ITOA Debuts at New York Travel & Adventure Show - Independent Tour Operators Alliance

Rick Steeves, traveler and guide extraordinaire, declared from the podium right across from our booth to seek out the smaller tour providers – they are the most passionate and in-the-know when it comes to the hidden, local gems.

How right he is!

So how can travelers seeking that carefully crafted, unique, and immersive tour experience find them…if the small tour providers’ advertising budgets simply cannot compete with the big brands?

Short answer: they can’t. Unless the tour operators band together and pool their resources. Enter the Independent Tour Operators Alliance (ITOA).

This January, ten small tour operators from around the world were represented at the premier USA travel show in New York City. Two of the ten companies were able create a fabulous booth and share tours offered by those who could not be there in person due to the distance involved.

And what a reception we received! People LOVED our message for Transformational Travel, and they know you get the most authentic travel experience from the extremely passionate small tour companies!

They also recognize that the expense of attending an expo is cost prohibitive for entrepreneurs, not to mention operators in Africa, Australia, and Romania (to name a few locations where our members are based) simply cannot spend the time or money to travel so far for one show.

From swimming with whales in Norway to African safaris to paranormal tours in Ireland and more obscure destinations like Vietnam and Bhutan show attendees were all a-buzz to speak directly to small tour operators themselves. Travel agents especially valued connecting directly with us in order to give their clients the best experience.

Even Rick Steeves himself was intrigued and impressed enough to visit our booth and offer kudos.

Photo: Maria and Bob Schmidt, Mysterious Adventures Tours; Angela and Mark Aspiazu, New Orleans Secrets