune who outfitted many Norwegian expeditions.

It features Scandinavian-inspired dishes with a diverse menu. Nearby, Fredheim is a more casual dining space that features small plates like tacos; burgers; and milkshakes, a favorite dessert of Hurtgruten’s CEO, Daniel Skjeldam.

Like many cruise ships, the MV Roald Amundsen features a specialty restaurant, Lindstrøm, named for the explorer’s cook. The upscale menu is presented within elegant surroundings, including paintings by Queen Sonja of Norway, just a few of the nearly 600 pieces of art to be found aboard ship.

Other public spaces are designed for passengers to engage with each other. The Explorer Lounge and Bar offers a full selection of libations, including Aquavit, an alcoholic favorite from northern Europe. Passengers will have a tough choice between the comfortable window seats gazing out to the open sea and near the faux fireplace in the center of the lounge, inviting cozy conversation.

A small gym and wellness center complement an outdoor pool with two flanking hot tubs, nicely suited to induce relaxation after a day of observing wildlife from land or water. But the best option seems to be the large dry sauna that straddles locker rooms for men and women and features floor-to-ceiling windows looking out toward the horizon.

The small size of the ship doesn’t provide limitations on cabin size or design. In fact, 13 categories are available to suit all needs, ranging from slightly less than 200 square feet to just over 500 square feet. All cabins face the outside, and half have private balconies. The aft suites feature private outdoor hot tubs and amazing views from the stern of the ship.

ONBOARD ACTIVITIES

Cruising in some of the most challenging waters of the world, you won’t find the amenities of the super cruise vessels aboard this ship.

No ice skating rinks, go-cart tracks, laser tag or Broadway shows.

These ships are designed for expeditionary cruising and as a conduit for education and exploration.

Aboard the ship is an impressive science station, the first purposebuilt lab for a cruise ship at sea. Passengers can use Zeiss microscopes linked to a network of large screens for group viewing. Museum-quality exhibits fill the lab, personally curated for each cruise. Underwater camOpposite page, middle row: Ship's interior

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Ship’s bridge at evening

Kayaking in Alaskan waters All photos by Heather McIntyre

and locals share traditional dance, music and customs.”

Meanwhile, ship crews engage in the communities they visit by playing games and participating in service projects.

“We do boardwalk repair and beach cleaning,” Meraldi said. “We find mostly plastic and fishing materials, which the ship carts off.”

Science programs offered on board are diverse, and many crew members themselves are scientists. Hurtigruten ships also provide transportation for personnel and equipment bound for science stations near or along the route of cruises. Guest scientists offer onboard lectures and hands-on activities both on the ship and onshore.

Off the ship, passengers can dive deeper into scientific exploration by participating in several programs offered aboard Hurtigruten vessels, including seabird and seal research, NASA’s Globe Cloud Protocol Study and the Secchi Disk Study to measure water clarity.

Ship’s lounge

Alaskan cuisine

eras provide a picture beneath the waves while drones fly above the ship, providing views from higher elevations. Future ships in the Hurtigruten line will have similar facilities, and older ships will have labs added during retrofits. Forward of the lab, passengers will find a twostory, indoor/outdoor observation area with windows that wrap around the raked bow.

Down below, an area affectionately called “The Mud Room” helps to build excitement as passengers prepare for shore excursions, from rides on Zodiac inflatable boats to find sea life to pitching tents and overnighting on the shores of Antarctica. Webbed chairs face a large LED screen, allowing the crew to brief passengers on their trips off ship. A storage room filled with tents, snowshoes, rain boots and slickers provides any equipment required. Passengers board the Zodiac boats from a dock built into the ship that folds out over the water.

AMUNDSEN PHILOSOPHY

Setting himself apart from other explorers of his time, Amundsen came to regard local inhabitants of the places he visited with the utmost respect. Rather than relying exclusively on Western-made materials during his travels, Amundsen adapted his exploration lifestyle to the local cultures and climates. During his time surveying the Northwest Passage, he learned the language of the Inuit people and adopted their techniques for survival.

“He did exploring the way other explorers didn’t,” said Skjeldam. “He learned from the Inuit culture. He used the techniques of the locals.”

It’s that philosophy Hurtigruten has ingrained in its crews and wants to share with its passengers through community engagement and its varied science programs.

Verena Meraldi, a biologist and chief scientist of Hurtigruten, wants to make sure passengers and crew are afforded the opportunity to take advantage of expedition cruise ships.

“Investing in the communities Hurtigruten visits works both ways,” she said. “Hurtigruten trains local guides to provide local expeditions,

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COMING TO THE U.S. MARKET

Although Hurtigruten began cruising the fjords of Norway in 1893 and the company cruises to over 200 ports in 30 countries, the company is largely unknown in North America. Skjeldam wants to change that.

“The U.S. is important as a destination and a market, and there have been changes in the product to be more attractive,” he said.

This especially includes the addition of an all-inclusive cruising product so common to Americans. The traditional Hurtigruten model has offered a la carte cruising with separate costs for meals and accommodations. This was more realistic for a company that built its product for a more utilitarian approach ferrying passengers and supplies to and from isolated Norwegian communities. Cruises to Alaska, scheduled to begin this year, will be all-inclusive.

Demand for expeditionary cruises like those offered by Hurtigruten is expected to increase quickly. According to research from Travel Market Report, 55% of baby boomers and 42% of luxury travelers are very likely to book an expeditionary cruise in the next 24 months. Nearly 80% of respondents want close-up experiences with locals and wildlife on cruises, while 64% want a cultural experience These numbers are music to the ears of companies like Hurtigruten.

Kevin Murphy is owner of Open Roads Tour and Travel Solutions, a receptive tour operator for the western U.S. and Canada.

Aune restaurant

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GET YOUR EXTROVERT ON IN LOUISIANA

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“

nion, Justice, and Confidence” is Louisiana’s official state motto, but that’s so boring compared with “Laissez les bons temps rouler” (“Let the good times roll”), which better sets the tone for a state known for colorful multinational history, jazz, crawfish, beer and outdoor parties.

Louisiana is simultaneously compact and packed — with attractions, activities and good times, that is. Bustling New Orleans almost always is the starting point, but much awaits in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles and dots on the map in between.

Here’s a sampler that includes the beauty of the oldest Catholic cathedral in the U.S., alligator encounters, an opportunity to cook jambalaya, an almost-private vantage point for a Mardi Gras parade, a sinus-clearing visit to a hot sauce factory and a visit to “Louisiana’s Outback.”

BY TOM ADKINSON

Preserved swamplands in Lake Charles protect alligators and other Louisiana wildlife.

NEW ORLEANS

Hotelier Kent Wasmuth at the Hotel Monteleone, celebrating its 135th birthday this year, knows groups will jump into the energy coursing through the French Quarter, but he recommends two slow-yourself-down activities, too, noting, “There is depth in New Orleans to be enjoyed.”

First is a collection of 13 historic French Quarter buildings collectively known as the Historic New Orleans Collection. Its new exhibition center on Royal Street changes installations frequently, and Frommer’s editors labeled its Louisiana History Galleries “the best introduction to the city that a visitor can get.” Group members can set their own pace with guidance from cellphone tours. Regardless of what else you see in the French Quarter, you’ll be drawn to the St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest in the U.S.

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B ATO N R O UGE L A KE CHAR LES

LAFAY ETTE

VACHER I E N EW O R LEANS

Wasmuth’s second suggestion is perhaps a surprise: a quiet visit to Woldenberg Park, adjacent to the French Quarter and providing unobstructed views of the Mississippi River.

“Too often, people fail to go see the river, its beauty and its power,” he said.

“It is a magnificent sight. People don’t realize what the river means to the city and the nation.”

Food, of course, drives much New Orleans activity. Food and travel writer Beth D’Addono, author of “100 Things To Do in New Orleans Before You Die,” advocates exploration. For instance, she recently organized a progressive dinner through the Bywater neighborhood — Baccanal Wine and Music, Compton’s Bywater American Bistro and the Bywater Bakery — and can coach group leaders about other multistop meals.

It may sound odd, but she recommends that adults go to the brand-new Louisiana Children’s Museum in City Park, but that they go for a quiet breakfast before the kids show up at 10 a.m. The Acorn cafe, a Dickie Brennan restaurant, overlooks the Little Lake, where a footbridge features a fog sculpture by Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya. The fog appears every 30 minutes, and temperature, humidity and wind make each presentation different. neworleans.com

PLANTATION COUNTRY

Willma Harvey, director of sales at New Orleans Plantation Country, suggests you do some cooking and singing as well as sightseeing in her three parishes, or counties, north of New Orleans. Of the 10

Mango Mango Daiquiris in New Orleans

Courtesy Visit Lake Charles

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sissippi River and plays music plantation homes there, Laura that corresponds to the rise Plantation at Vacherie is a solid and fall of the water. It’s a great choice to explain the plantation location for a group photo. economy before choosing among Baton Rouge is well known other famous plantations, such for attractions such as the tallas Oak Alley, Destrehan, Everest state capitol in the nation green and Whitney. Whitney, and the history-laden Capitol which opened in 2014, is the rePark Museum, but Tracy Frangion’s only plantation museum cis, national sales manager for to focus exclusively on slavery.

Visit Baton Rouge, encourages Harvey loves her area’s newgroups to explore the city’s fesStatues at Whitney Plantation est attraction, Spuddy’s Cajun tival and arts scenes.

Cooking Experience, which The Baton Rouge Blues Fesopened in 2019 in Vacherie to tival, which Francis noted is Royal House Oyster Bar in New Orleans complement an existing restauone of the oldest in the counrant. The experience is a totally try, features local and internahands-on time with Spuddy tional performers every April, Faucheaux III to learn how and Baton Rouge’s Mardi Gras to make andouille, jambalaya celebration is another event and gumbo. Spuddy, born the to consider. A special treat is year the Sputnik satellite was the Spanish Town Mardi Gras launched, enjoys groups. He Parade, always the Saturday says each multihour experience before Fat Tuesday. A viewing ends the same happy Cajun way: tip: Have your group gravitate “We’re going to eat, and we’re to the Capitol Park Museum, going to have fun. We’ll have a which offers reviewing stands, few beers with our new friends. food and museum access; i.e., We’ll have a party.” restrooms.

Another place to peek into On the arts, culture and Louisiana’s centuries-old tradihistory scenes, ask Francis for tion of making andouille is at tips to explore the Mid City Wayne Jacob’s Smokehouse and Cultural District and its variRestaurant in LaPlace, the selfous galleries, cafes and busiproclaimed Andouille Capital of nesses, such as the Market at Bird watching in Lafayette the World. Learn how latter-day German immiCirca 1857. To learn about the other side of grants adapted their French predecessors’ love life from the plantation economy, visit the LSU of sausage.

Rural Life Museum, a substantial collection of Visit Historic Riverlands in Reserve to join houses and farm buildings that show how poor the singing that Harvey brags about. Historic whites, slaves and free people of color lived on Riverlands, caretaker of the original Our Lady of the farm.

Grace sanctuary, itself on the National Register of visitbatonrouge.com Historic Places, presents the “Soul River Musical Journey” for groups. It is a trip through African American history, and groups often get caught up in the music and sing along. Leader Rita Perrilloux Turn left at Baton Rouge and zip through the cites times she has brought in New Orleans musiAtchafalaya Swamp to the heart of Acadiana: cians for extra flair. “We tailor-make every tour, Lafayette. Although you hear about Cajuns all so lengths vary,” she said. “If a group wants bells over Louisiana, this is the center of the Cajun and whistles, we can accommodate.” universe. Get a crash course in Cajun heritage visitnopc.com at Vermilionville, a village from 1765 to 1890 with 19 restored and reproduced buildings. You can take a boat ride on Bayou Vermilionville, Live music listen to Cajun musicians playing the accordion, Singing of a different kind is a new attraction in Lafayette fiddle and triangle, and dine at Mama’s Kitchen. just upriver in Baton Rouge, the state capital. It Continue your education at St. Martinville by is a gleaming sculpture — so reflective that it’s having your picture taken under the Evangeline reminiscent of “The Bean” in Chicago — called Oak, an ancient tree named for the heroine of “Sing the River.” The sculpture, a gift from the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “EvangeRotary Club, connects to sensors in the Misline.” Another nearby site for a fun photo is the

LAFAYETTE

BATON ROUGE

Photos by Tom Adkinson

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Breaux Bridge water tower, which is adorned with the biggest crawfish you’ve ever seen.

Speaking of crawfish, this is the place to chow down on the tasty crustaceans. Lafayette’s website displays three dozen crawfish joints. Two especially group-friendly ones are Prejean’s — Big Al is the 14-foot-long alligator in the middle of the dining room — and Randol’s, where bands such as the Cajun Ramblers and the Louisiana Stars keep people, even non-Cajuns, on the dance floor. For a total food immersion, find Cajun Food Tours, where each tour hits five restaurants. The owner’s advice: “Don’t eat before you come, and wear your stretchy pants.”

Add some spice to your visit at Avery Island, home of Tabasco sauce. The factory tour explains Tabasco’s 150-year history — it began with a desire to spice up the bland food of the 1860s Reconstruction South — and how it takes 28 days to brew every batch of the hot sauce now sold worldwide. Cap off a meal at Tabasco with a visit to Jungle Gardens and Bird City, which isn’t as hokey as it sounds. It’s an egret rookery and wildlife sanctuary that thousands of snowy egrets call home, as do alligators and other swamp critters. No cages here. lafayettetravel.com

Sing the River sculpture

Courtesy Visit Baton Rouge

An American alligator Contraband Bayou Golf Club Courtesy L'Auberge Casino Resort

Courtesy Visit Lake Charles

LAKE CHARLES

If it’s alligators, egrets and other wildlife you want, head to Lake Charles and southwest Louisiana to tour part of the 180-mile Creole Nature Trail All-American Road, one of only 43 designated scenic byways in the U.S. First, however, get an explanation of what’s called Louisiana’s Outback at Adventure Point, an information center that explains Louisiana culture and the vast stretches of marshland, prairie and cypress swamps that await you. Outfitters such as Grosse Savanne Eco Tours are great guides. This is quite the area for nature photographers.

Back in Lake Charles, there is nightlife instead of wildlife, along with golf and spa opportunities, at four casino properties. Mardi Gras gets its due here, too, with the Mardi Gras Museum of the Imperial Calcasieu, a five-parish region that displays almost 600 Mardi Gras gowns. Most are worn only once, although each costs up to $6,000. Only New Orleans has a bigger Mardi Gras celebration than Lake Charles.

A sedate but still interesting attraction is the 1911 Historic City Hall Arts and Cultural Center. Its gallery spaces change frequently. That’s why works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Norman Rockwell, Ansel Adams and Tasha Tudor have been shown in this corner of Louisiana. visitlakecharles.org

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RIVER CITY

RISING

BY ELIZA MYERS

Photos courtesy Louisville Tourism

downtown louisville is trending on all fronts

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n 2011, the demolition of a row of historic buildings in downtown Louisville seemed inevitable. But preservationists interested in the buildings’ cast-iron beauty and historic significance helped sway officials to save the buildings. After having been spared, the buildings helped launch Louisville’s urban bourbon renaissance.

Now known as Whiskey Row, the stretch of Main Street joins a long list of Louisville’s signature attractions within walking distance of one another. Main Street’s Museum Row mixes with Whiskey Row’s offerings to blend the two popular trip themes. Groups can go from one attraction to another on an itinerary that could last for days.

Louisville Tourism helps groups set up tours to downtown Louisville. The organization offers group travel planners several promotional incentives, including a $500 shopping spree for groups that book overnights for 15 or more rooms.

Museums, art attractions, entertainment options and engaging bourbon tours await in Louisville’s thriving downtown area.

WHISKEY ROW

In the 19th century, a blocklong stretch of Main Street served as the home of the bourbon industry in Louisville. Many of the Revivalist and Chicago School-style buildings featured cast-iron storefronts, and the area was known collectively as Whiskey Row. The nickname has returned to the area after years of renovations opened new distilleries in the buildings. Whiskey Row is now a bourbon tourism district with historic brands and emerging whiskey brands.

One of the first distilleries to open in Whiskey Row was the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience.

“For groups, Evan Williams is one of the top bourbon tours,” said Saundra Robertson, tourism and group sales manager for Louisville Tourism. “The experience is 4D, so it feels like you are living it. You go through the wharf on the Ohio River. Then it leads you upstairs to the 1800s, when Louisville was home to Whiskey Row.” In 1783, a Welsh immigrant named Evan Williams founded the first bourbon distillery on the Ohio River. His namesake bourbon eventually became one of the country’s best-known whiskeys. Tours at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience highlight the founder’s history, and guests learn about the intricate bourbon-distilling process and see an artisanal still at work.

After the tour, groups can taste the bourbon and buy bottles and other collectibles from the gift shop.

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail Welcome Center illustrates the overlap between the Whiskey Row and Museum Row attractions. The

welcome center is inside the Frazier History Museum, which features artifacts of American, Native American, Asian and European origin.

The museum’s bourbon experience opened in 2018 in partnership with the Kentucky Distillers’ Association. The center serves as the official start of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, with concierge service and information on how to navigate Louisville’s burgeoning bourbon scene.

Old Forester Distillery offers another bourbon tour that groups will like. The 70,000-square-foot distillery occupies the same venue the company used before Prohibition.

Opened in 2018, the company is the first distillery to use a single building for bourbon assembly, charring barrels and distillation.

Groups can char a barrel for a hands-on way to experience bourbonmaking.

Whiskey Row also offers a few recently opened hotels, including Hotel Distil, a 205-room, bourbon-themed hotel. The hotel’s design hearkens back to pre-Prohibition style with woods, black metals and copper fixtures.

A bourbon Old Fashioned

Opposite page: Groups can enjoy food, music and fun at Fourth Street Live in downtown Louisville.

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MUSEUM ROW

Louisville Tourism refers to its Main Street downtown area as Whiskey Row or Museum Row, depending on the interests of the visitor. Guests can move from a bourbon tour to a museum to a bourbonthemed restaurant with ease in downtown.

“We have so many iconic museums in walking distance,” said Robertson. “A lot of cities can’t say that. We have the only Slugger Museum. We have the only Muhammad Ali Center. They are unique experiences.”

The Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory showcases the story of Louisville Slugger baseball bats. The museum isn’t hard to find, since a 120-foot-tall baseball bat leans up against its exterior. Tours walk groups through the bat production process, and docents demonstrate how the bats’ signature brand is burned into the wood.

Nearby, the Muhammad Ali Center is dedicated to boxer Muhammad Ali, a native of Louisville. The six-story cultural center opened in 2005 and features exhibits on Ali’s six core principles: confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, respect and spirituality. An orientation theater gives an overview of his incredible life.

This year, Roots 101 will add another standout museum to the street. The museum will feature Louisville native Lamont Collin’s immense African American art collection. The museum strives to create a “healing place” for the African American experience with historic exhibits alongside artworks.

Angel’s Envy Distillery

Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory

21c Museum Hotel Louisville

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Doc Crow’s on Whiskey Row

Frazier History Museum

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TOURS START AT 9 AM

Actors Theatre of Louisville

DOWNTOWN ART

Travelers love a good photo op. Louisville’s downtown has plenty of options, including a giant glass of bourbon at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience and a huge statue of David at the 21c Museum Hotel. Louisville Tourism even created a pamphlet with the best downtown photo spots.

“There is a lot of street art that has been popping up everywhere,” said Robertson. “We have a lot of murals. We have ones related to Louisville, such as a mural of a hot brown and a whiskey mural.”

Groups can casually enjoy the downtown street art or visit one of several art-focused attractions, such as the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, another Museum Row favorite. The art museum showcases one of the largest selections of Kentucky arts and crafts in the region, with three exhibition galleries, a gallery shop and a permanent collection. For a take-home project, groups can book two-hour workshops with snacks and wine.

More hands-on experiences await at the Flame Run Glass Studio and Gallery. Groups can watch artists blow glass art at the studio’s hot shop. They can also admire the finished pieces at the studio’s glass art gallery. The studio offers visitors a chance to make their own glass art.

The 21c Museum Hotel offers contemporary art installations and exhibits that groups can see, even if they’re not staying overnight. The 91-room boutique hotel offers 9,000 feet of exhibition space that is open to visitors.

The Kentucky Performing Arts organization manages several downtown theaters, including the Kentucky Center, the Brown Theatre and Old Forester’s Paristown Hall. Travel planners have plenty of performance options from companies including the Louisville Orchestra, the Kentucky Opera, the Louisville Ballet and PNC Bank Broadway. The 2,406-seat Robert S. Whitney Hall hosts many of the city’s major touring Broadway productions.

Upcoming productions include “Miss Saigon,” “Anastasia” and “Come From Away.”

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a well

crafted experience

To experience authentic Kentucky, spend a day in ShelbyKY for stables, tables and designer labels.

You will wish you planned for a few more days.

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SHELBYVILLE . SIMPSONVILLE . KY Located between Louisville and Lexington.

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FOURTH STREET LIVE

To take advantage of Louisville’s nightlife, groups need look no further than a stretch of Fourth Street downtown. These seven blocks from the Ohio River to Broadway offer hotels, shops, theaters, restaurants and the 350,000-square-foot Fourth Street Live.

“A lot of groups love Fourth Street Live,” said Robertson. “Groups can go there together or individually. A lot of time they will let groups be on their own there for a meal. There are so many great restaurant options there.”

The entertainment and retail complex has numerous dining options, such as the Hard Rock Cafe, the Gordon Biersch Brewing Company, the Fudgery, Bourbon Raw and Guy Fieri’s Smokehouse. At night, Fourth Street Live stays active with sports bars, upscale clubs and cocktail lounges. Groups can stay together for a night of fun with casual activities like pingpong, billiards and arcade games. The popular Sports and Social Club combines a bowling alley and a restaurant.

Jim Beam’s Urban Stillhouse provides an interactive tour, tastings, a souvenir shot glass and possible classes. The venue’s Tableside Cocktail Class offers mixology workshops to help participants learn to craft well-balanced cocktails. Groups can also build their own bottles of Urban Stillhouse Select by creating a label, filling the bottle and sealing it.

Fourth Street is also home to upscale historic hotels, including the Seelbach, the Galt House and Suites and the Brown Hotel. The 16-story Brown Hotel is famous for being the birthplace of the hot brown, a Kentucky specialty.

“It is one of those iconic Louisville experiences to eat a hot brown at the Brown Hotel,” said Robertson. “A lot of groups will come to the hotel to eat a hot brown for breakfast or lunch. Groups will often order lunch; then the hotel puts a couple of hot browns on the table for groups to share. Many restaurants in Louisville have the hot brown on their menu, but the Brown Hotel originated it.”

Michter’s Fort Nelson Distillery

Cellar Door Chocolates

gotolouisville.com Evan Williams Bourbon Experience

Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse

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A hot brown

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The Seelbach Hilton Louisville

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EXPERIENTIAL

CHICAGO

BY ELIZA MYERS

Groups can eat while enjoying the best view in Chicago at Pie in the Sky.

TAKE A BITE OUT OF THE WINDY CITY

T

hat first bite of thick, cheesy Chicago-style pizza is comfort food at its best.

Deep-dish pizza is a hallmark of Chicago, and groups visiting the Windy City can grab a bite in one of hundreds of restaurants around town. But for a behind-the-scenes Chicago culinary experience, a deep-dish pizza cooking class will give travelers a new appreciation for this iconic food.

This experiential event and other exclusive group experiences create ways for groups to discover Chicago’s burgeoning culinary scene. For a local experience, groups can play high-tech darts at a popular bar and restaurant.

To add extra value to a Chicago tour, group travel planners can choose from any of these fun and innovative culinary experiences.

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Courtesy Skydeck Chicago

COOKING CLASSES AT PIZZERIA UNO

Groups can get their hands dirty making and eat deep-dish pizza at Pizzeria Uno. Believed by many to have invented Chicago-style pizza, Pizzeria Uno developed its trademark recipe 74 years ago. The restaurant is now revealing all its pizza-making secrets.

“Group dining tends to be something really quick,” said Naomi Hattori, director of global development at Choose Chicago. “Something like cooking a deep-dish pizza is a really interesting interactive experience.

People learn why it is so different and why it takes so long to cook. I think it makes a more memorable way to have a dining experience.”

Participants learn to shape their own dough in a deep-dish pan, crush tomatoes to create the sauce and layer the cheese with their choice of toppings. The classes include a pizza lunch or dinner with a salad and a beverage.

Ike Sewell created his Chicago-style pizza with its buttery crust and shape like a fruit pie in 1943. Pizzeria Uno has been packed with

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diners ever since and now has over 100 locations across the country.

In 1994, Uno broadened its menu to include other dishes. Even still, the deep-dish and thin-crust pizzas remain the most popular dining options.

Tortoise Supper Club

DARTS AT FLIGHT CLUB

In most bars, a dart board is an afterthought hidden away in a corner. At Flight Club, the dart board takes center stage.

Flight Club has elevated the basic game of darts into a fast-paced, multiplayer game with dart-tracking technology that encourages novices and experts to play a game together. Each high-tech dart station has multiple throw lines to ensure that even an absolute beginner could win a game.

The programmed games provide instant scoring and an intuitive user interface. The restaurant and bar offers 14 dart board areas.

Each of those dart boards can accommodate 20 players. A video screen shows novices how to play. Hosts can help unsure players as well. Participants can order food from the dart stations with a touchscreen call button.

Flight Club divides into two levels. An 80-seat formal dining experience happens downstairs, while the bar-style menu and darts games occur upstairs.

The user-friendly dart club originally opened in London. This first U.S. location uses similar designs with carnivalesque fixtures, such as vintage circus objects hanging alongside sports trophies and medals.

“When you have a big group that sits at a large table, you can’t really interact with everyone,” said Hattori. “I think activities can foster relationships in the group with people you might not know well.

This organized darts experience gives people a chance to interact.

Chicago has a lot of other interactive dining experiences. We have everything from pingpong to shuffleboard.”

LIVE MUSIC AT THE TORTOISE SUPPER CLUB

This year has been designated by the city of Chicago as the Year of Chicago Music. The Windy City’s musical influence touches a wide variety of genres, including rap, hip-hop, blues, rock and jazz.

To listen to some of Chicago’s well-known music, groups can relive

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Courtesy Flight Club

Pizzeria Uno

A musician at Tortoise Supper Club Photos courtesy Choose Chicago

the 1940s and 1950s experiences, when supper clubs frequently included stars like Dean Martin singing long into the night. The Tortoise Supper Club has updated the experience but kept the live entertainment and classy vibe with live jazz music every Friday and Saturday night.

“People know we are known for our music, but they don’t know what live music we offer,” said Hattori. “We are known for our Chicago blues and jazz. As a group leader, you are looking for added value.

You can be very effective and efficient with your time by combining music with dinner.”

The Tortoise Supper Club serves traditional American fare made from scratch and farm-fresh ingredients. Groups can order steak or seafood while surrounded by a cozy yet stylish restaurant with white tablecloths and a leather-and-wood ambiance.

The Tortoise Supper Club is like a love letter to the city, with local art and historic artifacts. Diners can cozy up to the fireplace with historic books loaned from the Newberry Library. On the walls, the owners commissioned caricatures of colorful Chicagoans from the 1900s with the inspirational aid of the Chicago History Museum.

Groups from five to 275 can find accommodation in several private rooms in the restaurant.

ELEVATED DINING AT PIE IN THE SKY

Diners can take a bite and then look out on one of the most famous views in the city at Pie in the Sky. The restaurant serves exclusive meals to diners for VIP access to the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower’s Skydeck.

“We have a lot of restaurant experiences that are high above the city,” said Hattori. “People think of Chicago’s skyscrapers, but they don’t think of how they can dine in higher spaces as well. Having a private meal in a skyscraper is a great way to take pictures and enjoy the views.”

Groups can book a meal just a few feet from the Skydeck’s walkout ledge. The glass ledge juts out so people can look straight down 1,353 feet to the streets of Chicago.

The venue welcomes groups for a breakfast before the Skydeck opens to the public or after the attraction has closed for a late-evening dinner. Pie in the Sky uses Giordano’s to cater the restaurant’s three-course meals. Giordano’s has been making deep-dish pizzas since 1974. Getting a bird’s-eye view of the city without crowds of other tourists makes the event unforgettable.

Groups that don’t want to arrive early in the morning or late at night can book a VIP lunch on the 99th floor before heading upstairs to the 103rd floor for a fast-track entry.

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known

T

F O R

MOUNTAINS W H I T E F I S H M O U N TA I N R E S O R T

HERE’S AN OLD ADAGE THAT SAYS THE WORLD CAN BE DIVIDED INTO TWO TYPES

OF PEOPLE: THOSE WHO ADORE THE OCEAN AND THOSE WHO ARE MAD FOR MOUNTAINS. RESEARCH OUT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA MORE OR LESS BEARS THIS OUT, SHOWING THAT EXTROVERTS TEND TO MAKE A BEELINE FOR THE BEACH, WHILE INTROVERTS HEAD FOR THE HILLS. BUT YOU CAN STILL BE A PEOPLE PERSON AND PREFER “PURPLE MOUNTAIN MAJESTIES,” ESPECIALLY WHEN THOSE PEAKS ARE POPULATED BY TOWNS THAT OFFER NOT ONLY THE BEST IN OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, BUT ALSO COMPELLING CULTURE, CULINARY SCENES AND MORE — JUST LIKE THE FOLLOWING MOUNTAIN DESTINATIONS.

WHITEFISH, MONTANA

By Brian Schott, courtesy Explore Whitefish

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WHITEFISH, MONTANA, wasn’t always revered for its half-dozen mountain ranges. According to Explore Whitefish marketing and sales manager Dan Hansen, Whitefish was founded around the beginning of the 20th century as a rail town.

Decades passed before visitors started trekking to Whitefish to enjoy the natural splendor.

“The main place visitors to Whitefish go is Glacier National Park,” Hansen said, “and then up to Whitefish Mountain Resort, which is right above town. From the summit on a clear day, you can see peaks in the park, as well as the Canadian Rockies. There are mountains everywhere you look.”

Ranked the third-best place in the West to hit the slopes by Ski Magazine readers, Whitefish Mountain Resort is a good-enough reason for groups to visit, but it’s not the only one. Hansen recommended that groups check out Whitefish’s “burgeoning art scene” at the First Thursday Art Gallery Night Walk, May through October.

And summer Tuesdays bring the Downtown Farmers Market, which Hansen called “wildly popular, with food and crafts.

“It’s right next to the historic train depot, with a view of the resort,” he said. “It’s a perfect setting.”

EXPLOREWHITEFISH.COM

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BY JILL GLEESON

O Z A R K M O U N TA I N S

EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS

WILLIAMS LAKE

TAOS, NEW MEXICO

Courtesy Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission

ENCIRCLED BY THE LUSH OZARK MOUNTAINS, EUREKA SPRINGS was so named by its Victorian founders for the dozens of cold springs throughout the town, supposed to have healing properties. Today, groups can tour the well-manicured spring sites, which offer signage that delineates exactly what the waters were said to cure, or simply discover them as they walk around the town — itself a pleasure.

“The entire ZIP code is on the National Register of Historic Places,” said Karen Pryor, group sales director for the Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission. “We don’t have outlet malls, big-box stores or franchises. The person who greets you when you walk in the door is probably the owner of the store. We have approximately 75 restaurants that are chef-owned and -operated and a thriving artist community, too. It’s a special place.”

Guided tram tours of the historic district and a wide range of soft adventures, such as canoeing and zip lining, are available for groups.

According to Pryor, other popular stops include the Great Passion Play, a spectacular retelling of the last days of Jesus staged in an outdoor amphitheater with a cast of 150, and the Thorncrown Chapel, a 48-foot-tall building alight with 425 windows.

EUREKASPRINGS.ORG

By Emily Taylor, courtesy Visit Taos

SURE, TAOS IS HOME TO TAOS SKI VALLEY, one of the country’s most iconic ski resorts. But once groups pull themselves away from those double black diamonds and the luxe effects of the resort’s $300 million renovation, the town of Taos will utterly enchant.

“Its intimacy and authenticity is what makes it so special,” said Taos spokesperson Marissa Le. “We’re a homegrown arts community with deep multicultural roots, including Hispanic, Native American and Anglo. Taos really has a different look and feel than other mountain towns.”

Groups will want to wander Taos’ tony galleries and shops, but there are more structured activities in the area that shouldn’t be missed. Heritage Inspirations offers an horno baking experience at Taos Pueblo, a 1,000-year-old Native American community, that gives groups the chance to make bread in a traditional adobe oven.

Or groups can learn how to make Southwestern cuisine with Cooking Studio Taos, a cozy venture that offers instruction — and a meal that follows — in the proprietors’ own home.

Want to see more? Historic Taos Trolley Tours takes visitors on tours around the historic town plaza or to cultural sites like the Millicent Rogers Museum, known for its collections of jewelry, pottery, baskets and other Southwestern goods.

TAOS.ORG

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DISCOVER BANFF TOURS

SKY BISTRO

BANFF, ALBERTA, CANADA Courtesy Discover Banff Tours

#1 Scenic Train Ride!

Season runs Memorial Day weekend to mid-Oct Departs Antonito, CO and Chama, NM daily at 10:00am Group Pricing Available 1-877-890-2737 ~ www.cumbrestoltec.com/groups 38

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By Chris Amat, courtesy Pursuit

BANFF WAS BUILT, quite litterally, for visitors.

Tucked away in the Canadian Rockies, inside Banff National Park, the town was founded in 1883 to welcome people to the country’s first national park. “It’s absolutely a year-round, vibrant town,” said Angela Anderson, director of media and communication at Banff and Lake Louise Tourism.

“And we have three incredible ski resorts, so that’s one of the biggest draws for groups. There’s only one on-hill accommodation because we’re in a national park, and that’s Sunshine Village, which is a small, exclusive lodge. So, you enjoy your skiing in the wilderness and then come into town for the après.”

No matter the season, Anderson recommends a ride up the Banff Gondola, to the top of Sulphur Mountain. There, groups will find an easy-toaccess boardwalk with breathtaking views, an interpretive center and Sky Bistro. Just as enjoyable, if a little more down-home, is Banff Trail Riders’ Cowboy Cookout. Groups take a wagon or horseback ride to a bucolic cabin setting, where they’re dished up a Western-style barbecue feast.

Tour leaders will also want to schedule a visit to the Athabasca glacier and skywalk. Groups get to go on the glacier itself, an experience not open to the general public, and then take a stroll on the glass-bottomed Sky Walk, which stretches thrillingly above the icefield.

BANFFLAKELOUISE.COM

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G AT L I N B U R G

TENNESSEE SMOKIES

THERE IS SO MUCH FUN TO BE FOUND in the Tennessee Smoky Mountains that it can’t all be contained in one town or even in the legendary Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The country’s most popular national park is blessed with 800 miles of gorgeous hiking trails, but tour leaders should leave plenty of time for equally thrilling adventures in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville.

“The communities keep adding new things, and the attractions keep reinventing themselves,” said Dave Jones, eastern division manager for the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development.

“There have been many new investments over the past five years and also projected in the very near future. If you were here for a whole week you couldn’t do it all.”

Visitors can access the national park from Gatlinburg, also home to the mountaintop theme park Anakeesta. Less than three years old, it’s already expanding with a new restaurant, observation tower and more in 2020. Speaking of fine vittles, country star Blake Shelton has launched his eatery, Ole Red, which happily welcomes groups. So does the spectacular SkyBridge, the longest pedestrian suspension bridge on the continent, which debuted in May 2019.

Not to be outdone, Pigeon Forge’s Dollywood opened the $37 million Wildwood Grove last year. While the park serves plenty of great food, groups might want to head to Junction 35 Spirits, a new distillery and restaurant, for a sampling and tour. Come summer, all group members should bring their swimsuits to Sevierville when Wilderness at the Smokies cuts the ribbon on its new Soaky Mountain Water Park.

Courtesy Tennessee Dept. of Tourist Development

GATLINBURG.COM MYPIGEONFORGE.COM VISITSEVIERVILLE.COM

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Visit TourismCares.org. See the possibilities.

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marketing Y O U R

P R O G R A M

TECHNOLOGY FOR PLANNERS IS CHANGING THE GAME

BY ELIZA MYERS

I

n decades past, group travel planners relied on brochures and phone calls to plan their trips. Without the internet, planning a trip from scratch could take a lot of time and resources.

With today’s online technology, planners can book airfare, hotels and attractions from their phones. But the world’s constantly advancing technology can make it difficult for planners to keep up with the latest app or online booking tip.

In an ironic twist, the abundance of information online can actually make trip planning slower. There are hundreds of reviews online for every imaginable hotel, restaurant and attraction. To thoroughly research a trip to New York City, for example, a planner could spend weeks browsing articles and reviews on possible trip ideas.

To avoid this trap, group travel planners should focus their planning on a handful of useful travel tools. And they should take advantage of systems to build itineraries using these technologies to make travel planning easier and simpler.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS

Some travel planners use tour operators exclusively. This cuts down on the need to research destinations beforehand. Other group travel planners start with nothing and build tours themselves.

For those that begin with a blank piece of paper, convention and visitors bureau (CVB) websites are the first place to visit for information. Many come with premade group itineraries and contacts that understand leisure tour needs.

Some CVBs offer their own mobile apps that planners can use to put together a trip. For example, Mississippi showcases its local seafood with the Mississippi Seafood Trail app. The trail’s app offers reviews and maps that planners can use to choose places with freshly caught Mississippi seafood.

Apart from CVBs, online magazines that focus on groups can help narrow down options. Otherwise, a group leader might decide to book a Michelin-starred restaurant with rave reviews before learning it isn’t suitable for groups.

Accommodations are often the most expensive components of a tour. Group leaders can simplify finding and booking rooms using HotelPlanner, a website that allows them to obtain custom group rates and instant online booking capabilities for any

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number of rooms. The site negotiates a contract and then creates a booking page where customers can manage room blocks and rates from more than 650,000 hotel properties around the world.

TripAdvisor remains one of the easiest ways to read hundreds of reviews of attractions, hotels and restaurants. The company recently added a Trips tab that allows group leaders to craft a sharable itinerary using the places and attractions reviewed on the site. The app also allows users to save interesting ideas for later.

There are disadvantages to TripAdvisor, though. Many properties have thousands of reviews, and the site isn’t curated, which can make the reviews unreliable. Just because a restaurant has the highest rating doesn’t mean it offers the highest-caliber food.

When reading reviews, planners should remember that people have widely different cultural expectations, which can lead to skewed ratings. For example, Paris hotels often suffer from negative reviews for tiny rooms and bathrooms. The smaller rooms are normal for European cities but can alarm travelers from Texas or California accustomed to more space.

BUILDING ITINERARIES

Many group leaders rely on websites or apps to compile their travel options while they mull their choices. Pinterest combines the beauty of Instagram photos with convenient organization. Users can organize trips using “boards” that can each have as many subcategories as desired.

Group leaders could start a New York board with subboards for hotels, restaurants and attractions to compile all their options in one place.

Evernote is a similar program that allows users to clip articles and ideas from all over the web and organize them in one place that isn’t limited to photos.

Planners can also choose among several programs developed especially for group travel. Travefy was created for travel agents and allows users to build a sharable itinerary, collect money and forward confirmation emails. Even if group leaders don’t use any of the sharing functions, they can read reviews and collect trip information needed to organize an itinerary without ever leaving the app.

Tripit and Tripline are similar trip planning tools, though a little simpler for those who need fewer extras. Multiple users

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can work to plan a trip together.

Tripline also offers a follow-up feature that allows members to upload photos and add text to each location on the itinerary. This information is then used to create an animated video about the trip that planners can share with their travelers.

MAP IT OUT

Travel planners that map out their trips need to know precisely how long it takes to get from one stop to another. They include pit stops and must arrive at events on time. Google Maps will prove an invaluable resource.

From Google Maps, planners can pull up a map and see which restaurants are near their chosen hotel. Then for each dining option, they can view menus and read reviews. When planners have a list of attractions they want to experience but don’t know which route to take, they can play with which attraction to visit first, second and third to achieve the least driving time.

Group leaders that wonder about the walkability of a downtown area can also use Google Maps’ street view to virtually walk the street without having to leave their computers. This can be especially important for groups with accessibility challenges visiting European cities or other international destinations that may not be up to date on handicapped access.

Planners can save map routes and download them for offline use. Group leaders that hire professional motorcoach drivers can have their Google Maps routes ready in case the driver runs into traffic and needs another route quickly.

Group leaders should always know where the nearest hospital and other emergency services are in case of disaster. Google Maps allows planners to save destinations so that critical information is available quickly no matter where they are.

While on the road, if plans suddenly change and group leaders need to think fast, Google Maps can quickly pull up restaurant, hotel, park and attraction suggestions.

With a little preparation and the right digital tools, the days of brochures and binders are long gone. Great trips and easy planning are just a swipe away.

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W H E R E

w e ’ v e

B E E N

North San Diego Business Chamber SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA TRIP: South Africa TOUR OPERATOR: Aventura World and Central Holidays West DATE: August 2018 For 10 days, a group from the North San Diego Business Chamber explored the highlights of South Africa. The tour visited in Johannesburg, Kruger National Park and Cape Town.

“The group loved the safari in Kruger National Park. Starting at dawn in 4x4 safari wagons, we had the experience of a lifetime seeing magnificent wild animals in their natural habitats. The trip by cable car to the top of Table Mountain overlooking Cape Town was another highlight. We also enjoyed a day trip to Cape Peninsula along the beautiful coastline to the Cape of Good Hope.”

— JANET BERONIO, TRAVEL COORDINATOR

Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank WOODSVILLE, NEW HAMPSHIRE TRIP: Canadian Rockies and Wild West Adventure TOUR OPERATOR: Plymouth Travel Tours DATE: June 2019 Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank’s Guaranty Tours explored the Canadian Rockies with visits to Drumheller, Innisfail, Banff, Jasper and Calgary. The group enjoyed the unbelievable beauty of the mountains, lakes and wildlife.

“The Canadian Rockies are a majestic destination, but we realized that there is so much more to this region. Our group was completely wowed by their experience in Drumheller with the Royal Tyrell Museum. We were also invited to the Innisfail Pro Rodeo, where we had an up-close experience of the true grit of the rodeo’s toughest competitors. We traveled to the Rockies on the Icefields Parkway.

With near-perfect weather and the feeling like you’ve stepped into an oil painting, our entire group claimed this trip as one of the best yet.”

— ERICA PERKINS, MARKETING ASSISTANT AND GUARANTY TOURS COORDINATOR 42

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