For many years the meeting place for non-profit organizations with educational travel programs (i.e., expert-led tours) has been the Educational Travel Conference, formerly called Non-Profits in Travel. Run by Travel Learning Connections, Inc., the huge meeting brings together the different players in the educational non-profit travel business:
- the planners (like alumni associations);
- the operators (i.e., the tour companies);
- the suppliers (like airlines and cruise ship companies); and
- the destinations (such as tourist boards and visitor centers).
This year's conference is just a few days away: February 20 to 23, 2007. Every year, the attendee list and the presenters' roster reads like a who's who of the business. And although the scale of things can be overwhelming at times, it's the easiest way for an alumni officer involved in planning alumni travel to see the key players in a very short span of time.
Educational Travel Conference Web Site
The conference is the brainchild and long-time labor of love of J. Mara DelliPriscoli and her staff at TLC in Montana. If you can't make it this year, bookmark and explore the web site, and plan ahead to participate next year.