SALEM, Ohio — Cassandra Blankenship joined the travel industry six months ago and has already become a devoted believer in the value of group travel. As a member of the marketing staff at Group Travel Family of Brands, she attended the Select Traveler Conference at Cheyenne, Wyoming – her first travel industry event – where delegates from 25 states got to know the city, explore its travel possibilities and build relationships with other travel industry professionals.
“I immediately recognized the value that our travel planner delegates gained at the Select Traveler Conference Marketplace,” Blankenship said. “They networked with other travel planners, shared ideas and met with destinations, hotels and operators to build new tour packages for their groups.”
“It’s nice to see a sharp new face like Cassandra recognize the value that group travel brings to people’s lives,” said Charlie Presley, president of Group Travel Family of Brands.
The Group Travel Family of Brands’ mission is to help group travel leaders develop skills to better serve their communities.
“It’s true, when a group travel planner leads a tour, the destination is the focal point. But the undiscussed value is the improved quality of life that traveling with friends and family brings,” Blankenship said.
Travel planners enjoyed over 5,000 business appointments at the conference. Those one-on-one meetings with destinations, hotels and tour operators resulted in hundreds of new group tours being planned. It is estimated each travel planner at the conference has a membership in excess of 250 travelers and operates six group tours annually. That results in a total of 24,000 travelers per year.
“It was an honor to think I had a small part of helping travel planners return to their communities, build better tours and really help people enjoy life,” Blankenship said.
The Group Travel Family of Brands has a membership of 25,000 travel planners and is the parent organization or management firm for seven national group travel or meetings conferences. To contact Blankenship, email to cblankenship@grouptravelfamily.com or call 800-628-0993.
