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Planning ahead for your meeting attendance in 2023? Keep yourself informed and connected to other members of the industry by attending these important meetings. You can also view meetings for the rest of the year on Chauffeur Driven’s Industry Events page. This list is ongoing and accurate as of 12/27/22.
1/10-1/14 United Motorcoach Association
Motorcoach Expo (Orlando, Fla.)
1/17 Illinois Limousine & Bus Association
Coffee With ILLBA Zoom call
1/23-1/24 Global Business Travel Association
Leadership Summit (Los Angeles, Calif.)
2/4-2/7 American Bus Association
Marketplace (Detroit, Mich.)
2/15 Limousine Association of New Jersey
General Meeting
2/28-3/1 California Bus Association
29th Annual Maintenance Seminar (Hayward)
2/28-3/1 Wisconsin Motorcoach Association
Convention and Tradeshow (Milwaukee)
3/5-3/8 CD/NLA Show
MGM Grand (Las Vegas)
3/13-3/14 Greater New Jersey Motorcoach Association
Spring Meeting (Bethlehem, Pa.)
3/27-3/28 Pennsylvania Bus Association
Marketplace (Morgantown)
4/25-4/26 National Limousine Association
Day on the Hill (Washington, D.C.)
5/17 Limousine Association of New Jersey
General Meeting
6/4-6/6 CD/NLA Executive Retreat
Nashville Hilton Downtown
6/4-6/6 Tennessee Motor Coach Association
Meet & Greet
6/18-6/21 Pennsylvania Bus Association
Annual Meeting (Jamestown, N.Y.)
8/1-8/3 Midwest Bus & Motorcoach Association
Annual Convention (Branson, Mo.)
8/13-8/15 Global Business Travel Association
Convention 2023 (Dallas, Texas)
9/26 Maryland Motorcoach Association
Annual Group Leader Travel Showcase (Lancaster, Pa.)
10/22-10/25 CD/NLA Show
Gaylord Palms (Orlando, Fla.)
Would you like to add your event to our annual calendar? Let us know! Email susan@chauffeurdriven.com or rob@chauffeurdriven.com to be included in our calendar.
[12.27.22]
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Several travel and tourism associations are celebrating the passage of the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill, which includes provisions that will help protect and strengthen the multibillion-dollar US tourism industry.
Lauded for staving off a government shutdown, shoring up retirement accounts for millions of Americans, and sending aid to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the spending bill also included benefits for US travel via the Visit America Act/Omnibus Travel and Tourism Act (H.R. 6965/S. 3375), which establishes the first-ever assistant secretary of travel and tourism within the US Department of Commerce. That leadership has long been the goal of both the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) and the US Travel Association (USTA) through their consistent lobbying on the Hill.
USTA President & CEO Geoff Freeman
“This is a tremendous win for travelers, the travel industry, and America’s economy,” says USTA President & CEO Geoff Freeman. “The idea to create a presidentially appointed, US Senate-confirmed position to lead federal travel policy has been around for decades. Thanks to a bipartisan and bicameral group of congressional leaders, the United States will now join all G20 countries with a senior federal official focused on travel.”
He added: “The Assistant Secretary will play an important role as we partner with government to lower visitor visa wait times, modernize security screening, and leverage new technologies to make travel more seamless and secure.”
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, travel advisors had a front-row seat to the scattered nature of federal oversight of the travel industry. Contending with numerous federal agencies and ever-changing, and sometimes conflicting, rules regarding travel while struggling to keep their businesses alive put unnecessary and avoidable hardships on travel advisors. Creating a high-level leadership position within the federal government focused on travel industry concerns, as this legislation does, would protect the industry from unnecessary setbacks due to conflicting and confusing policy decisions in the future,” says ASTA Executive Vice President Eben Peck.
The passage of the bill realizes the longtime goal of the association, as it was a major focus of its Legislative Day this past summer.
“In June, more than 225 travel advisors and suppliers representing ASTA took to the halls of Congress to advocate on behalf of this legislation and share their personal stories of how government restrictions affected their businesses throughout the pandemic. Their hard work paid off, as the legislation tripled its cosponsors in the week following ASTA’s Legislative Day. Since that time, ASTA and its members have continued to push for inclusion in any year-end legislative vehicle,” says Peck.
According to ASTA, this successful bill is part of several legislative victories over the past year: In September, the House of Representatives passed the Visit America Act (H.R. 6965), introduced by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), to safeguard the travel industry in the event of another global pandemic. The Senate version, S. 1947, was incorporated into the Omnibus Travel and Tourism Act (S. 3375), which advanced out of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee in December 2021.
Visit ustravel.org and asta.org for more information.
[12.27.22]
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- Category: Industry News
The team at New York-based Imperial Limo Worldwide recently marked the company’s anniversary in style: by touring the city they normally chauffeur their clients through. The entire team climbed into the company’s sedans, SUV, and Sprinter this past month for a roadshow-like evening celebration that was part team meeting, part tourism, and all fun. Founded in 2014 by CEO Mohammed Aminuzzaman, Imperial was celebrating its eighth anniversary in the Big Apple.
They stopped at several places, including for a tour of the Intrepid Sea and Air & Space Museum and dinner, but the group also enjoyed discussions on ways to continually improve their interactions with clients or other worthy additions to their roster of services. The lively banter, especially since this would be the last time in a year where everyone would be under the same roof, honed in on two points of discussion: nationwide expansion of services and plans/goals for the new year, which included analytics of the company’s annual progress.
The night, however, wasn’t entirely about talking shop. During dinner, everybody cheered, raised a toast to the company's successful year, and enjoyed getting to know their co-workers. But the executives had one more surprise for the team: enjoying the nightlife of New York City. Those who were up for a little more adventure post-midnight roamed the city via the company’s fleet. After all, NYC is the city that never sleeps.
Based in Manhattan, Imperial offers transportation throughout the metro area, as well as cities including Miami, Chicago, and Los Angeles. It’s fleet ranges from late-model sedans and SUVs to exotic luxury vehicles and minicoaches.
Visit ilimoww.com for more information.
[12.27.22]