Explore Island Getaways in Midwest and Northeast
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GROUP TOUR AMERICA'S ISLANDS EXPLORE ISLAND GETAWAYS IN MIDWEST AND NORTHEAST FOX CITIES EXPERIENCE WISCONSIN’S HEARTLAND JUN 2020 | grouptourmagazine.com Group Tour | june 2020 | Vol. 33 No. 3 What’s Inside « DEPARTMENTS 4 From the publisher 5 group tour media survey 6 ontrend 7 spotlight FEATURES 8 america’s islands Explore island getaways in Midwest and Northeast 28 fox cities Experience Wisconsin’s heartland 8 800-767-3489 Publisher Art Marketing Advertising fax: 616-393-0085 Elly DeVries Mark Dryer Cortney Erndt Eric C. Lutey | Director of Sales | [email protected] | 800-767-3489 x111 GroupTour.com President Art Director Director of Marketing AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NS, PE, QC, SK, YT Gabrielle Aleman-Gordon Bethany VanKempen POSTMASTER Graphic Designer Content Creator & Jim Holthaus | [email protected] | 616-283-1816 Send address changes to: Editorial Graphic Designer IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI, TN, ON GROUP TOUR MAGAZINE 2465 112TH AVE. Courtney Birchmeier Caitlin Bales Greg Jones | [email protected] | 859-327-6471 HOLLAND, MI 49424-9657 Editor in Chief Audience Admin. Marketing Assistant DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT David Hoekman Development Group Tour magazine® USPS #016-239 Managing Editor Alan Lininger | [email protected] | 717-778-8056 Cindy Fish AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MO, MS, NC, SC, VA, WV is published February, March, May, June, Audience Development Administration August, September, November and December Kelsey Smith Managing Editor Director Jim Bowser by Group Tour Media, 2465 112th Ave., Aimee Smith | [email protected] | 717-668-2720 Webmaster AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, KS, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WY Holland, Michigan 49424-9657. Periodical Kate O’Neil Bethany Vander Kolk Postage is paid at Holland, Michigan and Associate Editor Circulation Coordinator Kim Kraker additional mailing offices. Accounting 2 June 2020 MIDWEST ILLINOIS 12 Itinerary — Champaign County 13 North American Pizza & Culinary Academy INDIANA 14 Itinerary — SoIN (southern Indiana) 15 Indiana Dunes National Park MICHIGAN 16 Itinerary — Petoskey Area 17 Alden B. Dow Home & Studio MINNESOTA 18 Itinerary — Eagan 20 Jeffers Petroglyphs Historic Site 10 OHIO 22 Itinerary — Bowling Green 23 National Veterans Museum & Memorial WISCONSIN 25 Itinerary — Wausau/Central Wisconsin 26 Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe 30 Milwaukee Food & City Tours NORTHEAST CONNECTICUT 31 Itinerary — Hartford 32 Cross Sound Cruises/Light House Cruises DELAWARE 11 33 Itinerary — Shopping 34 Zwaanendael Museum MASSACHUSETTS 35 Itinerary — Lexington 36 Berkshires history NEW JERSEY 37 Itinerary — Ocean Grove, Ocean City and Newark 38 Delaware River Tubing NEW YORK 40 Itinerary — Syracuse 41 Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens PENNSYLVANIA 42 Itinerary — Lackawanna County 44 Eastern State Penitentiary ONTARIO 45 Itinerary — Toronto 28 46 Shaw Festival grouptourmagazine.com 3 From the publisher Rising together I am writing this letter during National Travel and Tourism Week, the annual celebration of the contributions and accomplishments of the U.S. travel industry. This year’s theme, the Spirit of Travel, spotlights hope and resilience in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. From tour cancelations and refunds to employee furloughs and marketing challenges, you are likely recovering from the most difficult quarter of your tourism career. It is clear this is group travel’s toughest time to date, but by opening this magazine, you are confronting the challenge head-on. Time and time again, our industry has proven the Spirit of Travel cannot be broken. Through every hardship, Group Tour Media has watched tour planners innovatively adapt to emerge stronger and wiser. That being said, now is the time to quiet the mind and develop plans for future tours. Surveys, including our own (see page 5), indicate suppliers will earnestly welcome tours in this year’s third and fourth quarters. The outlook for 2021 is even brighter. Group travel in the new normal will include far fewer “touch points.” Instead, look for online ticketing and check-ins. Attractions and destinations will undoubtedly enhance sanitation procedures Group Tour Media specifically designed to combat the transmission of COVID-19. As is a proud member of: always, travelers’ wellbeing is our industry’s top priority. American Bus Association Here at Group Tour Media, our team will continue to provide California Travel Association tour information and inspiration. We want to effectively help you Circle Michigan do what you love: develop and operate tours that take people to Destinations International fascinating attractions and destinations whenever they’re ready. Florida Attractions Association As you read our June issue, you will notice Group Tour Louisiana Travel Promotions Southeast/West, Group Tour Northeast/Midwest and Group Tour Association Virginia were carefully combined. We also added Group Tour National Tour Association New Mexico Hospitality Association Heritage & History to the same package. I am confident this Editor’s Note: Ohio Travel Association wealth of information will help you build itineraries that are more During this period Ontario Motor Coach Association exciting than ever before. of social distancing, Southeast Tourism Society Thank you for your continued readership; I admire your Group Tour magazine Student & Youth Travel Association persistence, daring leadership and dedication to our industry. will continue to Virginia Motorcoach Association Together, we’ll rise to build itineraries for group travel’s new normal. provide group travel Here’s to the Spirit of Travel, and to a safe and healthy future. inspiration. Many attractions and destinations are Cover: closed at this time; Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse please contact them in Acadia National Park, Maine Elly DeVries, directly for updated iStock Publisher information. 4 June 2020 Group Tour Media COVID-19 Survey results In early May, Group Tour Media conducted surveys to gauge where groups stand in the travel industry’s current climate. We appreciate your help, and we are hopeful these results provide insight while you plan for your business’ future. You are not alone! 83% of readers reported tour cancelations was the area of their business most affected by COVID-19. 45% of readers are considering new tour destinations or avoiding virus hotspots. 43% of readers are scheduling future trips at their usual tour destinations. 12% of readers are waiting for more insight before they book. Welcome Back to the Newport Mansions The Breakers [email protected] grouptourmagazine.com 5 ONTREND Great Lakes cruising advances By DavID Hoekman mall ship cruises on the Less is more Dave Lorenz Chair, Cruise The Great Lakes Great Lakes are gaining “Consumers seem to be looking Vice President, Travel Michigan momentum. Dave Lorenz, for this more intimate cruise experience, vice president of Travel and they are learning about the Michigan, said visitors have options in our region by visiting amenities and historical experiences, sbeen touring the Great Lakes by cruise cruisethegreatlakes.com,” Lorenz said. plus gorgeous natural landscapes that ship for years but until recently only Smaller ships are appealing to are easily accessible for exploring,” said a few cruise operator options were consumers, Lorenz said. Claire Koenig, communications manager available. “Most of our cruise visitors will for VISIT Milwaukee. As more cruise ship operators have already sailed the world via the Similar to other kinds of group showed an interest in the region, the large ships which carry thousands travel, Milwaukee offers many Great Lakes/St. Lawrence governors of travelers,” Lorenz said. “Much like experiences for cruise passengers, and premiers saw an opportunity to riverboat European cruises … these Koenig said. Popular stops for cruisers help encourage operators to cruise small ships offer all of the amenities that in the last couple of years include in the Great Lakes. They formed a are most important to them and since Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee marketing organization called Cruise they have an opportunity for multiple Public Market, the National Bobblehead The Great Lakes, which markets to land excursions, they can augment their Museum & Hall of Fame, the shops and operators and travel consumers. The trip with visits to small towns, big cities, restaurants of the Third Ward and a group, which Lorenz chairs, includes cultural institutions, casinos, sporting chance to try one of Milwaukee’s eight U.S. states and Canadian provinces, events and natural wonders that can local coffee roasters. convention and visitor bureaus, only be found in our fresh-water region.” “In addition, cruise passengers are chambers of commerce, ports of call, One of those big cities is sometimes surprised to find a wealth ship operators and other supporters. Milwaukee, where the number of cruise of well-preserved historic architecture, Operators in the organization ship visits increased from four in 2017 including Frank Lloyd Wright designs, include Blount Small Ship Adventures, to 10 in 2019 plus fascinating beer history attractions Victory Cruise Lines and Pearl Seas “For many cruisers, the Great Lakes like Best Place at the Historic Pabst Cruises. represents a new market that combines Brewery,” Koenig said. the best of both worlds — urban Earlier this year, Viking Cruises announced it is set to begin offering Viking Expeditions cruises on the Great Pearl Mist in Milwaukee Lakes in 2022 with new vessels. Milwaukee figures prominently in the three Viking Great Lakes itineraries. Undiscovered Great Lakes is an eight- day cruise from Thunder Bay, Ontario, to Milwaukee. Great Lakes Explorer is an eight-day cruise from Milwaukee to Thunder Bay, Ontario. Niagara & The Great Lakes is an eight-day cruise from Toronto, Ontario, to Milwaukee. “Starting in 2022, this could mean up to 12,000 new visitors are coming to Milwaukee to experience all the city has to offer,” Koenig said. “We’re also thrilled to have Viking’s marketing resources highlighting Milwaukee as a destination on its itineraries.” n Cruise The Great Lakes cruisethegreatlakes.com 6 June 2020 From top: Travel Michigan, VISIT Milwaukee Spotlight The Group Tour Company J.