The National Tour Association (NTA) hosted Travel Exchange, a travel and tourism conference for packaged travel professionals, from November 17 – 20 at the Von Braun Center.

The four-day conference featured panel discussions, exhibitors from around the globe, and excursions out into the community — including a meet and greet at the Botanical Gardens, dinner at Pane E Vino, drinks at The Blind Tiger, and more.

The Exhibits:

Lori Brady, a Sales Manager with the Asheville Hotel Group, said that the Western North Carolina town is ready to welcome tourists once again, post-Hurricane Helene.

“The Biltmore opened back to the public on November 2 and reopened for motorcoach groups on November 15,” said Brady.

Brady said that the hotels in the Asheville Hotel Group did not sustain damage during Hurricane Helene and have operated continuously.

Oliver Guggisberg, a representative of Switzerland Tourism, came to Travel Exchange to promote his native country.

“Every region in Switzerland produces its own wine,” said Guggisberg. “We don’t really export it — we export roughly 1% of our wine — the rest we keep for ourselves. So people should come visit. It’s not only cheese and chocolate, it’s also wine and beer.”

Small, walkable towns make Switzerland the ideal country to tour, said Guggisberg.

The months of May, June, September, and October are considered the “shoulder season” in Switzerland, said Guggisberg. Prices come down during these months and the weather makes this an ideal time to explore the countryside by hiking and cycling.

Four languages are spoken across Switzerland and each of these regions feels unique, said Guggisberg.

Exhibitors pulled out all the stops to attract visitors to their booth. Adorable dogs played in a fenced in “yard” at the Ohio booth, shoulder massages were on offer at the Richmond booth, and the folks from Wisconsin brought a number of varieties of cheese.

Local Historian Wins Award

A highlight of the convention was a panel discussion held on Monday afternoon which discussed the idea of meaningful travel. William Hampton, founder of the Huntsville Revisited museum, participated in the discussion.

Hampton, who is well known in Huntsville for his boundless knowledge of local history, was recently named as one of five recipients of the Green Book Experience Cultural Tourism Award.

The Green Book was a travel guide for African Americans during the years of Jim Crow segregation. The book was published from 1936 – 1967 to identify gas stations, restaurants, and lodgings where Black travelers could safely stop for services.

Hampton has several copies of vintage Green Books in his museum.

Today, the Green Book Experience seeks to remember the places that were beacons of hope during that era, while highlighting culturally enriching travel in the modern age.

NTA President Catherine Prather said that surveys conducted by the association report that 97% of tour operators say that their customers are looking for meaningful travel experiences.

Sherry Rupert, Chief Executive Officer of the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA), agreed and said that travelers are hungry for more genuine experiences.

“The demand for indigenous tourism is increasing,” said Rupert. “More and more people want that authentic experience. What can be more authentic than the first people of this nation?”

Visiting legitimate Native sites benefits both travelers and indigenous communities; travelers benefit from one-of-a-kind historic and cultural experiences, while Native communities gain from being included in an industry from which they have historically been excluded.

Economic Impact

Prather said that NTA’s travel operators report that business is up in 2024 over 2023. She anticipates that the positive trend will continue in the coming year.

“Looking ahead to 2025, all three member categories tell us that business is looking better than 2024. We are going to continue to see growth,” said Prather.

Locally, the partnership between NTA and the Huntsville/Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is a boon to the area economy.

Jennifer Moore, President and CEO of the CVB, said that Huntsville is the first city in Alabama to host NTA’s Travel Exchange conference.

“The conference has brought approximately 700 travel professionals to Huntsville to experience what makes our city so special,” said Moore. “Showcasing our community this week will benefit Huntsville for years to come, as many travel planners will now include Huntsville in their future itineraries.”