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A R O U N D T H E W O R L D
www.bepaidtotravel.com
March 2012
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Congratulations to our newest Tour Director graduates from the Denver, CO March 2012 program.
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WHAT'S NEW WITH OUR GRADUATES:
Julia Vonder Reith, " I. LOVE. MY. JOB. It's the hardest, scariest job I've ever had, but by FAR the most rewarding, challenging, and fun! I am finally getting paid to HAVE FUN! And the best thing is, when I am having fun, my passengers are having fun! I could not have done it without IGA. There is so much that goes into being a good Tour Director that, without IGA, if I had tried to do it on my own I would have run away from my first tour scared out of my wits. But IGA fully prepared me for all that could happen--both good and bad (and I've already had my share of challenges!) Thank you Daniel, Frank, Connie, etc. for all you taught me! I will probably be a Tour Director throughout the rest of my life! I love it so much!
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Julia on one of her tours.
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Kimberly Wawrzyniak, "I was on tour for nine out of the twelve months in 2011. I already have 5 tours in 2012 in March/April with many more to come. Thank you IGA!"
Tom Jensen: "Last year I was a Program Director for Grand Circle Travel's 18-day tour of western national parks and monuments including Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, Devils Tower, Yellowstone, Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Glen Canyon, and Mesa Verde. Locally, I am a Driver/Guide for tours of Denver, the Front Range, the Pikes Peak Region, Rocky Mountain National Park, and the Colorado Rocky Mountains. I love sharing my city and state with visitors, many of whom are from outside the U.S. I have also been doing some free-lance work leading tours that circled Colorado. One of the most interesting was a tour that featured the railroads of Colorado - Royal Gorge, Pikes Peak Cog Railway, Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, and the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.
As Daniel told us in class, this work is never boring. I credit IGA for my success leading tours. There were so many times I heard Daniel's voice reminding me to "do a head count", or "what to include in my welcome greeting", or "don't forget to reconfirm the down line arrangements". I am looking forward to the upcoming season to again "hit the road" and share places, sights, sounds, food, and adventures."
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As a reminder, your next International Tour Director Certification course is being held in Vermont April 21 - 29 followed by a Tour Guide course that will be held onboard a motorcoach throughout New England April 30 - May 5.
The Tour Guide program is revolutionary.
In conjunction with Sugar Tours, IGA is holding the Tour Guide course onboard a motorcoach every day and we will travel throughout New England while you are learning. This is a double-bonus for you!
You get the world's best Tour Guide Training and you also get New England Destination Awareness, which will be beneficial to you when finding jobs.
IGA is proud to offer you this opportunity of a new 6-day Tour Guide program with an emphasis in the New England area of the USA. This class will take place on a motorcoach touring throughout New England to allow you to earn not only your Tour Guide certification, but also a "Destination Awareness Certification: New England". Join the instructors from the International Guide Academy and the owner, in addition to the office manager, of Sugar Tours aboard this "rolling classroom" through the 6 New England states.
Your program starts and finishes in Rutland, VT. Some of the stops during training will include:
the Killington area, Woodstock, Stowe Village, Cold Hollow Cider Mill and a Ben & Jerry's tour, Montpelier, Morse Sugar Farm, the Cannon Mountain tram, Flume gorge, LL Bean, Portland, Cape Neddick Lighthouse, Gloucester, Salem and Rockport, a guided tour in the city of Boston, exploration at Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, Plymouth and Hyannis with a local expert and historian, Providence, guided exploration of the Newport and Ten Mile Drive, and more...
If you have friends, family, acquaintances, etc. who would benefit from our Tour Director or Tour Guide courses, please let them know.
If you recommend someone who completes this program, you will receive a referral bonus check in the mail from us shortly after they graduate. Make sure they put your name on the "referred by" line on the enrollment form.
Details can be found at: www.bepaidtotravel.com/Classes.aspx
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| Mexico was host to one-third of the 58 million Americans who took international trips in 2011, retaining its spot as the most visited country in the world for U.S. travelers, Source: USA Commerce Department March 2012
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This February (2012), the number of workers employed directly in the travel industry increased by 8,000 to 7.6 million. The major increases in travel jobs were in restaurants, lodging, and amusements/gambling/recreation industries. Last month's employment rise marked the eleventh increase in the past 12 months for the travel industry.
Since February 2011, travel employment has increased by 129,000. Since the employment recovery began, the travel industry has created more than 250,000 new jobs, accounting for more than seven percent of overall job growth since early 2010. This is primarily due to the fact that the pace of job creation in the travel industry has exceeded that of the rest of the economy by 34 percent.
As a result of this faster job growth, the travel industry has now recovered more than half of the 496,000 jobs lost during the great recession, while the rest of the economy has made up just 39 percent.
The economy created 227,000 total jobs in February while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.3 percent. While the overall pace of jobs growth decelerated a bit from the 284,000 gain in January, part of this was due to a 61,000 upward revision in January employment, nearly a quarter of which was due to 14,000 more jobs in the travel industry.
Today's travel employment numbers echo positive news in export numbers for the industry, which improved to $12.9 billion in January.
The U.S. Travel Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the travel industry that generates $1.8 trillion in economic output and supports 14 million jobs. U.S. Travel's mission is to increase travel to and within the United States. source: travelindustrywire.com
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Airline travel will nearly double over the next two decades, growing enough to add another airline every year, the Federal Aviation Administration predicted Thursday.
The number of passengers will grow from a projected 732 million this year to 1.2 billion in 2032, according to the FAA's annual forecast. Under another measure, the number of miles those passengers fly will grow from 815 billion last year to 1.57 trillion in 2032.
For comparison, that annual growth rate of 3.2% would add the equivalent of a JetBlue Airways every 10 months. JetBlue's passengers flew 2.5 billion miles in January. "This year, more people will be flying more miles and we expect that to continue in future years," says Michael Huerta, acting FAA administrator.
The forecast released in conjunction with a two-day conference in Washington also projected growth of commercial operations at the largest 30 airports. Airports that are expected to grow the fastest, at more than 2.5% a year, are New York's John F. Kennedy, Washington's Dulles, Chicago's Midway, Orlando, Houston and Las Vegas.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the report underscored the importance of updating the country's air-traffic control system, under a project called NextGen.
"More and more Americans are relying on air travel and the Obama administration is committed to making sure the U.S. can meet our growing aviation demands," LaHood said.
Growth is expected despite expectations for higher fuel prices and a U.S. economy growing slower than some of the rest of the world. But FAA's pace of growth is slightly slower than last year's forecast, with a projection to reach 1 billion passengers three years later, in 2024.
The price of oil is projected to stay above $100 a barrel this year and reach $138 in two decades. Economic growth is projected at 2.6% each year domestically and 3.2% worldwide, according to FAA's projections by IHS Global Insight.
. source: USAtoday 14 March 2012
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"In the news: Some of the instructors during the Mexico program held in February 2012"
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Mexico's tourism agency released new figures showing that the number of foreign travelers arriving by air in 2011 rose to 22.7 million, the most since the Bank of Mexico began keeping track in 1980. There was growth in each of the last five months of the year, officials said.
Tourism also got a boost from Mexican travelers, who registered 167 million visits to tourist spots. The total of Mexican and foreign tourists was 2% higher than for 2008, which had been the best year on record.
The number of air travelers from other countries - especially Brazil, Russia, Peru and China - registered sizable increases over 2010. source latimes.com
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Number of air passengers increased in 2011
The number of passengers that flew on U.S. airlines increased to 730 million in 2011, up 1.3 percent from the previous year, according to data released by Department of Transportation on Thursday (22 March 2012).
Nearly 640 million passengers -- an all-time high -- flew on domestic flights while 92.5 million flew internationally on U.S. airlines.
DOT's report on annual airline traffic also ranked Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International as the most trafficked airport for domestic departures, and Delta and Southwest, respectively, as the airlines that carried the most international and domestic passengers in 2011. Though the increase in passengers in 2011 was small, the Federal Aviation Administration recently announced that airline passenger travel will double by 2032, reaching 1.2 billion (By msnbc.com news services)
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You might want to look into this. The US State Department has a travel registration tool: Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/tips/registration/registration_4789.html
If the situation in a country becomes dangerous, by registering your trip in STEP, the State Department can contact you in the event of a disaster, emergency or other crisis, and give you instructions, including for evacuation, if necessary.
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Senior members of the UK Parliament are backing a drive to change the name of the iconic Clock Tower, to Elizabeth Tower in honor of Queen Elizabeth II. Commonly referred to as "Big Ben" the tower is officially named "the Clock Tower" and Big Ben is technically the giant bell inside the tower. The renaming of the tower would commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. She will be one of only two monarchs to have ever reached the pivotal reigning anniversary - Queen Victoria celebrated hers in 1897. In 1860, the east tower near the palace was named Victoria Tower. Source: news.com.au. |
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It is always a great time to update your information with IGA. Send us an email with updated information on what you have accomplished, including where you led tours, what companies you have worked for, etc. This enable others to see what you have been doing.
Did you know that over 70% of companies hiring throughout the USA now do research first on those being considered and this includes such places as Facebook, Youtube and during the year, we at IGA received a number of phone calls from hiring companies asking specifically about graduates on the web site. Having your accomplishments out there does not hurt you and might even help in landing that next assignment. Make sure you include that your certification was from the International Guide Academy. This gives reviewers of your social media items, your blogs, your bios, etc. a recognized reference as well as a place to contact for more information about you.
Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter at "bepaidtotravel". If you are on Twitter let us know and we will follow you.
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"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends." --Maya Angelou
"We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls. --Anais Nin
"Travel teaches toleration." --Benjamin Disraeli
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Thank you for being a part of our Email family. We want the information we send to you about the Travel and Tourism Industry and about our certification programs to be meaningful to you. If at any time you wish not to continue to receive these emails, please just click on the unsubscribe link below. We hope (of course) that you remain on our growing list of those interested in this industry and we also welcome any suggestions you have.
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Daniel Slater - President
International Guide Academy, Inc.
PO Box 370190 Denver, CO 80237 303.780.0131 |
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