SALEM, Ohio — The tourism industry faces a challenge in marketing and sales efforts due to budget restraints and travel restrictions, but a new development in group travel is designed to solve these problems and jump-start sales. An organization of five travel conferences is offering virtual attendance to the travel industry to trim costs, eliminate travel requirements and still actively market their destinations, services and products.
The Group Travel Family is offering virtual registration and attendance to the following conferences in 2020: the Select Traveler Conference, the African American Travel Conference, the Going On Faith Conference, Boomers In Groups and the Small Market Meetings Conference. All five events are established industry leaders and will also operate live travel conferences this year.
“All of our travel conferences will operate in 2020,” said Charlie Presley of The Group Travel Family. “However, we developed a way for the DMOs and hotels that simply cannot participate due to the effects of COVID-19 to maintain a presence in the group travel market.”
With groups making travel plans again, the travel industry is seeking an innovative way to keep in front of the travel planner, and this offers hope.
“We understand your budget and travel concerns,” said The Group Travel Family’s Jennifer Ferguson, who was instrumental in the plan’s development. “Our Marketplace on Demand solves this challenge and jump-starts your marketing/sales program. It’s affordable and eliminates the need to travel.”
The Marketplace on Demand is simple: Once you have chosen a target market of banks, churches, boomers, African American groups or meeting planners, you will be interviewed online via Skype and a seven-minute presentation will be edited and produced by the conference staff.
“It’s like you are in front of the buyer and present your destination, hotel or service as you normally would at any trade show,” Ferguson said.
Your presentation, or “appointment,” will be delivered to all delegates at the conference and will be digitally distributed to thousands of group travel planners all year. You’ll also receive a copy, and you are encouraged to use it as your marketing tool.
Sales lead generation is included, as well. Marketplace on Demand delegates will receive the contact information of groups that want to be contacted personally. Marketplace on Demand is a complete group sales/marketing program for solving the travel industry’s needs in today’s challenging times.
To view the Marketplace on Demand video, visit selecttravelerconf.com/virtual and contact Jennifer Ferguson at 800-628-0993 or jferguson@grouptravelfamily.com.
