From Lynn B. Herzig’s The Building of an Industry: The Official History of the National Tour Association
“When L.C. Ball made his decision to call a meeting of brokers from around the country, it was decided to name the organization “Association of Passenger Brokers of United States of America.” This was the masthead of the first letter initiating the formation of what subsequently became the National Tour Association.
The letter of invitation was dated February 3, 1951, and reviewed the recent ICC decision relative to the Tauck case.* It strongly recommended that each broker make every effort to be at the meeting, including this sentence: ‘We’ll be looking forward to meeting you personally in New York and to a pleasant association in working together in the Association of the future’ and was signed, Robert R. Clemes, L.C. Ball Tours, Secretary.
On a cold February 19 evening at 6:30 p.m., a dozen tour brokers, mostly from New York and Pennsylvania, gathered around a table at the Henry Hudson Hotel in New York City to talk survival. Mrs. W.M. Moore was the only tour operator from the South present. The group adopted a simple set of bylaws and appointed S. Harrison Kahn, a Washington-based ICC transportation specialist, as their attorney. Robert Shattuck of Parker Tours in New York City was elected president; H.J. Michaels of Providence, R.I., first vice president; Carl Clark of Binghampton, N.Y., second vice president; and L.C. Ball of Milton, Pa., secretary-treasurer. This new association was incorporated as the “National Brokers Association,” but because of confusion with Wall Street brokers, the organization was later chagned to “National Tour Brokers Association.”
In addition, those first members included George Talmage, Mrs. W.M. Moore, L.R. Batcheler, Stanley Parker, Roy Masser, Carter Judah, Ferdinand Arrigoni, and Rudolph Pick.
Significant historical events
1951
Group of tour brokers met in New York City to discuss a strategy for a unified legal battle against the Interstate Commerce Commission and chart the future of their industry. A new organization was incorporated as the National Tour Brokers Association.
1971
Mary Lee, Mary Lee Tours, was elected NTBA president, becoming the first female president of any major travel organization in the United States.
1974
NTBA Board enters into an agreement with Jim Host and Associates Inc. in Lexington, Kentucky, to manage the association. Host would serve as executive vice president for more than 20 years.
1975
Dr. Oscar Fowler creates a computerized appointment scheduling system for the Tour & Travel Exchange at the 1975 convention in San Diego, the first of its kind. Read all about it here.
1979
Host and past president Earl Harmon work with members of Congress to form the Congressional Travel & Tourism Caucus.
1982
At the convention in Toronto, the name National Tour Association was adopted to replace National Tour Brokers Association.
1985
Nevada Congressman Jim Santini was hired to be NTA’s full-time legislative counsel in Washington, D.C.
1991
As response to the war in the Persian Gulf, NTA developed a plan to stimulate consumer interest in travel with its “Travel the Perfect Freedom” campaign.
1995
The association launched NTAonline.com.
2001
NTA initiated a multi-faceted operation to help members following the tragedy of 9-11, including a relaunching of our “Travel the Perfect Freedom” campaign.
2002
NTA opens its membership to international organizations with Switzerland Tourism being the first to join.
2004
NTA temporarily changes name to CrossSphere, announced at the Nov. 2004 convention in Toronto. A tour operator bylaw vote was needed to officially make the move. In March 2005, NTA operators voted to return the organization’s name to National Tour Association.
2007
NTA becomes the only U.S.-based trade association with a tour operator qualification program approved by the China National Tourism Administration.
2010
Board decides to move NTA from association management to self-management.
2014
Pam Inman, CTP, CAE, IOM named NTA’s president.
2016
NTA introduces new brand and website powered by tagline: Together. We go further.
2018
NTA launches Engage, China Preferred Partner Program, NTACourier.com, Loyalty Program and Travel Exchange innovations with a new open floor and energetic, modern look and feel.
2019
NTA announces that the International Tour Management Summit will be held at NTA’s Travel Exchange. At TREX in Fort Worth, NTA introduces two new business connection sessions: Sales Missions and Best Pitch.
2020
With COVID-19 decimating the industry, NTA begins the year by canceling Contact. The team then scenario planned, pivoted, and piloted its members through the year with monthly webinars, zoom discussions, community virtual gatherings, and ongoing advocacy for relief. NTA pushed forward its digital strategy and took Courier magazine fully digital: NTACourier.com. And, with budgets slashed and in-person meetings not possible, NTA created vTREX to give members a cost-effective, safe way to come together.
2021
NTA pushed Contact back to early May and was the first major association to hold an in-person event. With strict COVID protocols and an inventive Red, Yellow, Green stickers system, attendees had a safe and successful return to in-person networking. The NTA community continued to gather virtually throughout the year, and 2021 culminated with a 70th anniversary celebration at TREX in Cleveland, which buyers rated an 8.6 on a 10-point scale.
2022
The innovation continued at TREX: 8-minute appointments to allow for walk time, all-attendee breaks, compressed appointment schedule to give buyers relief, and education on the floor bumped up the energy.
2023
We saw a positive net gain in membership for the first time since before COVID. The board got back to its high-level strategic work and provided direction on the association’s priority areas. We continued offering our highly regarded virtual network gatherings and webinars, which we launched during COVID. Contact, TREX, and Symposium attendance numbers continued their year-over-year growth trends.
2024
NTA continued to shine with year-round educational and digital content. The NTA Board ratified a revised Code of Ethics, we introduced our NTA language-trained chatbot, and related to events, Contact featured a highly regarded track on AI; Travel Exchange received an 8.8 (highest rated convention since 1992); and attendance and sponsorship at both events saw year-over-year increases.
NTA in photos
