ASTA Officials Offer Up Details On Global Convention 2016

Reno, NV. Photo: D Ramey Logan

The ASTA Global Convention (AGC) in Reno Tahoe, Nevada (Sept. 25-28) will offer agents an opportunity to experience a destination likely to see increasing demand over the next few years, along with a host of educational sessions and networking opportunities. 

At a webinar this week, ASTA offered up some highlights of what attendees can expect when they get there. 

The convention agenda 
ASTA’s vice president of industry affairs Mark Meader noted there will be more than 95 speakers at the convention—including Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson and James Compton, vice chairman and chief revenue office for United Airlines, who will be interviewed by journalist Peter Greenberg. There’s also  Samantha Brown, Travel Channel hostess, and Sully Sullenberger, the hero pilot who landed his plane in the Hudson River. 

ASTA vice president of business development Bob Duglin and other officials also highlighted: 

• Global Travel Exchange, a networking and educational event that will bring together attendees from around the world to discuss a variety of topics. 
• A huge variety of workshops and education sessions including: regulatory compliance, ethics and integrity, duty of care, social media, marketing and sales, travel distribution, leadership, combating credit card fraud, selling to Baby Boomers, TSA Precheck, peer-to-peer services like Uber and Airbnb, and “stellar” customer service. 
• “Lunch and Learn” events hosted by many suppliers including Hawaii, the Baltics, Hilton, Club Med, Israel and Kenya. 
• A trade show with 60 companies at 90 booths. 
• Social events including the welcome reception at the National Auto Museum; ASTA Advocacy dinner, a fundraiser event hosted by United Airlines senior vice president Dave Hilfman; and a closing dinner sponsored by the ASTA Kenya Chapter.  

Experiencing A Growing Reno Tahoe
Detailing the growing popularity of Reno Tahoe, John Leinen, vice president of convention sales for Reno Tahoe USA, said the growth of the area is being driven by the diversification of its industries, with heavy commitments by giants like Tesla, Amazon and Apple. For travelers, that translates into tremendous investment in tourism, including extensive hotel renovations and development, and new air service, including nonstop service out of New York on Jet Blue and seasonal winter nonstops out of Atlanta on Delta. Lift to the airport has increased 14% since 2014. 

Reno Tahoe offers an unusually diverse product. “Many destinations can do ski, golf or an urban experience, but few can do it all on such a small footprint. We have 18 ski resorts and more than 50 golf courses,” as well as extensive shopping, Leinen said.  

Reno Tahoe is also known for special events, including a rib cook-off that attracts 300,000 people and the popular Burning Man Festival that draws over 70,000. 

The area also boasts one of the largest populations of wild horses anywhere in the country, which can be seen on local tours.  

One of the top attractions is the National Automobile Museum. It houses a car worth $30 million; a contest at the AGC will ask attendees to guess which car that is. 

In fact, attendees will be able to see a great deal of Reno Tahoe on tours organized for AGC (some of which are sold out). They include: a kayak tour, Lake Tahoe Cruise tour, Squaw Valley/Truckee (the alpine area), Virginia City (a historic city), Historic Reno; a brew bike tour; a Reno area hotel site tour that will visit Harrah’s Reno, El Dorado, Grand Sierra, Atlantis Hotel Resort Spa and Whitney Peak; and a Thunderbird Lodge Land Tour, visiting local historical sites and scenic areas.  

Doug Gollan, Cheryl Rosen, James Shillinglaw, and Richard D’Ambrosio from the Travel Market Report team will be on hand to cover all the events for the ASTA dailies. We hope you’ll take a moment to come up to us and say hi!