Greeting and salutations fellow travel professionals. It is with mixed emotions that I write this, my last editorial for IATM. After writing over 50 articles, attending over 20 meetings, delivering 4 lectures and creating 2 websites with 8 electronic newsletters this year alone, I am retiring from IATM in order to spend more time with my family, seriously. Often this phrase is a euphemism for “I am out of here and I do not want to tell you why”. But in my case, it is true. Many of you know that I recently got married to the loveliest woman in the world. I celebrated this in grand style by skydiving like James Bond into our beach wedding. So my attention is now squarely on growing my family and growing my company, The Travels.

The amount of time the Chairman must devote to IATM is tremendous. On average it is hundreds of hours a year, and this does not include meetings. This is a lot to ask for a position with no pay. The only benefit is that if there is enough money, the trips to the Board meetings may be subsidized. But even in that regard, I often paid my own way to get to IATM board meetings and constantly stayed in Youth Hostels instead of the hotel with the other Board members.

Half of your dues go to fund the London office. The rest is split between the newsletter and travel for the Chairman. I have often proposed saving money by ceasing to publish a hard copy of the newsletter. It is easy to have a monthly or quarterly newsletter delivered to all of you by email, but many of you love the feel of receiving a hard copy in the mail. This year I did both. I demonstrated how the online format links you to more information and in a timelier manner. I subsequently also printed out all the articles at a later date and sent them to those of you that desired to have a hard copy sent to you. Included in the ballot is that same question for 2012. Do you want to receive a hard copy of the newsletter? My advice is to drop it because we cannot afford it. But I pose the option to you, since it is your money that pays for it.

I have tried a couple of other ideas for gaining members in my tenure as Chairman. I have created 3 different brochures and sent them to Tour Operators and to Colleges that have a tourism department. Over 1000 companies and teachers received our information and then hopefully passed the information on to the tens of thousands of Tour Managers and students. The response yielded few new members. I declare that it was far too much work for such dismal results.

I have created our website TourManager.org. Though this alone has taken hundreds of hours over the years, I could have spent more time on it. I have taught myself to be a professional web designer so if there was a function or tool that you wanted for the website; I could have created it for you. The sad truth is that most of you have never signed in to the website. I even took the extraordinary step of creating a profile for every member. But I know who and when everyone has signed in. I will summerize it to say that most of our members are not proactive in their internet activities. Since I own and run the website, its future is uncertain. The association lacks the funds to create a new one or even to pay me to act as the webmaster.

I have also created a third website, GreenGuideAlliance.com. Partnering with the London office of IATM, I have tried to get Tour Guides (from Tourist Guides to Tour Managers) to sign up in declaration that they will think green whilst on tour. Dr Frank Slater also promoted the Green Guide Alliance to his students of the International Guide Academy. I am sorry to say that this endeavor has also fallen sadly short of expectations. I point this out in recognition that it is much more then knowledge, ingenuity and perseverance needed to succeed in growing our membership of IATM.

There are unrecognized reasons why IATM is losing members. To recognize, adapt and overcome these reasons may prove to be the next Chairman’s most daunting task. We have two brave souls that have chosen to take up the gauntlet, Carol-Anne Seidelman and Frank Slater. Both are well experienced and receive my blessing. But in the words of George Washington “I am fairly out, and you are fairly in. See which of us will be the happiest.”

On an inspirational note, IATM is an amazing association. Together we can achieve anything. Our members, you, make up the best that the industry has to offer. We have established a real and virtual framework that has stood the test of time. Our limits are controlled by your involvement. 2012 may well prove to be a determining factor for the future of IATM. Live the dream of IATM and together we can tour the life fantastic.

Scott Mac Scott CTM

Chairman

IATM Americas

The New Breed of City Tour Guides

Tour Guides have a lot to complain about. Whether it is the accessibility to safe legal convenient pick up/ drop off areas, unlicensed Guides working without consequences, or a respectable minimum rate of pay that is adhered to by all, you can find Guides sharing their thoughts and planning on how to solve the complaints.

It is interesting to note that one of the direst topics is not getting much press. Are local Guides becoming obsolete? I am not talking about the old debate of Tour Managers doing the job of a local Guide. I am talking about something that can have a much greater impact on the Guiding landscape. Electronic Guides.

Today’s city guide apps for smartphones are gaining in popularity as smartphone usage grows. They are cheaper than a live Tour Guide. They pause when we want to take a photo. They will endlessly repeat themselves if we did not hear the commentary over the horns of traffic. They are never overbooked and are available exactly when the clients want the information.

Imagine if you, as a Guide, had to compete with someone who had those characteristics. It is obvious that we would be seen as inferior. But since this competitor is a collection of computer programs we maintain the one key advantage, we are alive. Nothing can beat a live, entertaining, knowledgeable, professional local Guide showing you around his or her beloved city. Or can it?

Today’s electronic city guides are GPS based and automatically tell you all about your current location. They enable you to see and save a map of your tour, add photos, travel videos and notes. All of this can then be immediately shared with friends via social media. You can also plan out your own customized tour based upon your fitness level, specific dates, and interests or download one of the growing number of quality tours directly to your iPad. If you have a question that is not part of your electronic tour, you can pause it, then Google your question. Do you want recommendations as to which cafe in the square has the best cappuccino? Of course you can ask your live Tour Guide. Otherwise an online café search will yield ratings with comments left by your fellow travelers. Did I mention that such a search may also yield coupons or special offers?

An electronic city guide is another avenue to satisfy a travelers hunger for knowledge. These apps are increasingly becoming integrated with the mechanics of traveling. Today, if we want to know a train schedule, or opening time of a museum, or what are the museums special exhibits, we turn to our smart phones. So it is natural that an industry has sprung up to help guide the modern traveler. One interesting part of this new industry is that some of the best touring apps are tours created by those professionals with the best knowledge, namely, local Guides.

There are many opportunities that can come about from Guides sharing their knowledge to create a City Guide app. These range from commissions to branding rights. Local Guides might make a few hundred dollars touring a group while simultaneously earning another few hundred or thousand from the download commissions of all those travelers touring around listening to them on an iPhone. When all cities have guiding apps, then the competition over which app is better for the consumer really heats up. App providers may tout the credentials of the creator of the tour, with links to the Tour Guide’s site. Or apps may find their information from local university professors or armchair Tour Guides. Hundreds of thousands of these tours are already being downloaded monthly in cities around the world. This will only increase as the city guide app industry evolves and further integrates itself into the hand, mind and pockets of travelers. What role does the professional Tour Guide play in this growing industry? Will the Tour Guides of the future be complaining that the information in the apps came from amateurs? Or will we use our share our knowledge and see this as a revenue making opportunity?

If you do not know what is coming, then you are destined to react to the effects of a situation. My advice is to understand how the competitive landscape is changing and plan for your personal success. This is just one small topic being covered in my lecture "Guiding in the Digital Age". If you cannot make it to the World Guide Summit to hear it live, you can of course watch the video of my lecture on your smart phone. But be forewarned, I will only be answering questions from those in attendance. There still is a benefit to interacting to a live Guide.

Scott MacScott is the Chairman of the International Association of Tour Managers – Americas and a featured lecturer at the World Guide Summit, Oct 17-24, 2011 Quito Ecuador.

Dear collegues; Greetings and salutations.

The global recession may be persistant but there are hotspots of travel. Countries are looking for ways to attract these eager travelers. One of the easiest ways to allow more people into the country is to make the visa procedure more user friendly. The US Travel Association, believes that "recapturing America's historic share of worldwide overseas travel would create up to 1.3 million U.S. jobs by 2020 compared with 2010 and produce $859 billion in cumulative additional economic output." Ideas like this are taking off as Countries that have a surplus of visa applicants endure the hurdles to travel.

The "China is a long wait for US visas" article describes that the Chinese leisure travelers spend more than the average traveler. In response, Missions and Consulates around the world are hiring more workers to process the Visa backload. The USA is no different as we increase staff to handle the 234% rise in approved visas from Brazil over the past 5 years. In 2010, international travel to the USA enjoyed a general increase of 9% and 12% for the business traveler. With forcasts of a "7% rise through 2016", there is evidence that the travel industry offers great opportunities for Guides of all types.

Are you working in one of these global hotspots?. Are you looking to work more or to make more while working less?. Are you interested in learning where more opportunities are availing themselves?. Then come to the World Guide Summit. This is the type of information that we provide for todays Professional Guide.

I am most happy to be able to tell you that the World Guide Summit going to be that “not to be missed meeting” for all Guides that are interested in increasing their professionalism. Here are just a few reasons to go:

• We have training on how to expand your business and break into new markets.
• We have back office training in finances and the internet including the latest trends in Social Media.
• We have training in conducting tours.
• We have training in the Ecuadorian and South American market.
• We analyze current trends to discover opportunities and reduce risk to our flow of work.
• We are a great networking opportunity because we are targeting the more professional Guides of the industry.

Spaces are going quickly. If you need a roommate, we may be able to help as we have many roommate requests. IATM Americas members attending our AGM will be roomed with fellow IATM Americas as first request. Let us know if you prefer to be roomed with someone from your Association.

Take care and enjoy,

Scott MacScott CTM

Chairman

IATM Americas

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2009 – There and back again, the year of the great dip

Greetings and salutations. IATM has just completed their November Board meeting and I am happy to report that there is a growing recognition that the recession is ending. This sentiment, though not overpowering by evidence of the statistics of 2009, was evident at the World Travel Market. As in years past, I was able to represent IATM at the WTM, which is one of the largest Travel Trade shows in the world, and as such I am able to report back to you an account of this historic year. Please reflect on this special editorial, “2009 – There and back again, the year of the great dip” and send me an email if you found this information useful.