Gather and Go with Brian Jewell

There are few places more spectacular than New England in autumn. But if you want to have a great fall foliage tour without being overwhelmed by crowds, you need to work with a local expert.

Carol Sullivan might be just the expert you’re working for. Her family operates White Mountain Hotel and Resort in North Conway, New Hampshire. But far from simply offering accommodations, this organization helps group travel leaders plan and package every element of their New England experiences. Carol joins this special bonus episode of the podcast to share her favorite New England activities and give travel planners tips to streamlining their New England travel experiences in any season.

Carol tells us about the cities, towns and mountain landscapes that make New England an essential American travel treasure. Plus, she explains how tour planners can arrange ground transportation, hotels, first-class dining and all their sightseeing activities with a single point of contact.

This episode is brought to you by the White Mountain Hotel and Resort.

Learn more about the White Mountain Hotel and Resort at whitemountainhotel.com.

Contact Jennifer in the White Mountain Hotel sales department at 800-533-6301.

2:23 — What exactly are the White Mountains of New Hampshire?

4:10 — Carol Sullivan’s journey from tour operator to hotelier

5:08 — Packing New England tour products

9:38 — Can’t-Miss New England travel experiences

11:59 — New England tours beyond fall foliage season

15:44 —A different approach to tour group dining

19:30 — Enjoying the White Mountain Hotel amenities

24:26 — Making the most of the New England outdoors

27:05 — Undiscovered treasures of New England

Gather and Go with Brian Jewell is a tourism industry podcast that helps group travel leaders plan, promote and lead better trips. There are also tips and insights for destination marketers and others who support the tourism trade. Each episode reaches thousands of professional tour operators, travel agents and the volunteer group leaders they serve. The audience also includes destination museum leaders, church travel leaders and other tourism enthusiasts around the world. Each show includes an interview with a smart travel pro or an insightful person from outside tourism who’s expertise can help make travel businesses better. You’ll also hear travel news, road tips and more. New episodes are released about twice monthly.

You can find Gather and Go wherever your listen to podcasts or subscribe by email.

There are memorable trips, and then there are magical trips.

Sandra Weinacht believes that group tours should be magical — especially tours in Europe. As the founder of Inside Europe, she has been taking groups to her native Germany, as well as Italy, Ireland and other popular European destinations — for decades. She joins this episode of the podcast to share her secrets to planning magical European trips in 2025.

Sandra tells us how she leverages the economies of group trips to create once-in-a-lifetime experience for her customers. She share tips for navigating the economics of European travel in the midst of rising prices and gives tips on where travel beginners and travel pros should travel in Europe next year. Plus, we have news about new tech tools for U.S. passport holders; a road tip about falling asleep on international flights; and a Hot Minute about common meal-planning mistakes tour operators make.

Sandra had lots of great insights on how travel planners can build magical tour experiences, whether in Europe or in any other destination. Here’s a sample:

“We organize their concerts, we prepare exchanges, and that’s where the magic happens. And when you have a certain number of people, you can privatize things, and that’s when it gets unique. You can go into the Vatican museums on private tours. Occasionally, your group gets to sing in the Sistine Chapel…. If you privatize with a larger group, it becomes really affordable. You have more buying power and more opportunities, and you can give people a better deal, and make travel affordable for young people.”

Plus, she had insightful thoughts on:

Learn more about Inside Europe at inside-europe.com.

Follow Sandra Weinacht on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Email Sandra at [email protected].

Visit our Start Here page for growing your group travel organization.

2:11 — Travel News: U.S. passports can be added to Google Wallet

3:31 — Road Tip: Sleeping on transatlantic flights

10:19 — The ultimate resource for getting started in group travel

14:33 — How Sandra Weinacht went from sports journalism to group travel

20:14 — Creating magical moments for tour groups in Europe

25:28 — The most common misperceptions about European travel

27:14 — Tips for planning your first group trip to Europe

32:23 — Undiscovered treasures for Europe travel veterans

34:37 — How to manage the high prices of travel to Europe

37:42 — Are the wars in Ukraine and Israel affecting European travel demand?

51:41 — Hot Minute: Are you planning your group tour meals wrong?

Thanks to our sponsor Malta Tourism Authority for making this episode possible. Learn more about Malta’s travel experiences for groups at visitmalta.com.

Gather and Go with Brian Jewell is a tourism industry podcast that helps group travel leaders plan, promote and lead better trips. There are also tips and insights for destination marketers and others who support the tourism trade. Each episode reaches thousands of professional tour operators, travel agents and the volunteer group leaders they serve. The audience also includes destination museum leaders, church travel leaders and other tourism enthusiasts around the world. Each show includes an interview with a smart travel pro or an insightful person from outside tourism who’s expertise can help make travel businesses better. You’ll also hear travel news, road tips and more. New episodes are released about twice monthly.

You can find Gather and Go wherever your listen to podcasts or subscribe by email.

Are social media travel influencers full of hot air? Or do they represent legitimate opportunities for tourism professionals?

Shanay Braxton firmly believes influencers are a force for good in the travel industry. As the founder of Business in Travel, an agency that connects influencers with travel brands, she has seen firsthand how travel companies and content creators can partner for success. She joins this episode of the podcast to share how travel professionals can leverage influencer relationships to increase sales.

Shaney pulls back the curtain on the influencer economy and gives a behind-the-scenes look that goes into building a legitimate travel following. She shares ideas about how tour operators and content creators can work together and gives great advice for anyone running online advertising campaigns. Plus, we have news about falling revenues at theme parks; a road tip about make theme park visits work for your groups; and a Hot Minute about the problem of illegitimate pretenders in tourism.

Shanay had lots of insights about the the legitimacy of influencers and content, as well as the opportunities they present for tourism organizations. Here’s a sample:

“It’s starting to shift slowly, but there is the image that influencers just want to be seen. But it’s bigger than that. I call them travel marketing professionals, because they are. It takes a lot of time, money and resources to create content and educate people on travel. It’s more than just vanity. For a lot of people, it’s their passion and their legacy…. The misconception is around pay. A lot of people don’t understand what the return is for influencer marketing and how it can benefit them…. People undervalue it because they don’t know what it looks like on the back end.”

Plus, she had great things to say about:

Learn more about Business in Travel at businessintravel.co.

Follow Business in Travel on Instagram.

Find Shanay Braxton on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Find our 2025 Buyer’s Guide for the Group Travel Industry.

1:55 — Travel News: Theme park profits are falling

3:24 — Road Tip: Optimizing theme park visits for groups

9:05 — Your guide to issues facing group travel in 2025

14:42 — How Shanay Braxton became an advocate for travel influencers

18:57 — Are online influencers legitimate travel professionals?

24:32 — How much do travel influencers charge for sponsored campaigns?

28:02 — How to find well qualified travel influencers

29:31 — How tour operators and travel influencers can work together

33:17 — How to integrate influencer campaigns into your marketing plan

51:32 — Hot Minute: Pretenders and freeloaders in travel

Thanks to our sponsor Coastal Mississippi for making this episode possible. Learn more about Coastal Mississippi’s travel experiences for groups at coastalmississippi.com.

Gather and Go with Brian Jewell is a tourism industry podcast that helps group travel leaders plan, promote and lead better trips. There are also tips and insights for destination marketers and others who support the tourism trade. Each episode reaches thousands of professional tour operators, travel agents and the volunteer group leaders they serve. The audience also includes destination museum leaders, church travel leaders and other tourism enthusiasts around the world. Each show includes an interview with a smart travel pro or an insightful person from outside tourism who’s expertise can help make travel businesses better. You’ll also hear travel news, road tips and more. New episodes are released about twice monthly.

You can find Gather and Go wherever your listen to podcasts or subscribe by email.

Is it possible to get travelers of every age group to travel together — and have fun doing it?

Kyle Campbell has proven that it is. A lifelong group travel planner and founder of Sudden Journeys, a boutique tour company, Kyle routinely leads trips that include baby boomers, Gen Xers, millennials and even Gen Z travelers. She joins this episode of the podcast to share how she builds and markets tours that appeal to every age group.

Kyle shares her insights about what each generation needs for successful trips; how intergenerational trips can be more fulfilling; and her secrets to creating deep and meaningful moments on the road. Plus, we have news about an online passport renewal system; a road tip about helping your travelers keep track of their passports; and a Hot Minute about a Thrillist article calling for the end of group trips.

Kyle had lots of insights about the different hopes, dreams, needs and aspirations that people of various generations bring to the group travel experience. Here’s a sample:

“[Retired people] are living out dreams they have had for decades. They have waited to travel. They’re actualizing these dreams, and they have a wealth of experience behind them in their life.

“People who are 19 to early 30s are extremely savvy with the technology, but they have a desire for the connection they have missed out on. They are worn out of working from home and online communities. They are craving connection.

“I’m having to keep all these needs in mind when I’m planning trips.”

Plus, she had great things to say about:

Learn more about Kyle Campbell and Sudden Journeys at mysuddenjourneys.com.

Follow Kyle Campbell on Instagram.

Apply to attend our OnSite Familiarization Tour in Louisiana’s Capital City Region.

Read “Why It’s Time to Let the Group Trip Die” at Thrillist.

1:37 — Travel News: Can you renew your passport online?

3:17 — Road Tip: Stop your travelers from losing their passports

9:48 — Join us for a FAM in Louisiana’s Capital City Region

15:09 — How Kyle Campbell learned to be a tour operator

24:28 — The secret to planning tours for all ages

27:57 — What different generations want from group travel experiences

32:46 — Creating meaningful moments on the road

35:48 — How travel can be a gateway to healing

53:09 — Hot Minute: Is it really time to “let the group trip die?”

See the full interview with Kyle, including content not in the regular episode, on our YouTube channel.

Thanks to our sponsor Coastal Mississippi for making this episode possible. Learn more about Coastal Mississippi’s travel experiences for groups at coastalmississippi.com.

Gather and Go with Brian Jewell is a tourism industry podcast that helps group travel leaders plan, promote and lead better trips. There are also tips and insights for destination marketers and others who support the tourism trade. Each episode reaches thousands of professional tour operators, travel agents and the volunteer group leaders they serve. The audience also includes destination museum leaders, church travel leaders and other tourism enthusiasts around the world. Each show includes an interview with a smart travel pro or an insightful person from outside tourism who’s expertise can help make travel businesses better. You’ll also hear travel news, road tips and more. New episodes are released about twice monthly.

You can find Gather and Go wherever your listen to podcasts or subscribe by email.

There’s a world of fun waiting for groups in Coastal Mississippi, and we have insider tips on how to find it.

If you’re looking for the best food, hotels and activities along Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, Zach Holifield is the guy to help you find it. A lifelong Mississippi resident, Zach has spent most of his career promoting tourism in Mississippi and now helps tour operators, group leaders and other travel professionals put together their ideal getaways in Coastal Mississippi. He joins this episode of the podcast to share his favorite places to eat, sleep and play in the region.

Zach tells us about the many cities, towns and villages along the Mississippi Gulf Coast that offer charm, history, culture and abundant seafood for visitors. Plus, he’s offering a free all-expenses-paid trip to Coastal Mississippi for one lucky Gather and Go listener and their guest. Check out this episode to find out how to register for the giveaway!

Enter the giveaway for a free trip to Coastal Mississippi at coastalmississippi.com/gtl.

Connect with Zach Holifield on Facebook.

Follow Zach Holifield on LinkedIn.

4:17 — The many faces of Coastal Mississippi

8:36 — Coastal Mississippi’s top tour group activities

11:53 — Can’t-miss restaurant recommendations on the Mississippi coast

19:50 — Authentic Mississippi cultural encounters

25:46 — Student group adventures in Coastal Mississippi

30:27 — Mardi Gras, Mississippi-style

32:59 — Win a free trip to Coastal Mississippi

Gather and Go with Brian Jewell is a tourism industry podcast that helps group travel leaders plan, promote and lead better trips. There are also tips and insights for destination marketers and others who support the tourism trade. Each episode reaches thousands of professional tour operators, travel agents and the volunteer group leaders they serve. The audience also includes destination museum leaders, church travel leaders and other tourism enthusiasts around the world. Each show includes an interview with a smart travel pro or an insightful person from outside tourism who’s expertise can help make travel businesses better. You’ll also hear travel news, road tips and more. New episodes are released about twice monthly.

You can find Gather and Go wherever your listen to podcasts or subscribe by email.

Is phone-free travel really possible?

Patrick Marsden believes that it’s not only possible — it’s thrilling. A lifelong traveler and one of the tourism industry’s leading mental health advocates, he is on a mission to help people make the most of their travel experiences by disconnecting from digital devices. He joins this episode of the podcast to share how disconnected experiences can help people rediscover the joy of travel.

Patrick talks about how he discovered the growing mental health crisis; how he helps people break their phone addictions on the road; and the the unique advantages of group travel for helping people take disconnected trips. Plus, we have news about an airline redeploying mothballed jets; a road tip about planning ahead for sweaty days; and a Hot Minute about how much work you should do while you’re traveling.

Patrick had lots of insights about how group travel can create space for people to boost their mental health through phone-free travel. Here’s one of his most significant comments:

“By encouraging guests to disconnect from their devices, they will have a better experience, and it will be more meaningful. But there has to be a business case. The guest has to want this…. I think there is going to be more of a groundswell among customers of having the option. I would suggest saying ‘If you want to have a digital disconnect experience, we can provide the infrastructure for you to do that.’”

Plus, he had great things to say about:

Learn more about MaCher at macher.com.

Learn more about the Switch Off Take Off program at switchofftakeoff.com.

Follow Patrick Marsden on LinkedIn.

Get free downloadable resources from The Group Travel Leader at grouptravelleader.com/start.

1:31 — Travel News: American Airlines is reactivating mothballed jets

2:34 — Road Tip: Extra clothes for sweaty days

10:41 — Why Patrick Marsden left banking for travel

13:01 — How tourism can tackle the mental health crisis

17:29 — What does an authentic trip actually look like?

19:44 — Why group trips are better for your mental health

21:28 — Making the pitch for phone-free travel

27:27 — How much should travel planners push for disconnected trips?

32:55 — The science of maximizing travel enjoyment

48:35 — Hot Minute: Are you working too much when you travel?

Thanks to our sponsor Coastal Mississippi for making this episode possible. Learn more about Coastal Mississippi’s travel experiences for groups at coastalmississippi.com.

Gather and Go with Brian Jewell is a tourism industry podcast that helps group travel leaders plan, promote and lead better trips. There are also tips and insights for destination marketers and others who support the tourism trade. Each episode reaches thousands of professional tour operators, travel agents and the volunteer group leaders they serve. The audience also includes destination museum leaders, church travel leaders and other tourism enthusiasts around the world. Each show includes an interview with a smart travel pro or an insightful person from outside tourism who’s expertise can help make travel businesses better. You’ll also hear travel news, road tips and more. New episodes are released about twice monthly.

You can find Gather and Go wherever your listen to podcasts or subscribe by email.

Knowing the right people can save you a lot of money — and a lot of headaches — when planning group tours to popular destinations. The insider’s secret to planning secret tours is to let local experts do the planning for you.

Stacy Barry shares all the details in this episode of the Gather and Go Podcast. As the second-generation owner of Sharin’ the South Tours, she and her family have been helping groups discover the best of Nashville, Memphis and the Smokies for decades. Today, she’s pulling back the curtain on the world of receptive operators and sharing the secrets she uses to plan exceptional group trips.

Stacy talks about how her local network gives her special access to exclusive experiences, how her services can help tour planners save money, and why familiarization trips are a key part of her strategy for launching an outbound tour division. Plus, we have news about Amsterdam’s changing attitude toward tourism; a road tip about building your travel delay survival kit; and a Hot Minute about curbing bad visitor behavior.

Stacy had lots of insights about how receptive operators can leverage their position to create value for traveler planners. This might have been the most interesting:

“A lot of partners give me receptive rates. I’m getting receptive rates most places, and you are not. I have that relationship with hotels and vendors. I have contracted, negotiated rates that never change, even if it’s busy season. I’m still going to get that same rate. And they’re rates that would never be for an outbound tour operator. So even if I’m planning it all for you and putting the work in, and even if I add a markup for my time, it’s still not what you would think, because my rates for things are lower than yours. It may be the same cost, but you’re not going to have to put any of the work in.”

Plus, she had great things to say about:

Email Stacy at [email protected].

Register for OnSite FAM opportunities at grouptravelleader.com/fams.

1:28 — Travel News: Amsterdam is trying to decrease tourism

2:51 — Road Tip: A travel delay survival kit

14:36 — How Stacy Barry found her way back to travel

19:11 — What is a receptive operator, anyway?

21:32 — A receptive tour operator’s economies of scale

24:32 — Do receptive operators play nicely with group leaders?

28:19 — Secrets for saving money in popular tourist destinations

37:03 — Using FAM tours to build an outbound business

50:03 — Hot Minute: Using FAM tours to build an outbound business

Thanks to our sponsor Coastal Mississippi for making this episode possible. Learn more about Coastal Mississippi’s travel experiences for groups at coastalmississippi.com.

Gather and Go with Brian Jewell is a tourism industry podcast that helps group travel leaders plan, promote and lead better trips. There are also tips and insights for destination marketers and others who support the tourism trade. Each episode reaches thousands of professional tour operators, travel agents and the volunteer group leaders they serve. The audience also includes destination museum leaders, church travel leaders and other tourism enthusiasts around the world. Each show includes an interview with a smart travel pro or an insightful person from outside tourism who’s expertise can help make travel businesses better. You’ll also hear travel news, road tips and more. New episodes are released about twice monthly.

You can find Gather and Go wherever your listen to podcasts or subscribe by email.

Breakthroughs in brain science may be able to boost the joy in travel — but only if the tourism industry will embrace them.

Milena Nikolova is on a mission to help the industry do just that. As a behavioral economist and founder of BehaviorSmart, she leverages brain science and psychology to help tour companies and destinations build more enjoyable and sustainable travel experiences. She joins this episode of the podcast to introduce us to the ways behavioral insights can elevate the entire tourism ecosystem.

Milena talks about how she discovered the potential of brain science to impact tourism; how travel providers can hack the human brain to create better memories; and the scientific reasons why travelers don’t make sustainable choices. Plus, we have news about why hotel occupancy is both rising and falling; a road tip about optimizing your post-trip surveys; and a Hot Minute about tourism’s risk of losing the working class.

Milena had lots of insights about how travel professionals can leverage behavioral insights to boost they’re customers’ travel joy. This might have been the most impactful:

“Our contemporary culture of multitasking and living fast has actually reduced our ability to enjoy ourselves and benefit from holidays. In many situations, people are on holiday, but they slide on the surface of it….

“One of the biggest challenges we can tackle is making sure people leave digital devices on the side and mindfully connect to where they are…. A guide can do miracles just by planting moments of mindfulness throughout the story they’re telling. These moments can be the most long-lasting memories people take home.”

Plus, she had great things to say about:

Follow Milena Nikolova and BehaviorSmart on LinkedIn.

Find BehaviorSmart resources at behavior-smart.com.

Follow The Group Travel Leader on your favorite social media platforms:

Follow Brian Jewell on LinkedIn.

2:02 — Travel News: Hotel occupancy is rising… and falling

3:28 — Road Tip: Optimizing your post-trip surveys

19:10 — How Milena Nikolova blends brain science and travel

25:54 — Why travelers don’t follow through on sustainability initiatives

32:25 — Using behavioral insights to improve destination impact

37:07 — Brain science tips for creating better travel memories

52:56 — Hot Minute: Is travel at risk of losing the working class?

Thanks to our sponsor Coastal Mississippi for making this episode possible. Learn more about Coastal Mississippi’s travel experiences for groups at coastalmississippi.com.

Gather and Go with Brian Jewell is a tourism industry podcast that helps group travel leaders plan, promote and lead better trips. There are also tips and insights for destination marketers and others who support the tourism trade. Each episode reaches thousands of professional tour operators, travel agents and the volunteer group leaders they serve. The audience also includes destination museum leaders, church travel leaders and other tourism enthusiasts around the world. Each show includes an interview with a smart travel pro or an insightful person from outside tourism who’s expertise can help make travel businesses better. You’ll also hear travel news, road tips and more. New episodes are released about twice monthly.

You can find Gather and Go wherever your listen to podcasts or subscribe by email.

If anyone knows how to find the best of a destination, it’s Andrew Zimmern.

The TV icon, culinary expert and travel legend has visited — and eaten — nearly everywhere. From “Bizarre Foods” to “Family Dinner,” his shows have shaped the travel tastes of people the world over. Andrew joins this episode of the podcast to share insights from his time on the road and give us the secrets to creating authentic and memorable travel experiences.

Andrew talks about his unlikely path to stardom, how travel has changed during his lifetime and what travel professionals can do to show their customers the best of the world. Plus, we have news about Americans’ growing appetite for international travel; a road tip about finding the perfect group restaurant reservation; and a Hot Minute about the impact of overtourism on American cities.

Andrew had no shortage of wisdom from his life on the road that tour operators can leverage in planning culinary trips and other kinds of adventures. But his most impactful statement might have been about the power of travel itself:

“Travel is transformative. I don’t know anything else other than personal tragedy that can change a human being. You go away on a trip, you have to ask questions, you don’t know where you’re going, you have to be curious. You take more risks. You do things you would never do at home.

“Taking all those risks, you import some of that wisdom and that healthy bravado and that curiosity. You bring that back home and it expands your horizons. You become more patient, tolerant and understanding with other people.”

Plus, he had great things to say about:

Learn more about traveling with Andrew Zimmern in Sicily at modernadventure.com.

Learn more about Andrew’s shows and projects at andrewzimmern.com.

Follow Andrew Zimmern on Substack.

Access Mastercard Economic Institute’s “Travel Trends 2024” report here.

Find Gather and Go on YouTube.

1:41 — Travel News: Americans are traveling abroad in record numbers

2:53 — Road Tip: Finding restaurants for group meals

12:01 — How Andrew Zimmern went from addict to icon

17:34 — Zimmern’s take on how travelers have changed (for better or worse)

23:31 — Traveling authentically in the age of Instagram

34:17 — A new opportunity to travel alongside Andrew Zimmern

54:30 — Hot Minute: Are American cities suffering from overtourism?

Thanks to our sponsor Coastal Mississippi for making this episode possible. Learn more about Coastal Mississippi’s travel experiences for groups at coastalmississippi.com.

Gather and Go with Brian Jewell is a tourism industry podcast that helps group travel leaders plan, promote and lead better trips. There are also tips and insights for destination marketers and others who support the tourism trade. Each episode reaches thousands of professional tour operators, travel agents and the volunteer group leaders they serve. The audience also includes destination museum leaders, church travel leaders and other tourism enthusiasts around the world. Each show includes an interview with a smart travel pro or an insightful person from outside tourism who’s expertise can help make travel businesses better. You’ll also hear travel news, road tips and more. New episodes are released about twice monthly.

You can find Gather and Go wherever your listen to podcasts or subscribe by email.

Have questions, comments or ideas for the show? Send them to us at [email protected].

Thanks for listening!

There’s a world of business opportunity in group travel for professionals savvy enough to find it.

Case in point: Tamika Carter. After several false starts and failed attempts to succeed as a retail travel agent, she found success with groups, launching two group travel businesses and then founding Group Travel Academy. She joins this episode of the podcast to share insights from her experiences and giving advice for how to discover hidden opportunities in group travel.

Tamika talks about the biggest myths that are holding travel agents back from succeeding with groups and gives ideas about how smart travel sellers are leveraging the power of group travel in new ways. Plus, we have news about Americans’ travel plans for this summer; a road tip about keeping your travel toiletries stocked; and a Hot Minute about who’s responsible for the rising cost of travel.

On why travel agents are missing opportunities in group travel:

“There’s a myth in the industry that we as travel agents have to master individual bookings before we grow to groups. But that is a myth — that is not true. You can start with group travel and just have a group travel business and sustain your business from there. Or you can use your group travel business to funnel down to individual clients who want you to book individual trips for them, because they can see what a great job you did on the group trip they experienced with you.”

On the benefits of selling to groups:

“If you’re dealing with affinity groups, you’re dealing with one person. They’re just bringing all those other people along with them. That’s the key — work with one person and have them bring others along to fulfill your group trip….

“With group travel, there’s an opportunity to eliminate so many of the challenges that are out there with regard to individual travel bookings. Because a lot of times we get calls from people with regard to individual travel. They don’t know where they want to go, where they want to travel, and have no idea about the budget. But the good thing about group travel is that you can tell them where to go, you can tell them when to travel, you can tell them about all the experiences they will have on that group trip. You just create that exciting itinerary that you can sell over and over again.”

On the importance of focus in group sales:

“People tend to get FOMO when it comes to being in the travel industry. They think they should be serving everyone, when in fact what they should be doing is solidifying themselves as an expert by identifying a clean niche and target market of the people they want to serve. It will make them an expert in the industry and help them be able to turn down business that they don’t want.“

Learn more about Group Travel Academy at grouptravelacademy.com.

Join the Group Travel Planners United Facebook group here.

Follow Tamika Carter on YouTube.

Find our “Getting Started in Group Travel” page at grouptravelleader.com/start.

Read Deloitte’s 2024 Summer Travel Survey here.

1:31 — Travel News: More Americans staying home due to travel cost

2:50 — Road Tip: Never run out of toothpaste again

12:06 — How Tamika Carter fought for her career in group travel

19:13 — Myths travel agents believe about selling group trips

23:35 — The economics of selling group travel

26:29 — Identifying non-traditional group travel opportunities

37:05 — Up-and-coming group travel ideas

54:10 — Who is responsible for the high price of travel?

Thanks to our sponsor Coastal Mississippi for making this episode possible. Learn more about Coastal Mississippi’s travel experiences for groups at coastalmississippi.com.

Gather and Go with Brian Jewell is a tourism industry podcast that helps group travel leaders plan, promote and lead better trips. There are also tips and insights for destination marketers and others who support the tourism trade. Each episode reaches thousands of professional tour operators, travel agents and the volunteer group leaders they serve. The audience also includes destination museum leaders, church travel leaders and other tourism enthusiasts around the world. Each show includes an interview with a smart travel pro or an insightful person from outside tourism who’s expertise can help make travel businesses better. You’ll also hear travel news, road tips and more. New episodes are released about twice monthly.

You can find Gather and Go wherever your listen to podcasts or subscribe by email.

Have questions, comments or ideas for the show? Send them to us at [email protected].

Thanks for listening!