HCI Glossary of Terms

Associations, Organizations & Industry Events

American Bus Association (ABA): Membership is composed of charter bus companies, destinations and suppliers. ABA Marketplace is Held in January/February and brings buyer and seller representatives together for five days of appointments and social events.

Heartland Travel Showcase: Travel show focusing on the following destinations to tour operators: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Ontario. This Showcase takes place annually in March/April.

Heritage Clubs International (HCI): www.heritageclubs.com - Your National organization of bank club directors and the only organization of its kind in North America.

National Tour Association (NTA): Business association for companies and organizations that serve customers traveling to, from and within North America. Their buyer members are tour operators and tour planners; their seller members are destinations and tour suppliers. Their annual convention is called Travel Exchange (TREX), and takes place in the last quarter of the year.

National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO): A federal-government-level agency that plays an active role in domestic and international policy issues related to the U.S. travel and tourism industry. The Office fosters the development of policies that encourage the growth of travel and tourism to the United States.

Select Traveler (formerly Bank Travel): The show is managed by the GLAMER group. They host an annual conference for Alumni Associations, Chambers of Commerce and some bank club planners.

Travel South USA: Official regional destination marketing organization for the southern United States. The non-profit organization promotes travel to and within its member states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Travel South USA serves as an information source for journalists, tour operators, retail travel agents and other travel professionals. Travel South Showcase is their travel show which focuses on the southern United States.

United State Tour Operator Association (USTOA): A trade association that educates consumers and travel agents about packaged vacations to promote travel for the tour operator industry promoting its tour operator members representing some of the largest and most respected companies in the US.

Travel Industry Certifications

Certified Bank Club Director (CBCD): HCI Certification program which is a designation conferred upon club directors who have completed a prescribed course including completion of educational session coursework and an essay submission. The only one that exists in the US for bank club directors.

Certified Tour Professional (CTP): A designation conferred upon tour professionals who have completed a prescribed course of academic study, professional service, tour employment, and evaluation requirements. The CTP program is administered by the National Tour Association (Lexington, KY) and is open to individuals employed in any segment of the tourism industry.

Certified Travel Counselor (CTC): A designation attesting to professional competence as a travel agent. It is conferred upon travel professionals with five or more years of industry experience who complete a two-year graduate-level travel management program administered by the Institute of Certified Travel Agents (Wellesley, MA).

Certified Travel Industry Specialist (CTIS): A designation conferred upon American Bus Association member company employees who successfully complete five correspondence courses (three required and two electives) and written evaluation of eight marketplace seminars.

Travel Marketing Professional (TMP): A designation from Southeast Tourism Society. Earned after a member of STS attends a one-week intensive session for three years. Those earning their TMP are considered experts in their field and bring a working knowledge of current trends, data and implementation for tourism and travel.

Heritage Clubs International Terminology

Advisory Board: A group of experienced Club Director and Heritage Partner members that provides expertise, guidance and insight to the HCI staff for the annual Peer Group planning and advocacy for their peers. They meet in the Spring of each year to discuss opportunities, challenges and next steps, and during the annual Peer Group conference to review the conference agenda.

Bank Club Directors: The buyer members of HCI representing bank clubs. The person responsible for the selection and purchase of travel/tour arrangements for their bank club (which is a type of affinity group). Often referred to as Bankers or Club Directors.

Business Appointment Marketplace (BAM): The period of time during the HCI Annual Peer Group Conference when each bank club director has a scheduled business appointment with each Heritage partner.

Certified Bank Club Director (CBCD): HCI Certification program. The only one that exists in the US for bank club directors.

Corporate Partners: Membership level of HCI for suppliers of services that our members might find helpful (e.g. Safe Passage International (SPI): HCI’s supplier of travel insurance and Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (MPLC) - the organization that licenses bank clubs to show films in private locations.

Day Trip: A group tour that starts and finishes in a single day.

Destination Marketing Organizations (Non-profit): Organizations that promote a location (city, region, state province, country) as a travel destination. A general term used to denote a variety of offices or agencies.

Destination marketing organization (DMO): An organization that promotes a location (city, region, state province, country) as a travel destination. A general term used to denote CVB’s, state travel offices, and chambers of commerce.

Convention and visitors Bureau: CVB (sometimes also called CVA or CVC) - Regional office providing travel support for tour groups coming to visit the area Office of Tourism, Tourism office: The designation primarily used by states and countries.

Boards of Trade: A very local tourist office.

Chamber of Commerce: An organization that operates at the local level and is comprised of businesses that are not necessarily associated with the tourism industry.

Non profit Receptive Operator: A multi-faceted destination specialist whose company provides some or all components of a tour package for resale by our bank clubs.

Destination Showcases: 30-Minute marketing presentations by each PTO which highlight a feature, attraction and/or destination being offered by the tour operator. This is attended by every Club Director in attendance at Peer Group.

Extended Tour: Domestic multi-day trip of 4 days or more, or a trip requiring air travel.

Fall Forum Training: The annual one-day educational seminar for HCI bank club directors held in early November. Helpful Resources: Used to designate highest quality, excellence, or superior practices in a particular field by a tourism operator. Formerly known as Best Practices.

Heritage Partners: The travel supplier members of HCI representing hotels, restaurants, attractions, CVBs and so on. Often referred to simply as Partners.

International Tour: A multi-day trip that goes beyond North America.

Partner Profile Form: An 8 1/2” x 11”, three-hole punched sheet, provided to Bankers by Heritage Partners during the BAM session. This profile form may include information on facilities/services for motorcoach/tour market, location, hours of operation, policies, rates, etc.

Peer Group: The name for Heritage Club International’s annual conference for its members.

Preferred Tour Operators (PTOs): Select tour operators whose membership with HCI is unique and exclusive. These are the only tour operators allowed to attend Peer Group, and HCI encourages all of our bank club directors to use PTOs exclusively for their group tours.

Short Regional Motorcoach Tour: A 2-4 day trip planned by the bank

Spirit Award: An annual award given during Peer Group to recognize the individual member who has demonstrated a high level of enthusiastic participation throughout the year. It has been given since 2009, and the winner is selected by the Board.

Task Forces: Committees comprised of volunteers that meet via conference call for one hour each month (August through January) to develop helpful resources in response to an issue or need that a member has brought up. The groups are comprised of Bank Club Directors, PTOs and Partners. Each group is led by the Chairperson and assisted by the Board Liaison who is a member and representative of the HCI Advisory Board. Typically, the task force subjects relate to Banking, Travel, Technology, Membership and/or Veteran issues.

The Travel Show: Two-hour open travel exhibition during Peer Group for HCI partners who are not able to attend the full conference.

Volunteer of the Year Award: An award given during Peer Group to show appreciation to the individual member who has worked unusually hard on behalf of the organization usually with such enthusiasm that it has inspired others to volunteer as well. It has been given since 2009, and the winner is selected by HCI staff.