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About the Educational Travel Community

CONTACT US

OVERVIEW

HISTORY

ETC SENIOR TEAM

ETC EXECUTIVE ADVISORY COUNCIL

REGIONAL ROUNDTABLES

EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL CONFERENCE HONOREES

Contact Us:

Travel Learning Connections, Inc.
PO Box 159
Ronan, MT 59864-0159

Share your comments or ask a question. We enjoy connecting with colleagues and talking about the Educational Travel Community.

Our Office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, Monday through Friday.

To reach us by phone, call 406-745-4800.
Our fax number is 406-745-3600.

Or send us an email message at: conference@travelearning.com

Interested in speaking or suggesting a session/speakers at the Educational Travel Conference?
Email us at: speaker@travelearning.com

Interested in becoming a Supporting Partner of the Educational Travel Conference and/or ETC Community Website?
Email us at: partner@travelearning.com

Interested in contributing content/articles to the Educational Travel Community Website and/or online Ezine?
Email us at: webeditor@travelearning.com.

Overview

Educational travel facilitates deeper, more enduring connections between travelers and the communities they visit through strong interpretation, experiential programming, and meaningful engagement.

The Educational Travel Community (ETC) is a community of practice for organizations worldwide dedicated to advancing lifelong learning and the understanding of international relations through travel. Originally developed to support nonprofits in travel, ETC is defined by a service-oriented and collaborative philosophy. ETC serves its community members, their institutions, and their companies through offline and online education, training, and networking venues.

The ETC website is the first-ever online educational travel platform for colleagues to communicate quickly and efficiently with one another and to access educational resources and timely information critical to their jobs and travel programs. Members benefit from year-round support services, online networking venues, online training, and access to key industry research and Educational Travel Conference materials.

ETC strengthens its membership through both structured and informal sharing of information, as well as by reinforcing the collaborative work of those in the educational travel community. Key services include:

  • ETC's annual Educational Travel Conference, which is the world’s only meeting dedicated to addressing the issues of affinity and educational travel. It is a must-attend event for anyone involved in educational and specialty travel.
  • Member-to-member communications online through the ETC Forum and member group listserves.
  • Posting of jobs, calendar events, and announcements.
  • Sharing member and organizational profiles as a service to the community.
  • The publication of an annual Community Resource Directory, which lists members of the community and key program features of non-profit travel programs and travel companies, suppliers, and destinations.
  • Professional development programs for educational travel planners, including the Jumpstart seminar, which provides an invaluable nuts-and-bolts introduction to nonprofit travel planning.
  • Access to members-only web features, such as a quarterly newsletter and white papers and industry aggregated statistics produced for and within this niche market.

History

The Educational Travel Conference was founded in 1987 by J. Mara DelliPriscoli, President of Travel Learning Connections, Inc., as a pioneering effort to provide timely educational travel training, professional development, and affinity-based networking forums expressly designed for seasoned alumni, museum, zoo, conservation, and nonprofit educational travel planners. Operated from its inception as an educational resource, ETC has progressively expanded to serve as a valuable and respected educational and networking resource for the travel providers, tour operators, suppliers, and destinations that serve this market. In addition to the annual Conference, ETC has offered two pioneering programs: the first comprehensive training seminar for newcomers to educational travel titled Jumpstart, a landmark program offered annually at ETC since 1989; and online since 2007; plus the annual the Executive Forum since 2006 designed exclusively for those executives to whom travel planners report. Additionally since 2004 ETC has offered a Voluntourism Forum, and since 1999 a Responsible Tourism Forum. Renewing a grassroots programming offering from 1987 ETC now holds annually a series of popular networking and programming regional roundtables in the U.S. and Canada.





 


 
 
  • Why Attend ETC

    “Sessions are top-notch and information-packed.” —Alea Cot, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Univ. of New Orleans
  • Why Attend ETC

    “I have recommended ETC for its quality, not quantity of contacts, to other destinations and tour operators that have products appropriate for this audience, and will continue to do so.” —Katrina White, Travel Trade Mgr., Rhode Island Tourism Div.
  • Why Attend ETC

    “Best place to network and continue to learn about this business. I don’t care how many years you do this work, there is always someone doing something new and different.” —Roberta Moore, Director, Alumni Continuing Education & Travel, Dartmouth
  • Why Attend ETC

    “I always leave with a renewed sense of purpose and new ideas, which then has a trickle-down effect in my office. Others get inspired to try new travel programs or techniques learned at ETC.” —Amy Uhde, Dir. of Prog. Dvlp., Alaska Wildland Adventures
  • Why Attend ETC

    “Extremely specific and very high quality educational experience for those involved in educational, non-profit, specialty travel programming.” —Annie Lucas, Vice President, MIR Corporation
  • Why Attend ETC

    “The information and the networking opportunities are exceptional year after year. This is a very valuable conference for me.” —Mark Garland, Travel Program Coordinator, Audubon Naturalist Society
  • Why Attend ETC

    “Wonderful networking opportunities and stimulating educational sessions…
a must if you are working in the affinity market!” —Karen Kuttner-Capato, Vice President of Affinity & Charter Sales, Lindblad Expeditions
  • Why Attend ETC

    “The quality of the speakers at ETC far surpasses that of any other professional conference or educational event I have attended.” —Susan Goodale, Prog. Dir. & Gaucho Getaways Coord., U.C. Santa Barbara Alumni Assoc.
  • Why Attend ETC

    “The conference offers superb, relevant information that is useful year-round.” 
—Melissa Gresh, Dir. of Alumni Travel Prog., MIT Alumni Assoc.
  • Why Attend ETC

    “Trends conversations help you think outside the box and try to take your program in a new 
direction.” —Jenna Mace, former Product Design & Development Specialist, Habitat for Humanity Int'l
  • Why Attend ETC

    “ETC is a wonderful opportunity to meet with like-minded professionals who also share a passion for educational travel. I always come away from the conference with more ideas than I know what to do with.” —Meredith Mason, COO, Global Adrenaline
  • Why Attend ETC

    “Great opportunity to not only network but educate oneself.” —Catherine Merrill, Founder and Owner, Epiculinary, Inc.
  • Why Attend ETC

    “Alumni and Museum travel programs are a unique market. Because this conference focuses on this niche, it is the best venue to learn more about enrichment, and educational travel.” —Judee Kaplan, Director of Sales, Select Travel Service
  • Why Attend ETC

    “ETC gives us a sense of unity, healthy competition, and an opportunity to develop
lasting friendships in a fun environment. ETC is the highlight of my working year!”—Elizabeth Bigwood, Asst. Dir. for Travel, Alumnae Assoc. of Smith College
  • Why Attend ETC

    "I have high expectations for this conference, and ETC always delivers. It hits all the marks on providing practical information and great opportunities to network.” —Heidi Quiram, Study Travel Director, St. Olaf College
  • Why Attend ETC

    “At ETC I gain a broader sense of how affinity travel programs are faring in the 
marketplace.” —Karen Ledwin, V.P. of Programming & Operations, National Geographic Expeditions
  • Why Attend ETC

    “[ETC provides an] opportunity to meet with the key players in this market segment.” 
—Lou Macaluso, Director-U.S. Leisure Sales, Canadian Tourism Commission
  • Why Attend ETC

    “ETC affords a space for learning about new operators and destinations, interacting with the people we do business with, and getting to know each other better.” —Michelle Bell, Asst. Dir., Univ. of Arkansas Alumni Assoc.
  • ETC 2010 Kudos

    "We really felt welcomed by the warm, enthusiastic, and engaged ETC community. I’ve never seen a conference quite like ETC!" —Stephen Reily, Founder/CEO, VibrantNation.com
  • ETC 2010 Kudos

    "Thank you…for the opportunity to attend such a helpful, informative session for executive directors. I returned to Auburn with a wealth of information and quite inspired." —Debbie L. Shaw, Vice Pres. Alumni Affairs & Exec. Dir., Auburn Alumni Assoc.
  • ETC 2010 Kudos

    "ETC 2010 was a great conference. Great speakers, good meeting space, and definitely lots of attention to detail. It’s always one of the highlights of my year." —Clark Oldroyd, Associate Director, University of Colorado at Boulder Alumni Association
  • ETC 2010 Kudos

    "Many thanks for the Mentor Meet and Greet session. I benefited a lot from my mentor's experience and guidance. I am indebted for this arrangement. It was an excellent conference!” —Samuel Seyoum, CTC, Manager Marketing and Groups, Picasso Travel  
  • ETC 2010 Kudos

    "Wanted to congratulate you on yet another successful ETC in Rhode Island. Overall the substance was solid! That's what matters. I look forward to attending many more ETCs.” —Rumit Mehta, Founder, Immersion Journeys
  • ETC 2010 Kudos

    "The conference was very well organized and offered a great range of subjects. The topics that focused on technology and social media will prove very valuable."—Barbara Anglisz, Adept Technologies
 


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