エピソード

  • The Unwritten Rules of Great FAM Tours

    The Unwritten Rules of Great FAM Tours
    2026/07/08

    It’s vacation season, so this week’s episode is a little different.

    I’m taking some time away with my family, but I didn’t want to leave you without an episode of Gather and Go. So instead of our usual format, I’m bringing you a featured conversation with returning guest Stacy Barry of Sharin’ the South.

    Stacy has participated in hundreds of familiarization tours throughout her career, both as a tour operator and as a destination partner. She joins the podcast to share practical advice for getting the most out of FAM tours — whether you’re hosting one or attending one. Along the way, she explains the biggest mistakes people make, how to build stronger industry relationships and why being intentional about every FAM tour matters.

    Insights from Stacy

    Stacy has attended enough FAM tours to know the difference between ones that create lasting business relationships and ones that waste everyone’s time. Throughout the conversation, she shares practical lessons for both destination hosts and travel professionals looking to make every FAM tour more productive.

    Plus, she shares:

    • Common mistakes hosts and attendees make on FAM tours.
    • Why relationship-building matters more than collecting brochures.
    • How to decide whether a FAM tour is worth your time.

    Resources Mentioned in This Episode

    Follow Stacy Barry on LinkedIn.

    Learn more about Sharin’ the South Tours.

    Watch the Full Interview

    See the full interview with Stacey on our YouTube channel.

    About the Podcast

    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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    46 分
  • BOOKED: Pro Tips for Selling Trips

    BOOKED: Pro Tips for Selling Trips
    2026/07/22
    What if you could ensure every tour departs with a full load of customers? Harish Shroff believes it’s possible to sell every seat on every departure. He has helped Indus Travel scale up to become one of Canada’s premier world wide tour companies. And he knows how to help your company do the same. Harish joins this episode of the podcast to talk about the systems that help tour companies scale from from mom-and-pop to power players. He also shares sales and marketing techniques to help fill every seat on your next tour. Plus, we have news about an AI initiative to prevent air travel delays, a special free resource for new travel planners and a Hot Minute about the problems in your travel organization that tech can’t solve. Insights from Harish Harish had a lot of great insight about what it takes to grow a travel company. Here’s what he had to say about the work required to take your operation to the next level: “As you scale, you also have to change and evolve. Initially it is 80% passion and your systems are 20%. As you grow, your core value still remains the same, but it becomes like a 20% of your foundation, and your systems become 80% of your growth. So as you are growing, you really need to add more and more systems.” Plus, she had great perspectives on: Building a tour company people want to work for Instilling trust in your travelers Why you’re probably spreading your marketing efforts too thin Resources Mentioned in This Episode Learn more about Indus Travel at indus.travel. Get Harish’s book “Mastering the Art of Sales” on Amazon. Get your free copy of Travel Free and Bring Your Friends here. Key Moments From This Episode 1:24 — Travel News: Using AI to prevent air traffic delays 2:48 — News From Us: A great resources for first-time group travel planners 6:08 — How Harish Shroff found his place in group travel 8:40 — Why Indus Travel has grown while others are struggling 11:19 — Building a tour company people want to work for 13:20 — The systems required to scale a tour company up 16:05 — How quickly can your travel company grow? 18:28 — Secrets for filling more seats on your departures 21:42 — Which promotional channels are most effective for selling tours? 25:15 — Instilling trust in your travelers 28:48 — Leveraging the scale of your travel partners 41:43 — Hot Minute: Can AI fix what’s broken in your travel business? Watch the Full Interview See the full interview with Harish on our YouTube channel. https://youtu.be/joq8KtDDQwg About the Podcast 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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    45 分
  • Tourism’s Future — Are You Doing Your Part?

    Tourism’s Future — Are You Doing Your Part?
    2026/06/24
    The tourism industry has spent years talking about workforce shortages. But what if part of the solution starts with us? Elizabeth Whalen believes that industry engagement is a critical part of cultivating new tourism talent. As a tourism professor at Middle Tennessee State University, she works every day with students who are interested in working in our industry. And she knows what a difference early engagement can make. Elizabeth joins this episode of the podcast to explain how she prepares students for real-world tourism work and how the travel industry can help invest in tourism education. She also shares how we can better inspire our Gen Z and Gen Alpha team members. Plus, we have news about river cruise lines’ growing lineup of land tours, a special opportunity for NTA members and a Hot Minute about where our industry is failing in workforce development. Insights from Elizabeth Elizabeth had a lot of great insight about what young tourism students are looking for — and how the rest of us can help. Here’s what she said about preparing students for the reality of tourism work: “One of the things I tell the students is that we are not too good for any role in this industry. So if we’re not willing to clean a toilet, we’re in the wrong place. Sometimes you’re just gonna have to roll up your sleeves and do the dirty work and get it done. And so it’s about managing expectations on both sides and then preparing them to enter into leadership roles with best practices. Plus, she had great perspectives on: How tourism companies can help mid-level staff members growBuilding partnerships between schools and travel organizationsHow to connect with your local college’s hospitality program Resources Mentioned in This Episode Follow Elizabeth Whalen on LinkedIn. Email Elizabeth Whalen at ewhalen@mtsu.edu. Register for a Kentucky Nightcap at NTA at at ntatravelexchange.com/register. Key Moments From This Episode 1:13 — Travel News: River Cruise Companies Are Adding Land Tour Products 2:40 — News From Us: A Kentucky Nightcap at NTA Travel Exchange 7:36 — Elizabeth Whalen’s journey from a dude ranch to academia 12:35 — Is the tourism workforce development pipeline broken? 16:29 — What are today’s tourism students looking for? 19:42 — How tourism companies can help their staff members grow 22:39 — Building partnerships between schools and tourism companies 28:21 — What tourism leaders need to know about Gen Z and Gen Alpha 32:45 — Finding a tourism program at a university near you 46:40 — Hot Minute: Hard truth about our workforce pipeline problem Watch the Full Interview See the full interview with Elizabeth on our YouTube channel. About the Podcast 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.
    続きを読む 一部表示
    51 分