As someone who loves travel and communicating my passion for it, I am thrilled to be kicking off the year as Leisure Group Travel's managing editor, a newly created position in this fast-growing company. I look forward to calling or meeting many of you in the months ahead; in some cases I'm sure our paths have already crossed as this is my fourth decade in the travel industry.

I got my start at Chicago student travel offices that specialized in summer trips to Europe. At the same time I wrote for the Chicago Tribune and other Sunday newspaper travel sections. Always looking for any excuse to be on the road, I've had a ball leading student trips abroad (including Tanzania, where we climbed Mount Kilimanjaro) and escorting seniors for Mayflower Tours to places like Holland, Michigan, and Door County, Wisconsin. Working a year in Amtrak's Chicago reservations center taught me all about domestic train service.

For 14 years I was an editor with TravelAmerica and Cruise Travel magazines. Most recently, I worked in the operations department of Educational Tours, Inc., one of the biggies in school group travel to Washington, D.C.

Let's all have fun in 2008. I hope it's rewarding and super-prosperous for each of you.

Happy New Year!

Travel to Kenya Disrupted Over Contested 2007 Presidential Election

Collette Vacations Launches New Tour for 2008 Featuring India's Architecture, Artisans and Unique Exchanges with Rural Families

Gunflint Trail Celebrates With Winter Tracks 2008

It's time to celebrate Quebec City's 400th anniversary!

Grouptraveldirectory.com 4.0 places you in direct contact with group-friendly suppliers world-wide. With thousands of group businesses - from accommodations to attractions to transportation resources and everything in between, the task of organizing your next group trip is effortless.

On our search engine you can search for supplier group deals to save money and time when organizing your next trip. Save on rental cars to attractions and everything in between. Just visit the Group Deals section of Grouptraveldirectory.com and start saving today.

Throughout the Pacific states, trails and routes honed by its earliest explorers and settlers continue to be important links to spectacular sights, places of historic significance and popular vacation destinations. These early pathways served many masters who took claim on land, chartered overland routes and took chanced opportunity for new lives and fortunes.

California Missions Trail was one of the region's earliest highways, established at a time when Alta California was under Spanish rule. Franciscan Father Junipero Serra lead an expedition into California, building a chain of missions that also served as a supply route to northern military Presidios and as bases for Spanish colonization.

The travel industry continues to evolve as 10,000 people every day turn 50. The boomer traveler prefers wellness to agelessness, craves experiences rather than things, chooses active over sedentary vacations, and pursues lifelong learning opportunities. Countless niches are prevalent in the travel industry today and one of the more popular niches involves wellness.

Whether you prefer hot springs, spas, country retreats or urban delights, you will find many options in New Mexico. Sometimes you just need to get away, escape and leave your everyday cares behind. Unwind, rejuvenate, and indulge at the following New Mexico treasures.

Something strange is going on today and, if you are not careful, you may get caught up in this negative trend. It seems that sales professionals these days are beginning to believe that "persistent" is synonymous with the term "obnoxious." As a result, they are beginning to take the low road.

Chances are you have plenty of competition. In fact, for every one of you, there are probably three dozen competitors. Such is the blight of today's sales aficionado. This being the case, what is one to do?

(A) Give up in surrender and resort to competing on price?
(B) Quit the selling game and take express accountant courses at night?
(C) Learn how the selling game really works and make up your mind to become one of the exceptions. Now you're talking.

In a recent preliminary survey of 300 households conducted by the Student and Youth Travel Research Institute (SYTR-I) at Michigan State University, results show that more than 60 percent of 12- to 18-year-olds in the United States in 2005 took at least one significant non-family group trip, spending an average of $417.

With 30 million people in that age range, results suggest these young travelers spent almost $10 billion annually, an indication of the potential that awaits tour operators, bus companies, hotels, attractions, shopping centers and other suppliers. Moreover, children who get an early taste of different places are more likely to become avid adult travelers.

Learning the language of travel and tourism is key. Not only will it help you to avoid misunderstandings with your suppliers but it will also convey to your suppliers that you are a professional within the industry.

First, you should be aware of general terms pertinent to all sectors of the industry. For example, the terms gross, net and net net. These are terms used often. Next, you should be familiar with terms that are more specific to your supplier such as Cruise lines, Hotel accommodations, terms for airlines and meal terms.

Taking the time to learn the language of tourism will aid in your quest to booking a successful group trip.

Tourism language is one of the many topics covered in how to Plan, Operate and Lead Successful Group Trips.

"We know we can do well by doing good," said Louis Gerstner, Jr. while Chairman of American Express Travel Services, the company widely credited with coining (and trademarking) the term "cause related marketing" in 1983.

That year, American Express set out to raise funds and awareness for the Statue of Liberty Restoration Project, while at the same time increasing new applications and usage of their card; goals not previously thought of as compatible. At the end of a three-month $4 million dollar cause-related marketing campaign, the Restoration project had received an additional $1.7 million, new card applications were up 45 percent and usage of the American Express Card had increased by 45 percent over the previous year - a major win for all parties.