on my mind ❖
On My Mind jeff gayduk
❖ jeff gayduk
Planes, Trains, Cruises or Buses
Vol. 21, No. 3 June 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
Senior Editor – Elana Andersen elana@ptmgroups.com
erhaps the greatest travel-themed motion picture ever, the 1987 release of Planes, Trains and Automobiles details the drama that two businessmen (Steve Martin and John Candy) incur trying to get home to Chicago for the Thanksgiving holiday. When their plane is grounded in Kansas City, they feebly attempt to navigate home by hitching a ride, boarding a train, taking a not-tooflattering bus ride and finally inching into St. Louis, where they rent a car which of course is a disaster all in itself. With its lighthearted view of the travel and tourism infrastructure, great comedic actors and a solid 90 minutes of entertainment, this should be required viewing for anyone in the tourism industry. Also, as in any good humor there’s a bit of truth to it, as I recently experienced when renting a car in Orlando but that’s a column for another edition. Luckily your customers have you! And as your guidepost, we’re proud to launch our 4th Annual Group Itinerary Planning Guide. This year’s edition contains 45 sample trips, brought to you by leading destinations in North America. You will find throughout this edition that CVBs are putting their best sample trips in front of you, just in time for your 2012 planning. In addition to what you find in this print publication, we also house the largest collection of itineraries in the group travel industry at the all new www.GroupTravelDirectory.com.
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We have redesigned this site from the ground up, so in addition to over 5,000 supplier listings, you can search over 500 worldwide itineraries and a new Group Deals section, very “Groupon-ish” to help you identify and book specials. This is our first major overhaul of the industry’s leading online research tool since 2007, and I’m convinced you’ll find it a useful tool when planning your next trip. Rounding out this edition, we take a look at scenic rail and sightseeing cruise options, starting with a column from contributing writer Don Heimberger, one of the foremost authorities on railroads in the U.S., then continuing with regional updates on some of the top rail and sightseeing cruise excursions in North America. So, whether your group is arriving by plane, train, cruise boat or bus, we have a collection of ideas that are sure to get your next group trip off the ground. Enjoy this special edition of Leisure Group Travel, and thank you for your readership. Sincerely,
Jeff Gayduk, Publisher jeff@ptmgroups.com
Senior Editor – Dave Bodle dave@ptmgroups.com
Senior Editor – Carol Smith carols.csmith@gmail.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.
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