By travel writer Lisa TE Sonne

Austin Adventures’ weeklong guide training is held in Billings, MT each spring for both returning and new guides alike. The training involves classroom and field trip time in which the guides learn skills as varied as creating a beautiful picnic lunch spread, knowing what a guide should carry in her backpack, and specifics like the Austin Adventures signature “WOW Factor”. This year, the group toured Yellowstone National Park to put their skills and training to the test, and invited travel writer Lisa TE Sonne.

The Austin Guides – veterans and trainees – celebrate a good training week! (Photo by Andy Austin)

While I am feeling carefree, gleefully riding a bike hands-free through a forest, there is a guide up ahead checking the route and ready to answer questions. Another guide (we are blissfully unaware of) is making sure our next activity is set up, the dinner location is prepared for any special diets in our group, and the hotel rooms and keys are all set for our arrival.

Gratitude and kudos to great guides!  They can take us to places that aren’t in the guidebook, help us tour the most tourist-popular parks, cities and iconic sites in novel ways, and share memorable non-touristy waterfalls and watering holes.

Hikers round the bend and the advance guide has set up a delicious “Wow” moment and a chance for all to catch their breath and take photos.

As a travel writer, I’ve thanked guides on every continent for sharing their expertise and tips. A tour operator can plan fantastic-sounding itineraries and secure well-vetted accommodations, but it is often the on-the-ground/horse/kayak guides that make or break the experience-memories of guests.

Sonne wouldn’t have been able to cover ash-boarding down a volcano in Nicaragua without the help of a good guide.

That photograph of the Amazon anteater in a tree with his long tongue sticking out? That was thanks to a naturalist guide who asked the boat driver to kill the engine and let us float.   My getting to “ash board” down a volcano in Nicaragua and write about it for American Way, the inflight magazine?  Wouldn’t have happened if a guide hadn’t carried the heavy board up the steep slope so I could take pictures of the steam rising up through vents in other-worldly looking terrain.  And I salivate thinking of all the goodies I have tasted because a guide arranged for a local specialty.

I appreciate good guides even more after spending several days last June with a dynamic group of 27 handpicked guides as they went through “Guide Training” in Montana and Wyoming for Austin Adventures, an award-winning member of USTOA.

Austin Guides make guests feel even more at home “where the buffalo roam” as the song goes and let visitors know that technically there are no buffalo in the United States – they are bison.

Half the guides were Austin veterans with 1 to 20 seasons, quite familiar with both the guiding basics and the signature Austin touches, like a red carpet from the van.  The newbies ranged from guides who had been experts with other companies to people with diverse, relevant experience that wanted a career change – including ski instructors, river-raft captains, a medic during the war in Iraq, and people who ran outdoor programs for the handicapped and inner-city youth.

Being good with people and loving the outdoors are obvious qualities needed. But after spending several days with these chosen guides, it became clear that good guides also have to be logistics and time-management experts, good drivers, cooks, accountants, psychologists, cheerleaders, teachers, fixers and finders… as well as naturalists and fun-loving fitness-folk.

VP of Operations Kasey Austin Morrissey teaches the guides in situ as well as interviews all the candidates and makes selections. She was distinguished as the world’s best family guide in 2014 by OUTSIDE Magazine.

Indoor sessions were held ranging from how to speak well and learn everyone’s names and interests, to good accounting and paperwork practices. Outdoor sessions in gorgeous settings included bicycle repair, how to pace a hike for multiple generations, practice creating the Austin “Wow” moments, and how to build “WAM” into the day – Water Appreciation Moments – so no one gets dehydrated.

Part of this phase of Austin Adventures’ guide-training was to let the new guides work with their partner for the upcoming season. This relationship is one of the deepest pairings they will have in their lives – more intense than marriage for some – because they need to keep each other going 24/7 and decide who does what behind the scenes so that guests can have a seamless, pampered vacation.

Working with your partner guide can be a complex dance of well planned choreography and some cool spontaneity (aka prepared plan B,C, D) to make sure the guests only have pleasure, not problems.

Throughout each trip, the Austin guides tag-team — one leads an activity while the other secures advance logistics/supplies, and then returns the multi-functioning van to the end of the trail site so when guests finish their walking, canoeing or horseback riding, they are met with fresh drinks, towelettes, cut-up fresh fruits, and other snacks.

Guides don’t just drive the van. During training, guides learn how to organize, clean, load up and hitch trailers to the multi-functioning van as well as make sure the inside has guidebooks, drinks and fresh flowers.

These days, some people are tempted to organize and guide their own trip via internet clicks, but then you are often looking at a screen instead of savoring the setting and must always be in “responsibility mode” instead of just being able to respond to the beauty and pleasures around you. With a tour operator who has great guides, you can hand off any headaches to someone who specializes in good planning and flexible spontaneity.  After my guide training days, two advantages in particular stood out:

*Accommodations:   I don’t have to have reservations about reservations.  Someone else booked my room with my requests.  A guide hands me my key. My luggage is already in the room. And on an Austin Adventures trip, the room may even have a personal note or gift waiting for me. In the case of the National Parks, Austin Adventures connection with Xanterra means they could have blocks of rooms even when the web shows everything is booked.

Usually parents are expected to have all the answers. A good guide can ask and answer questions: Do you know what animal rubbed up against this tree and left it’s fur? (Answer: some people would call it a buffalo, but you know it’s a bison!)

*Questions:  Questions are part of all good travel, but it can be more fun to ask and learn than always be expected to have the answers. A good guide’s knowledge ranges from the names of plants and the years and yarns of battles to where the nearest bathroom is (or where the nearest answer is). You don’t have to bury your nose in a book or screen and miss the chick hatching under the penguin. You can listen to the guide tell you why the whales are jumping straight up out of the water… while they are surging up. And instead of being annoyed when you hear, “Are we there yet?” you might be entertained. The clever guide might pipe in “Not yet. It will be about half an hour, but see that tall mountain over there? Have you heard the legend about it?”

Yes, kudos and gratitude to great guides who help us make our own legendary memories.

Lisa TE Sonne is a travel hyphenate (author- writer- photographer- videographer- possibilitator) who has written for an Academy Award-winning documentary and Emmy-winning PBS series. She loves adventure and cultural travels and has enjoyed guided activities on all 7 continents and from many great ocean, river, canal and sea cruises. She received a Gold for “Best Destination” writing from NATJA (North American Travel Journalists Association). Her current books include THE HAPPINESS HANDBOOK: Simple Ways to Change your Life for the Better, GREAT OUTDOORS: A Nature Bucket List, and MY ADVENTURES: A Traveler’s Journal.  She and her husband run a nonprofit that offers Giving Certificates that can help any charity (and make great gifts for travel lovers). For more information, visit www.LisaSonne.com and www.CharityChecks.us. 

By Nina Dietzel, Special Correspondent, AFAR

This June, Trafalgar took a group of travelers across Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana to experience the ‘Tastes and Sounds of the South’. Visiting Nashville, Memphis, Natchez and New Orleans, our schedule was packed to the gills with a mix of not-to-be-missed sights and intimate, one-of-a-kind experiences.

Food and Music of course were our constant travel companions. We sampled enormous amounts of decadent local foods at every turn, and at the end of the trip, in New Orleans, we even learned to prepare some gumbo, jambalaya and pralines ourselves. Ultimately though, it was the rock‘n soul, that connected me most deeply with the places we visited.

Nashville’s Broadway, with live music performances behind every door

Oh-That-Country-Music

Not quite an ardent fan of country music, I was determined to keep an open mind and ear when we began our journey in Nashville. The massive CMA Music Festival was in full swing, with literally hundreds of artists performing all over town. Bands played everywhere, the entire place teeming with live music. It was impossible not to get swept up in the country music excitement.

Private concert with Johnny Cash granddaughter Chelsea Crowell

It’s in the Genes

One of the most beautiful and memorable introductions to Nashville’s music scene however, was a private concert by Chelsea Crowell, who is one of the granddaughters of country legend Johnny Cash. Chelsea, accompanied by her husband, sang, played music, and talked at length about her rebellious grandfather. She even obliged us with a shaky rendering of ‘Walk The Line’, adding with a laugh, that it clearly wasn’t a song of his meant to be ‘passed on’.

Nashville’s recording Studio B

It’s Not About Size

After Chelsea’s performance, it was time for more history. We made our way to Studio B, a small recording studio that became famous in the 60s for playing a huge part in creating the Nashville Sound. Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, and many others recorded over 35,000 songs here. Stepping inside the single-story building was like stepping back in time. Little has changed since the studio closed its doors in August 1977, coincidentally the same month Elvis Presley died. His presence was felt by all of us, when guide Brenda played us the haunting ‘Are you Lonesome Tonight’ in the darkened studio. Elvis has not left the building.

Of course, I also walked the vast Country Music Hall of Fame and visited Graceland, but thinking back on the early days of our trip, it was the intimate moments, connecting with Johnny Cash’s granddaughter and listening to Brenda’s stories at Studio B, that forged a true connection and made me feel Nashvillian, just a little.

Riders in The Sky, June 10th, 2016 at the Grand Ole Opry

The Grand Ole Finale

On our last night in Nashville, we went to the Grand Ole Opry, a spectacular weekly country music concert that is broadcast live on the radio for listeners all over the world. We had the best seats in the house (thank you Trafalgar!). The performances were first class, and the radio format with real advertisements read out during the intervals, curious and fun.

The final verdict? Music City delivered, and I got my ears tuned for good!

Interested in learning more about Nina’s journey with Trafalgar? Visit www.afar.com/travelers/nina-dietzel/wanderlists/tastes-and-sounds-of-the-south-traveling-with-trafalgar.

Nina Dietzel is constantly exploring as a photographer and AFAR Ambassador. She has photographed Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, collaborated with British sculptor and environmentalist Andy Goldsworthy, and documented the making of @Large-Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz. Her focus is travel and art, and her personal work has been exhibited in the U.S. and Germany.

By Terry Dale, President and CEO, USTOA

USTOA has long championed a policy of open borders and traveling together, both with other travelers and the local community. Our members take travelers up close and personal with people and experiences all across the globe that amaze and awe, and create meaningful connections that provide lasting memories.

We forget sometimes that airlines, too, have a rich history of bringing people together and opening minds. This story from our friend Dr. Rob Britton, adjunct professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University who addressed many of our members at our Annual Congressional Caucus in Washington, D.C. a couple of weeks ago, shares more:

www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-britton/looking-back-on-50-years-_b_10707492.html

Like Dr. Britton, we too are blessed and privileged to work in a business that supports and encourages opportunities for meaningful cross-cultural travel experiences…it’s the best way to break down the barriers and misunderstandings that plague world events today.

By Terry Dale, President and CEO, USTOA

We’ve all had it…the urge to run into distracted walkers staring into their phones and yell, “Look up!” Although it is a personal pet peeve, distracted walking has moved beyond an issue of manners and has become a safety hazard, accounting for one out of 10 pedestrian injuries. The National Security Council has added distracted walking to its annual report on unintentional deaths and injuries, while New Jersey is considering a statewide ban on texting and walking (I can only imagine trying to enforce that one).

In a world of increasing connectivity, I have to ask: Are we actually becoming less connected—not just to others but to our surroundings?

The mobile device obsession isn’t contained to the streets of New York where I live, it has also changed the way people travel. Many travelers are no longer living in the moment, but instead using mobile devices to prove they had the experience on social media channels rather than taking a moment to be truly present to enjoy the magnificent architecture, natural wonders and stories from local residents. These experiences are what create a life-changing journey and lasting memories. Every day the tour operator members of USTOA and you, our valued travel agent partners, create travel opportunities designed to inspire travelers to put down their phones and participate in the world around them.

Distracted traveling endangers the authentic encounters available to travelers. Living and travelling through mobile devices has been noted to alter the way we remember things. The moment is never truly absorbed if not experienced fully, before documenting with the intention of posting on social media channels. And, memories aren’t the only thing at risk. In 2015, more people died from selfies than shark attacks. While rare, it’s shocking to hear that selfies at tourist attractions like the Taj Mahal have resulted in visitor deaths. Safety is a priority for the travel industry and urging travelers to pay attention is imperative to also keeping them safe.

The travel industry has an obligation to travelers, and to the industry, to remind people why experiencing the world in person is worth the trip. Encourage travelers to look up from the blue glare of their screens and into the eyes of someone they just met. Travelers’ experiences – as well as their safety – can be protected. It’s as simple as looking up.

This post originally ran in the June 2016 issue of Vacation Agent Magazine.

By Terry Dale, President and CEO, USTOA

Calling all thrill-seekers: want to get your adrenaline pumping on your next trip?

From swimming with sharks in Australia, dog mushing in Manitoba, and mountaineering in Antarctica to white water rafting in the Grand Canyon, kayaking the Alaska Fjords and rock climbing in Yosemite National Park, USTOA tour operator members offer a wide variety of adventurous experiences across the globe. Here are a few extraordinary expeditions to satisfy your wanderlust:

Swimming with whale sharks (credit: Down Under Answers)

Swimming with whale sharks – which average 40 feet in length – on Down Under Answers’ “West Coast and Whale Sharks” itinerary will get any traveler’s blood pumping. Luckily for humans, whale sharks are filter feeders and completely harmless. Available May 1 through June 10, the time period each year when whale sharks visit the Ningaloo Reef in the north west coastal region of Western Australia for coral spawning, prices for this extraordinary 11-day adventure start at $3,499 per person based on double occupancy. www.duatravel.com

Guests on Grand American Adventures’ “Grand Canyon Rafting” itinerary will raft the entire length of the Grand Canyon, enjoying the thrill of up to class IV white water rapids. Other highlights include exploring gigantic caverns, emerald pools and waterfalls, camping on the banks of the Colorado River, hiking in side canyons and spotting soaring birdlife. It’s the ultimate outdoor adventure. This exhilarating eight-day journey is available April through September 2016 and 2017 from $3,079. www.grandamericanadventures.com

Camping in Antarctica (credit: QuarkExpeditions.com)

Inspiring explorers on Quark Expeditions’ 11- or 12-day “Antarctic Explorer: Discovering the 7^th Continent” journey starts in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world, and then navigates through the wilderness of the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula. Adventure seekers can add an extra rush of adrenaline to their expedition with optional adventure activities such as camping, cross-country skiing, kayaking, mountaineering and stand-up paddleboarding. Available select dates November 2016 through March 2017, prices start at $5,995 per person. www.QuarkExpeditions.com

Kayaking the Tracy Arm Fjord in Alaska (credit Ralph Lee Hopkins with Lindblad Expeditions)

On “Exploring Alaska’s Coastal Wilderness,” an eight-day journey from Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic, guests will kayak amidst coves, fjords, tidewater glaciers and majestic mountains. With six veteran naturalists, including a Lindblad-National Geographic certified photo instructor and an undersea specialist, the journey will also introduce guests to an abundance of wildlife including humpback whales, orcas, Steller sea lions, bald eagles, mountain goats, bears and more. Available over a variety of dates May through August 2016, this once-in-a-lifetime experience is priced from $6,490 per person based on double occupancy. www.expeditions.com/alaska

Visit www.ustoa.tripwing.com to find your ideal vacation in the destination of your dreams.

By Jim Smith, CTIE, Senior Consultant – Travel Industry Distribution 

Perhaps one of the most commonly overlooked business opportunities that is off the radar of many marketers is a segment that represents 20% of the US population. It is, by all accounts, the fastest growing global demographic. Surprisingly, it is not the millennial market although they do, indeed, hold rich potential.

Over 63 million Americans live each day with some form of chronic disability. Additional tens of millions, while not disabled, have special needs; some acute, others chronic.

In a Fortune Magazine survey, over 24 million Americans with disabilities indicated that they would travel or travel more frequently if only their needs were met. The market holds tremendous potential for forward-thinking travel providers.

Their market spend on travel exceeds 12 billion dollars, with over 32 million vacations taken annually. Not surprisingly, 85% are taken with others.

Disability impacts 1 in 5 American households, providing no household member has yet attained the age of 65. When one household member turns 65, the incidence of household disability jumps to 1 in 4.

For travel to be memorable for all the right reasons it needs to be comfortable, enjoyable and accessible. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in 1990, was enacted to protect the civil rights of Americans with Disabilities.

In the past quarter-century we have seen physical modifications to facilitate access vis-a-vis ramps to public buildings. Curb cutouts enable wheelchairs, scooters, etc. to accomplish tasks as simple as crossing a street. Grab bars are now resplendent from public restrooms to hotel accommodations. Accessible parking spaces, poolside/motor coach lifts and braille embedded signage are a direct result of this milestone initiative.

For almost a decade, Special Needs Group has been committed to “Delivering an Accessible World.” As the leading global provider of mobility, oxygen (and much more), 2015 saw SNG serve over 200 cities in 35 countries, worldwide.

Knowledge is Power. On Veterans Day, 2011, SNG introduced its “Certified Accessible Travel Advocate®” online training initiative. This 3-module, 65-minute program includes a brief test at the conclusion of each module. Successful completion of the series is required to earn the designation.

Over 2,500 travel professionals earned this designation in 4 years. We would like to extend an invitation to USTOA members to avail their organizations access to the program and are delighted to conduct “Certification Jump-Start” webinars for all USTOA members.

Founded as “Special Needs at Sea,” serving the cruise segment, a rebranding to communicate our expanded global footprint and ability to serve land-based vacationers was undertaken in 2011. From Las Vegas to Orlando, Spain to Greece, the Yucatan to the Dominican Republic (and many destinations in between), we are poised to assist USTOA members and their stakeholders at every turn.

Special Needs Group is located at 302 NW 3rd Ave, Dania Beach, FL 33004, USA Toll Free 1-800-513-4515. USTOA members, please contact Tensi Westreicher, Director, Sales and Marketing at extension 1014 to schedule Certification Jump-Start Webinars or for additional information. 

*Note: unless otherwise noted, all statistics were extracted from the 2005 US Census.

By Terry Dale, President and CEO, USTOA

Happy New Year! And welcome to 2016… it’s going to be a great year to travel the world.

USTOA conducts an annual travel trend and forecast survey of the association’s active tour operator members, monitoring business trends, top travel destinations, and more. The most recent results were revealed at the Annual Conference & Marketplace held December 3-5 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago in Chicago, IL.

The punch line for 2016? Our members affirm a positive outlook for the year.

Headline news: member operators are confident about business in 2016

Overall, the tour operator members of USTOA are showing strong growth for this year, with more than a third (39%) attributing growth to an improved economy and higher consumer confidence… a positive sign for the travel industry as a whole.

Nine in 10 tour operator members anticipate a growth in sales in 2016 with more than half of members (57%) “optimistic” and forecasting a “boom year” with growth anywhere from seven to 10% or higher.

In 2015, three quarters of members responding to the survey reported an increase in sales over 2014, forty percent of which cited an increase of 10% or higher. More than two thirds (70%) of members also saw an increase in passengers in 2015; 60% saw numbers grow between four and nine percent, while 36% of indicated growth of 10% or higher.

Destination forecast: where are travelers going?

Kelley Ferro in Cuba, the top “emerging” destination that will gain popularity in 2016 (credit: Brandon Widener)

When asked which “emerging” destinations will gain popularity in 2016, members (not surprisingly) cited Cuba. About thirty four percent of USTOA members currently offer programs to Cuba, and of that number, more than half plan to increase offerings within the next few years. Cuba was followed by Myanmar, Iceland, Colombia, and Ethiopia and Japan (tied for fifth).

Colombia was named the fourth “emerging” destination that will gain popularity in 2016 (credit: Justin Weiler)

Italy, for the fourth consecutive year in a row, topped the list as most popular international destination for travelers in 2016, followed by the United Kingdom; China, France and South Africa (tied for third); Peru and India.  On the home front, USTOA members forecast New York and California (tied for first), Arizona and Hawaii (tied for second), Nevada, Florida and Washington DC (tied for fourth) and Alaska as the most popular U.S. destinations for clients in 2016.

Participating tour operator members also named art and culture, honeymoon and romance, and family as the most popular travel categories for passengers.

Who’s traveling?

When asked who’s traveling, members responded that a little more than half (55%) of their customer base are baby boomers at 51 years of age and older. The next largest age group was 35 to 50 years old, representing about a quarter (23%) of customers. Roughly half (53%) of members saw a growth in the number of solo passengers in 2015.

Potential threats: what could hinder US traveler confidence in 2016?

While USTOA members view 2016 with optimism, they cited terrorism as the biggest threat to US traveler confidence in 2016. The second potential threat named was global financial instability, followed by political instability.

Of note, the survey was completed prior to the tragic events in Paris, yet there is little surprise that it jumped to the top of list given world events. Aware that the impact of such horrific events can be global in scope, our members are hopeful that the U.S. traveler continues to be resilient and keep exploring new cultures…it’s the best antidote to the misunderstanding that plagues world events today.

Based on the results, all roads lead to more travel. So, what are you waiting for? Visit our Travel Together page with videos and information on thirteen different destinations, including Cuba, for more inspiration. And visit our Dream Vacation Itinerary Finder – with those destinations and more – and discover the trip of a lifetime.