SKÅL INTERNATIONAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A National Committee of Skål International An International Association of Travel and Tourism Professionals
For Immediate Release: Contact: June 15, 2015 SIUSA Administrator Office: 202-898-4690
Fax: 202-218-7258
Email: SIUSA@buses.org
North American Tourism Executives Assemble for 54th Annual Meeting, Generate Millions in Future Tourism Business, Implement Future Growth Plans The 54th North American Alliance of Skål Clubs (NAASC) 2015 Congress was recently held at the Barceló Resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico May 14-17, 2015 and was generously hosted by Skål International Riviera Maya.
More than 200 Skål International members from the USA, Canada, Mexico convened for this annual regional meeting to discuss various tourism issues as well as to network with each other in an atmosphere of friendship and learning. The elected Skål International President, V. Salih Cene from Skål International Antalya (Turkey) participated in the meeting and presented several updates on Skål International initiatives, including the progress of disaster relief efforts in Nepal and Vanuatu as well as the postponement and relocation of the annual Skål World Congress during his address to the gathered membership.
The North American Alliance of Skål Clubs (NAASC) is a regionalized portion of the largest organization of professional tourism leaders (16,200 members) around the world, promoting global tourism and friendship. It is the only international group uniting all branches of the travel and tourism industry. Its members, the industry's managers and executives, meet at local, national, regional and international levels to discuss and pursue topics of common interest. While, the meeting took on a regionalized theme, there was time in the schedule reserved for each National Committee to focus on its own internal business as well. Skål International USA, with one of its largest contingents in recent years with 45 of its 52 clubs represented, came out of its meetings with a new way forward and a path of action in regards to its marketing efforts as well a sense of purpose and commitment to not only raise the profile of this organization and its component clubs within their respective localities, but also internationally through the development of a new 3-Year Action Plan. "I’m so proud of this organization, its members and our Board," said SIUSA President Martha McClintock. "To come together through the collective efforts of so many in such a short period of time, to develop a plan, and begin to implement it, SKÅL INTERNATIONAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A National Committee of Skål International An International Association of Travel and Tourism Professionals
while also enhancing the participation of our membership in the decision making and implementation processes at every level is just awe inspiring." Skål International USA will be participating in National and International Tourism trade shows in 2015 and 2016, including ABA Marketplace and IPW, in addition to state governor’s conferences on Tourism. They will also have a presence at 4 regional Tourism Cares events beginning this fall and into 2016. The assembled delegates also approved plans to help SIUSA further promote local club promotion efforts through budgetary enhancements to its membership development funds and the unveiling of a new revenue generating member benefit as well as the collection and creation of additional online tools to help formulate universally accessible toolkits that can be customized to the needs of the local tourism community. In addition to the successful national committee meetings, delegates enjoyed productive business-to-business networking sessions, travel industry education seminars focused on "Sustainable Tourism in Riviera Maya" and "What Every Hotelier should know about Google: Tips & Trends". The meeting will rotate for 2016 to the United States, and the 55th NAASC Congress will be hosted by Skål International Boise, June 9-11 at the picturesque Riverside Hotel.
"I look forward to continuing to meet as a regional body and coordinate efforts between the other North American National Committees, as there is so much that we can all continue to learn from each other and collectively impact the future of tourism across borders," said McClintock. For 2017, the 56th annual NAASC meeting will be hosted by Skål International Canada.
About Skål International USA Skål International USA is the US-based branch of the international organization that brings together all branches of the travel and tourism industry. Representing the industry's managers and executives, Skålleagues meet at local, national and international levels in an environment of friendship to discuss subjects of common interest. The first Club was founded in Paris in 1932 by a group of travel trade managers and from that modest beginning, Skål International now has more than 16,000 members in nearly 400 Clubs, spread throughout 80 countries. Skal International USA (SIUSA) is based in Washington DC. For more information on becoming a member of this organization, contact siusa@buses.org.
