on my mind ❖
On My Mind jeff gayduk
❖ jeff gayduk
Good Intentions
Vol. 21, No. 2 April 2011 Editorial & Advertising Office
621 Plainfield Road, Suite 406 Willowbrook, IL 60527 P 630.794.0696 • F 630.794.0652 info@ptmgroups.com
Publisher – Jeffrey Gayduk jeff@ptmgroups.com
Managing Editor – Randy Mink randy@ptmgroups.com Senior Editor – John Kloster john@ptmgroups.com
THERE’S A GENERAL consensus in the industry that business is on the upswing. I hear this in talking with group travel organizers, DMOs and tour service providers alike. After a few dismal years for most, that’s good news all around. I’d like to know how things are in your neck of the woods. That’s the intention of our 2011 Group Intentions Survey, which accompanies this publication. This easy-to-complete-and-return form asks a dozen questions about your business, where you’re going and generally how you’re getting there. It’s our goal to amass a collection of data that helps us guide our editorial content in the years ahead. We think we have a pulse on the industry, but you’re the boots on the ground, so to speak. Tell us where you’re going – we’ll help you get there! To sweeten the pot, we are giving away a Garmin portable GPS device to one lucky reader who returns the Group Intentions survey by June 1. Winners will be announced in the August edition of Leisure Group Travel. CONTINUING EDUCATION ONLINE We continue to set the standard for online development in the group travel industry with our latest round of website launches and enhancements. LeisureGroupTravel.com underwent an entire overhaul last year, with additional features added early this year including a fresh new look, with easier navigation to over 12,400 pages of content. It’s the largest library of resources in the market!
4 April 2011
Also, brand new for 2011 is a mobile version of LeisureGroupTravel.com, another industry first! Not to be outshone, two of our resource websites have undergone major redevelopment for 2011. GroupUniversity.com includes over a dozen how-to guides, niche market publications and the second edition of Marty de Souto’s How to Plan, Operate and Lead Successful Tours ($29.95). This is a site to sharpen your knowledge base on all facets of the business. OurTravelProtector.com, Leisure Group Travel’s sponsored travel insurance site, has also gone through an extensive makeover. This site provides affordable group and individual travel insurance protection where you set your own net rate. Still to come in 2011, GroupTravelDirectory.com 3.0 – the latest version of our popular directory search engine site, made #1 by group travel planners for its ease of use in locating destinations, attractions, hotels and tour companies. Watch for the new edition in May! Please take a few minutes to complete and return your Group Intentions survey and next time you’re online – whether at your desktop or on the road – visit our family of websites. Happy traveling,
Senior Editor – Elana Andersen elana@ptmgroups.com
Senior Editor – Dave Bodle dave@ptmgroups.com
Director, Design & Production – Robert Wyszkowski rob@ptmgroups.com
Director of Sales
Theresa O’Rourke P 630.794.0696 • F 630.794.0652 theresa@ptmgroups.com
Regional Sales Managers Illinois – Jim McCurdy
P 630.794.0696 • F 630.794.0652 jim@ptmgroups.com
Northeast & Eastern Midwest/Canada – Amy Janssens P 630.294.0318 • F 630.794.0652 amy@ptmgroups.com
Mid Atlantic – Ellen Klesta
P 630.794.0696 • F 630.794.0652 ellen@ptmgroups.com
Southeast/West Coast – Cheryl Rash
P 563.613.3068 • F 815.225.5274 cheryl@ptmgroups.com
Southern – Dolores Ridout P/F 281.762.9546 dolores@ptmgroups.com Florida & Caribbean – Prof Inc. P 813.286.8299 • F 813.287.0651 jimg@ptmgroups.com The publisher accepts unsolicited editorial matter, as well as advertising, but assumes no responsibility for statements made by advertisers or contributors. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information published, but the publisher makes no warranty that listings are free of error. The publisher is not responsible for the return of unsolicited photos, slides or manuscripts.
Leisure Group Travel (ISSN-1531-1406) is published bi-monthly by Premier Tourism Marketing, Inc. 621 Plainfield Road, Suite 406, Willowbrook, IL 60527. The magazine is distributed free of charge to qualified tour operators, travel agents, group leaders, bank travel clubs and other travel organizations. Other travel-related suppliers may subscribe at the reduced rate of $12.00 per year. The regular subscription price for all others is $18.00 per year. Single copies are $4.95 each.
Send Address Change to:
Premier Tourism Marketing, Inc. P.O. Box 609, Palos Heights, IL 60463
Jeff Gayduk, Publisher jeff@ptmgroups.com
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Schynige-Platte cogwheel railway
Train travel in Switzerland. Switzerland’s public transportation network is second to none. It’s fast, efficient, frequent and connects even the most remote places. Explore Switzerland with a single ticket for trains, busses and boats: the Swiss Pass. Lucerne - in the heart of Switzerland. Lucerne has it all: the great transport museum, the first and the steepest cogwheel railways, a narrow-gauge panoramic train, and historic steamships on Lake Lucerne. Thanks to its attractions, its souvenir and watch shops, the impressive mountainous panorama and the nearby excursion mountains of the Rigi and Mt. Pilatus, the town is a destination for many travel groups on their journey through the Lake Lucerne Region. A train buff‘s paradise! Engadin St. Moritz UNESCO World Heritage site. The UNESCO World Heritage recognition of the high-altitude engineering wonderland through Switzerland’s Engadin Valley honors one of the most spectacular, technically innovative and harmonious narrowgauge railways. Since the extension of the road system through these passes,
the construction of the Rhaetian Railway and the Bernina Express, which reaches as far as Veltlin, Upper Engadin has been accessible to the entire world - and people from all over the world love this valley, which delights visitors with its incomparable nature at all times of the year. Sunstar Hotels - Alpine Emotions. Sunstar, founded in 1969, is the only genuinely Swiss Hotel Group, with nine first-class hotels nestled in the Alps and offering a total of over 1,670 beds in 915 rooms. Arosa, Davos, Flims, Klosters, Lenzerheide, Grindelwald, Zermatt and Wengen are the best-known resorts. Whether you come for a walking or winter sports vacation, to visit a spa center or to attend a meeting or other special event – at Sunstar Hotels, guests with varied interests will feel at home and enjoy “Alpine emotions”.
For information on Switzerland, please visit MySwitzerland.com/steam For bookings, call Rail Source International: 1-800-551-2085