In response to member feedback and industry research, the National Tour Association is shifting its major meetings to times of the year more advantageous to NTA members.

After several years of conducting the association's signature event, Travel Exchange, in the first quarter of the year, NTA will hold the annual convention on fourth-quarter dates, a move requested by members seeking a more favorable period for planning itineraries.

2017 will be the transition year, and the association will hold Travel Exchange in both the first and the fourth quarters of the year. The event in St. Louis, Missouri, Feb. 26–March 2, 2017, will be the final occurrence of a first-quarter convention. NTA will then hold Travel Exchange in San Antonio, Texas, Dec. 14–18, 2017, and continue with November or December dates in the future. The association has named Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the site of Travel Exchange in 2018, slated for Nov. 4–8.

Travel Exchange enables NTA tour operators to meet with tour suppliers and destination representatives to collaborate on packaged-travel itineraries. In 2015 NTA tour operators moved nearly 15 million travelers, generating total sales of $10.5 billion.

NTA will also change the timing of Contact, its annual buyer retreat. Instead of holding the event in August, the association will change to spring dates so that Contact will fall on the opposite side of the calendar from Travel Exchange. This year's Contact, in Québec City, is set for Aug. 25–27. In 2018, Contact will be held April 19–21 in Charleston, South Carolina. NTA will not conduct Contact in 2017 because of the two Travel Exchange events that calendar year.

About NTA: Founded in 1951, NTA is a global association of packaged-travel professionals who serve customers traveling to, from and within North America. For more information, visit NTAonline.com.