Van Leeuwen Named President of NACTA

Ann van Leeuwen has been promoted from vice president to president of the National Association of Career Travel Agents (NACTA). The announcement was made by ASTA president and CEO Zane Kerby at NACTA’s annual convention in Fort Lauderdale. “This sends the message that ASTA recognizes all the great things NACTA does,” van Leeuwen said of the development. “It’s a validation of the importance of NACTA and emphasizes the importance of home-based agents.”

Van Leeuwen told Travel Market Report that one of her goals is to help home-based agents build their businesses by providing them with additional consumer marketing vehicles. To that end, NACTA earlier this week announced a partnership with the SpoonDrawerMedia Group to aid members in building mobile-responsive websites. Next up is a “find a travel professional” link on NACTA’s site that will enable consumers to connect with NACTA members. While in the past, NACTA concentrated on the B2B aspect, “now we want to showcase the professionalism of independent agents,” van Leeuwen said.

Van Leeuwen joined NACTA in 2012 following nine years as Virtuoso’s vice president of sales and services. Her immediate predecessor, Mary Clegg, also held the title of vice president, while Clegg’s predecessor Scott Koepf was president. Van Leeuwen said she’s excited about her new role. NACTA has 1,500 active agent members and a total of 1,800 members when host agencies and suppliers are included.

– Robin Amster