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AMERICAN TOURISM SOCIETY
(ATS) ANNOUNCES EXCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIP WITH
VACATION.COM First Major Travel
Industry Alliance Resulting From New
Strategic Plan (January 4, 2008,
New York, New York) &endash; The new Board of
Directors of the American Tourism Society (ATS)
announced an exclusive partnership with
Vacation.com as a first major step in the
implementation of the new Strategic Plan unveiled
at the recent Annual Meeting and Conference held in
the Lower Silesia region of Poland October 20-23,
2007. According to ATS
Chairman David Parry, "Dave Spinelli of
Vacation.com, as an ATS Board member and member of
the Strategic Planning Committee, was very
instrumental in helping to formulate the
partnership, for he understands the new ATS
strategic vision and goals for membership
expansion, education and marketing." Vacation.com is a
leading leisure travel marketing organization
serving a network of thousands of travel agency
locations throughout the US and Canada. "This
strategic alliance is a win-win for both parties.
Vacation.com is proud to partner with ATS as it
transitions itself into a new, revitalized
organization. We expect great things to come of
this partnership not only for our member travel
agencies but for our preferred travel partners as
well," said Spinelli. ATS President Phil
Otterson, who chaired the Strategic Planning
Committee, said "ATS is pleased to be aligned with
such a prestigious and market-leading
organization. ATS' new strategic vision seeks
to secure resources, and to build new relationships
as we concentrate on initiatives involving
education, marketing and government relations. Our
partnership with Vacation.com immediately speaks to
most of these goals. The Vacation.com
initiative is an excellent first step in our
objective to build the future of the organization
based on the successes of the past. This alliance
provides us with a new momentum, and strengthens
our clout in negotiating more partnerships that
will support our mission: 'Bringing the World
Together'. I predict that the industry will
begin hearing about additional innovative ATS
partnerships in the New Year." Summarizing the
"win-win" alliance, ATS Executive Vice President
Don Reynolds, said, "This partnership will
immediately give the ATS membership base exposure
to the qualified and experienced Vacation.com
travel agents as well as their preferred suppliers.
Plus the travel agency professionals of
Vacation.com will likewise benefit from the ATS
relationship through the destination education and
training and also participating in ATS annual
conferences in those destinations, as well as
through access to the recently announced ATS
Tourism College Program. " About
Vacation.com Vacation.com is the
largest travel services marketing organization in
North America, serving independent retail travel
agencies across the U.S. and Canada. Vacation.com
facilitates "The Power of the Partnership" between
a network of quality preferred suppliers and member
agencies that increase profits through disciplined
marketing, comprehensive training and robust
booking tools, including the proprietary EZguider
sales platform. Vacation.com is a subsidiary of
Amadeus IT Group, SA, and maintains its
headquarters in Alexandria, VA. About ATS -
Bringing the World Together The American
Tourism Society (ATS) was established in 1986 by a
group of US tourism industry executives.
It is a nonprofit, nonpolitical travel
industry organization whose membership includes
tour operators, hotels and resorts, international
airlines, cruise lines, Government Tourist Offices,
meeting and incentive planners, travel agents,
tourism educators and public relations and
marketing firms dedicated to promoting, developing
and expanding high-quality, reliable travel between
North America and the transformational ATS
destination council areas: the Baltics; Central
& Eastern Europe; the Mediterranean / Red Sea
Region; and Russia & the CIS. ATS holds
meetings and trade showcases hosted by different
destination countries each year. Its website is
www.americantourismsociety.org. For more
information on The American Tourism Society: 149
Madison Avenue, suite 602, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Phone 212.893.8111, Fax 212.893.8153; email:
info@americantourismsociety.org ATS Editorial
Contact:
Vacation.com Editorial Contact Karen
Hoffman,
Josh Kahn or Alexis Taggard The Bradford
Group KTCpr
&endash; Tel: (516) 594-4100 Tel: (212)
447-0027
E-mail: A.Taggard@KTCpr.com Fax: (212) 725
8253
E-mail: J.Kahn@KTCpr.com E-mail:
bradfordmktg@aol.com |
