NTA Services Inc.,is launching the Faith Travel Association (FTA), an organization that will focus on faith-based travel.
NTA Services is the official provider of advertising and sponsorship for the National Tour Association.
The FTA will support education and networking opportunities for tour planners, travel agents and religious leaders nationwide who are planning trips for individuals or groups.
The FTA believes over 300 million people take faith-based trips around the world each year in an industry worth over $18 billion.
In the US, around 50,000 churches and missions have established travel programs and the FTA’s goal will be to connect them to qualified travel professionals from the NTA’s 3,000-strong network of member companies.~
“Faith-based travel is an expansive market with both domestic and international appeal. We aim to create an organization that will focus specifically on those involved in faith-based travel around the world,” said said Karla DiNardo, NTA Services Inc. president.
The FTA will hold its first presentation on February 19 at Travel Exchange 2014, a trade event jointly hosted by the NTA and the United Motorcoach Association in Los Angeles.
The following day, the NTA will host a workshop entitled ‘Increasing Faith-based Travel Profits’ and a faith-based travel leader’s forum.
Several faith-based travel industry professionals have been hand-picked to serve on the FTA advisory council.
These include Linville Johnson of the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Paul Larsen from Ed-Ventures Inc., Mirko Capodanno of Switzerland Tourism, and Cindi Brodhecker, Priscilla Woman’s Tours.
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