NEW YORK — “Dancing With Matt,” an online video, was launched by the United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) on June 24. The video reached more than 200,000 viewings by mid-August and is being used to promote the association’s active members for worldwide travel.
Matt Harding, who became a famous YouTube personality in recent years by posting videos of himself dancing with groups of people from throughout the world, visited numerous countries this year with USTOA members, shooting videos with their travelers.
“It was such a pleasure to have the intricacies of planning visits to some out-of-the-way places done for me for a change,” said Harding, who heretofore had made his travel plans more independently. His prior videos have garnered nearly 85 million views on YouTube, making his channel the most watched travel channel on the site.
USTOA president Terry Dale announced the new social media partnership at his association’s annual conference in Hawaii last December.
Harding traveled for more than 90 days to shoot videos in locations such as Malaysia, Tanzania, Korea and Chile. Participating USTOA tour companies have included Holland America Line, Goway Travel, Globus, Tauck, CIE Tours International, WorldStrides, General Tours, and Abercrombie and Kent.
USTOA’s 45 tour operator members represent more than 150 travel brands serving all seven continents.
