ITMI

Join "Burnout to Breakthrough: Building Resilience to Refuel, Recharge and Reclaim What Matters" This session is presented by SYTA (Student Youth Tour Association) Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 10:00am Pacific / 1:00pm Eastern... In May 2019, the World Health Organization declared burnout as a global occupational hazard with specific symptoms and warnings. Enter COVID 19 and an upside-down world. Burnout has become even stronger and insidious. Remote workforces, physical distancing, and dependency on virtual communication provide their own potential for burnout. You’ll experience why Eileen has also been called a HOPE merchant, filling minds with positivity, laugh-ability and DO-ability. Discover ways individuals and organizations impact burnout and what to do about it. Come away with at least 3 action items to implement today to control the flames. About the host: Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE, CEO (Chief Energy Officer), The Resiliency Group Since 1980, Eileen McDargh has helped organizations and individuals transform the life of their business and the business of their life through conversations that matter and connections that count. She has become known as a master facilitator, an award-winning author, and an internationally recognized keynoter and executive coach. She draws upon practical business know-how, life's experiences and years of consulting to major national and international organizations that have ranged from global pharmaceuticals to the US Armed Forces, from health care associations to religious institutions. Her programs are content rich, interactive, provocative and playfuleven downright hilarious. In 2020, Global Gurus International, a British-based provider of resources for leadership, communication and sales training, also ranked her third as one of the World’s Top 30 Communication Professionals following a global survey of 22,000 business professionals. Her newest book, Burnout to Breakthrough: Building Resilience to Refuel, Recharge and Reclaim What Matters has been generating great response and interest. You can find it on Amazon in paper, digital and audio formats. https://syta.zoom.us//register/tJApcuCgqTgvGdMx9ME6nLefnfZ

What is happening with Adult Tours and Student Travel this year? For so many of us, it's hard to believe that our last in-person tour was over a year ago. Who would have guessed that more than 12 months later, we are still in a place of uncertainty when we can fully travel and take tours? The good news is we are seeing a huge pent-up demand for travel. Research indicates a multi-year recovery, and some adult tour operators have groups out now. A decent percentage of travel is... booked for Q2, Q3, and Q4. However, it may be a little further down the road before more business returns. In the meantime, we've invited two of the top leaders in our industry to come and share their insights, findings, and perspectives on the status of our industry and what we can expect on the road ahead in the coming year. Come join us Wednesday, March 31st, 10 am PST / 1 pm EST for a conversation with Catherine Prather, President of the NTA (National Tour Association), and Carylann Assante, CEO of SYTA (Student Youth Travel Association). Click Here to Sign Up: https://www.eventbrite.com/.../tourism-update-with-nta... These ladies have met with countless industry leaders, tour companies, vendors, and other key stakeholders to better understand the challenges and opportunities of where we are, what's working, what's changing, what the research and data are indicating, and when we could expect the travel and tourism industry to rebound. Specifically, Carylann will focus on the Student Travel market and Catherine will discuss the Adult Tour segment. Come prepared with questions you would like to ask these ladies in this 60-minute industry update and Q&A. This event is FREE & OPEN TO ANYONE!! You DO NOT need to be an ITMI graduate to attend! If you can not make it, please be sure to sign up to receive the replay!

How to Get 5-Star Reviews, Every Time! WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24TH AT 10AM PST / 1PM EST 5-star reviews are one of the biggest stressors (for both guides and operators) and yet, they're easier to achieve than you think! Come join us for this special edition study hall where we'll break down one tried and true formula for getting 5-star reviews and also learn to let the occasional bad ones go.... We have a special guest joining us, Nikki Padilla, who will share her strategies, tips, and method to getting excellent reviews from your tour guests. We will be discussing our love-hate relationship with 5-star reviews, how to get great ones, and how to let the bad ones go. Nikki works to empower guides through training and advocacy. She bridges the communication gap between tour operators and their teams to result in consistently branded high-quality experiences that generate word-of-mouth-marketing. Previously (after a career of guiding in NYC), Nikki created and ran the Guide Program for Intrepid's Urban Adventures, creating a community amongst 1500+ guides in 160+ cities around the world. She believes that travel should benefit a local place and that guides are in the perfect position to educate travelers on how to protect and appreciate their destinations. This is a free 60-minute training session with Q&A open to tour guides, tour directors, tour managers, tour operators, travel advisors, and travel entrepreneurs. OPEN TO ALL! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE AN ITMI GRADUATE TO ATTEND. Wednesday, March 24th at 10am PST / 1pm EST https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-get-5-star-reviews-ever

Did you know that just a couple of years ago prior to the pandemic, Spain was the SECOND MOST VISITED country in the world, with 83.7 million tourists? This marked the seventh consecutive year of record-beating numbers. About a month ago, we sent out a survey to see if there is an interest in creating and leading tours in Spain. Blown away by the overwhelming interest and response, we invited Gabo, Stefi, and Fredy, also known as The Five Cousins to join us this week to share... their expert tips and strategies for planning and leading tours in Spain. The Five Cousins recently created a training course for tour managers, tour directors, and tour operators to help them navigate the pitfalls of running and leading tours in Spain. If you've ever dreamed about leading or offering tours in Spain, we invite you to join us for a special webinar this coming Wednesday, March 17th at 10am PST / 1pm EST This is a free 90-minute training session with Q&A open to tour guides, tour directors, tour managers, tour operators, travel advisors, and travel entrepreneurs. During this webinar you will learn: The 3 Things Holding Most People Back from pursuing their dream to lead tours in Spain The Top 5 Mistakes when Leading Tours in Spain The Top 5 Costly Mistakes when Planning Tours in Spain About resources, practical tips, and how to get started OPEN TO ALL! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE AN ITMI GRADUATE TO ATTEND. If you can not attend live at this time, be sure to sign up to receive the limited-time replay. Click here to learn more and sign up. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-to-plan-and-lead-successfu

Have you created or been on a virtual tour in the last 6 months? If so, we want to invite you to share your story and feature what you've done at the upcoming Virtual Tour Showcase If you have experienced an amazing virtual tour, tell us about it and share what worked well, what you learned, and what you loved! Join us this Wednesday, October 21st at 10am PST/ 1pm EST for a special edition Study Hall. Come share, listen, learn, and get inspired by your peers.... Even though the travel and tourism industry has come to a standstill in 2020, the world of virtual tours and online experiences has been exploding! Many travel entrepreneurs and attractions are using virtual tours to attract prospective travelers, customers, and visitors. If you are one of them, share with us what you are doing and how it's working, so that we can help promote you! This event is Free and OPEN TO ANYONE, NOT JUST ITMI Click here to register: http://itmitraining.com/virtualtourshowcase

Wednesday, October 14, 2020 - Special Edition ITMI Study Hall You are invited... Why did you choose a career as a Tour Guide / Tour Director?... How has this career impacted your life? What are some of the most joyful moments and stories you've experienced? Over the last 7 months, we've been working our brains solving the most common challenges on tour scenarios together. We thought it would be a refreshing change this week to give our mind a break and open up our hearts instead. You are invited to join us this week for a special edition of Study Hall where we share, inspire, and reconnect with why we chose this career path. We'd like to hear your personal stories and moments that fill your hearts with joy. https://us2.campaign-archive.com/

Join us this Wednesday, October 7th at 10am PST/1pm EST for a Special Edition of Study Hall focused on Using the Birds to Solve Problems on Tour and Deliver Excellent Customer Service What do "birds" and Customer Service have in common? Surprisingly, A LOT!... If you've ever been on tour, you've probably noticed a number of different personalities from guests, drivers, guides, and other people you meet. Some are very assertive, others need to be the star of the show, a few like to hide out so you barely notice them, and there are those who constantly want every little detail. This can be frustrating at times to deal with and even more challenging to understand where they are coming from. Conflict and problems may arise that impact the overall guest experience and even your tour evaluations and ratings. So how do you manage the different personalities you may encounter? Join us this week for a special edition Study Hall where Jordan Allen will be helping us better understand the different personality types using The Birds framework to solve problems on tour and deliver excellent customer service. He will be introducing different scenarios on tour and facilitating our discussion from the different Bird perspectives to effectively address these situations. https://mailchi.mp/itmisf/what-are-you-doing-when-2678700

Join us this Wednesday, September 30th at 10am PST/1pm EST for a Special Edition of Study Hall focused on Tour Directing & Guiding during COVID. This webinar is open to the travel industry, you do not have to be ITMI to join Link to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/itmi-study-hall-september-30-2... As travel resumes, are you prepared to lead groups safely and handle potentially challenging situations? For many of us, it's been at least 6 months since we were last on the road leading tours. For some, we have yet to lead our first tour. Regardless of your situation or experience, so much has changed. From new safety procedures, guest expectations, and attitudes on tour, anxiety, and new responsibilities, there is a lot of uncertainty and fear about what it will be like out there once tours fully resume. The good news is we have a few tour directors out there who are braving the unknown and leading the way as pioneers for us to learn from their experiences so we can be ready. They have been our eyes and ears experiencing what it's been like out there on tour. We've invited one of those brave tour directors to join us this week for a special edition of Study Hall. If you have not met Casey Walton, he is not only an amazing tour director for the last 10 years, but he's also an ITMI Instructor, and the author of the Technology Master Class. Casey just completed his 8th tour during COVID, covering 21 States from the East Coast, South, Midwest, and Northwest. During this upcoming Study Hall session, Casey will be presenting a variety of scenarios he's experienced on tour to have us discuss. After the scenarios, we will have the opportunity for you to ask Casey any questions about being out there on tour. If you can not make the session live, please reply back with your questions. Link to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/itmi-study-hall-september-30-2 If you are unable to make the live webinar, register to receive the replay the following day

Join us this Wednesday, September 9th at 10am PST/1pm EST for the next COVID-19 Travel Safety Series. ITMI is partnering with Group Tour Media to bring you panel leaders from various Tour Attractions to discuss the latest updates and changes. OPEN TO ALL!... The guest panelists from these attractions will be discussing and sharing updates based on the following questions: -How is your business adapting to new guidelines like social distancing, occupancy limits, and cleaning protocols? -What new protocols are you implementing or requiring specifically for groups before arriving or onsite? -How are food services changing or adapting over the last few months? What future changes are you planning? -What new opportunities have you created for guests and groups like virtual tours and educational sessions to better engage visitors? -How are motorcoach companies handling capacity limitations and what guidelines are you following for capacity? Panelists include: -Gina Romanelli National Constitution Center (Philadelphia, PA) -Ann Dee Jones Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage (Nashville, TN) -Rich Gilbert Maryland Office of Tourism (Baltimore, MD) -Don Osborn Wildhorse Saloon/Gaylord Attractions (Nashville, TN) -Melissa Giller Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Library (Simi Valley, CA) CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS WEBINAR: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/covid-19-travel-safety-what-yo

COVID-19 Travel Safety Series: What You Need to Know about Tour Operations Wednesday, August 12th at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern Click to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/covid-19-travel-safety-what-yo... You are invited to join us for conversations with industry leaders who have implemented new safety procedures. Together we will have a group discussion exploring your ideas and feedback on issues and processes specific to tours. In each 90-minute session, we will focus on one component of a tour (e.g. transportation, attractions & dining, lodging, what to do when...) The goal in each of these sessions is for you to walk away with a better understanding of a specific topic so that you can feel more prepared and confident to lead your groups. Last week we launched this series on the topic of Transportation and Motorcoach Safety with Terry Fischer, Owner of TCS Bus and co-leader of the American Bus Association Covid-19 Task Force. If you missed this session and would like to watch the replay, click here: https://itmitraining.com/latest-covid-19-travel-safety-wha/ Join us Wednesday, August 12th at 10am PST/1pm EST to discuss Tour Operation Safety. Our special guests will be Marco Jahn, VP of Operations with Destination America and Beth Meredith, Tour Manager with Collette. Following the conversation with Marco and Beth, we will be facilitating a group discussion with topics like: How to monitoring safety risks and handle issues at stops and attractions How to manage uncooperative guests How to safely interact with guests on a motorcoach How to work with step-on or local guides coming on board How welcome receptions will now work How to handling tips and payments What to do when one of your guests becomes sick on tour Click to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/covid-19-travel-safety-what-yo

In our commitment to Black Lives Matter and honoring World Day Against Human Trafficking, we are launching the Spot & Stop Human Trafficking online training course to everyone in the travel industry and beyond. Link to Human Trafficking Awareness Class: https://itmitraining.com/courses/human-trafficking/ Did you know that more than 2,000 people are sold or kidnapped and forced into slavery every day? Not many people are. That's over 83 an hour and that's just the reported c...ases! More than 25 million people around the globe are victims of human trafficking. Black, indigenous, people of color, children, and all marginalized communities are more likely to be trafficked. Human Trafficking is a Black Lives Matter issue. 62% of all children and adults trafficking in the United States are black and in Los Angeles alone 91% of trafficking cases are black and latinx boys and girls. Black, indigenous and people of color are especially vulnerable to human trafficking and even more so during a pandemic like COVID-19 where homelessness is on the rise and creates a perfect storm for traffickers to take advantage of vulnerable communities. According to the Black and Missing Foundation, 64,000 black women and girls were missing in the US and that was as of 2014, authorities agree that most of those 64,000+ black woman and girls have been trafficked. Since 2012 ITMI has included Human Trafficking Awareness training into our curriculum, annual Symposium, and industry conferences. As ECPAT Top Code Members (a worldwide network of organizations working to end the sexual exploitation of children), we pledge to shine the light on Human Trafficking around the world and educate our community to spot and stop human trafficking. We developed this training in partnership with EastguidesWest to bring awareness to all people around the world. We invite you to take this FREE training and share it with other tour leaders, operators, industry partners, guilds, and associations as well as in your home communities and families. Human Trafficking is bigger than just the travel industry. Together we can make a difference! Link to take class: https://itmitraining.com/courses/human-trafficking/

https://www.upworthy.com/obama-shared-truly-beautiful-tribu

Some great travel documentaries from our friends and the great guides at Backroads! Excellent suggestions! https://goactive.backroads.com/index.php/email/emailWebview

Retired couple recreate canceled cruise This is one way to recreate a canceled cruise, in response to the coronavirus outbreak!

We understand that you may be feeling stressed out, concerned and confused given the events and news regarding Coronavirus that are unfolding daily and touching our travel community deeply. Part of our responsibility to our community is to take a proactive role to facilitate the most recent and accurate info out there given the fear and some misinformation that exists. We will be having in-depth conversations with Tour Operators and Global Leaders in the Industry in the com...ing days to address actions we can all take locally and abroad. As a part of this community, you are the eyes and ears of that is happening in your own home and region as well as the impact it is having in your career and lives. You are part of the solution.

How to keep the greater good in mind during the Coronavirus outbreak https://greatergood.berkeley.edu//how_to_keep_the_greater_