ISSUES By Sarah Suydam
Being Nimble and Staying Informed When Policy Shifts
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Ever y day, it can feel like we’re wak ing up to somet hing new t hat’s worthy of our attention. W hether it’s policy affecting the industr y as a whole, world developments impacting groups’ travel plans, or other w ise, staying on top of it all often feels like a job in and of itself. Catherine Prather, President of the National Tour Association (NTA), shared how t he associat ion works to keep t heir members informed, noting that collaboration is key to staying up to date and engaged. “Curate a professional net work you can t rust, join an associat ion focused solely and sincerely on tour operator packaged travel, and take full advantage of the resources it offers,” Prather said, emphasizing that NTA has done exact ly t his for t he last 75 years. “We understand our obligation and responsibilit y to keep our members up to date on our constantly evolv ing world. We also have an engaged, welcoming, and caring communit y that we consistently bring together throughout the year—virtually and in person—to elevate one another’s knowledge and understanding of what’s going on, to discuss solutions and best practices
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to address pain points, and to celebrate victories.” N TA , P rat her added, st ay s i nvolved d i r e c t l y a t t h e U. S . f e d e r a l l e v e l — somet hing indust r y pros shou ld ex pect from t heir t rade associat ions. They also work w it h ot her indust r y par t ners such as the Beyond Borders Tourism Coalition, and encourage others to do the same. “NTA engages with a Washington, DC-based government affairs team that closely tracks policies affecting our industry—particularly those impacting tour operator group and packaged travel,” she said. “We share this information with members. We also have contacts and partners who keep us informed on international shifts that we need to act on or bring to our members’ attention.” The policy environment, as we’ve come to k now wel l, c a n cha nge on a d i me. Prather shared some recent examples. “One is Customs and Border Protection’s proposed rule change related to additional requirements for travelers from U.S. visa waiver countries,” she recalled. “This was posted in the Federal Register, so once we were alerted to it, NTA submitted comments, put out a call to action to members, and provided facts and speaking points to help them create their own comments.” Another recent example was in relation to proposals for increasing entrance fees for non-U.S. residents to U.S. national parks. “We’ve had a multi-level approach to these advocacy efforts including direct outreach to legislators, calls to action for our members, and collaboration with industry colleagues,” Prather explained. “NTA also has had meetings with top-level officials in the related government agencies to bring our perspective and member insights to the administration to try to affect change.” Beyond associat ion membersh ip, becoming and staying active in your ow n communit y is essential.