David T. Parry, American Tourism Society (ATS) chairman and chairman of the Academic Travel Abroad, presided over the 2009 Annual Meeting and announced the results of the biennial elections to the ATS board of directors. The Annual ATS Meeting took place at the Grand Hotel Heiligendamm in Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Germany, immediately preceding the opening of the ATS Fall Conference.

Leading ATS for second terms are Chairman David Parry and President Phil Otterson, VP external affairs, Tauck World Discovery. Other ATS board members elected to the executive committee are Jan Rudomina, Polish National Tourist Office, ATS VP and finance; David Spinelli, Vacations.com, ATS VP and secretary; Nico Zenner, Travelbound by Travelport, new ATS director; and Don Reynolds, executive vice president. Parry, in his opening remarks at the ATS Annual Meeting, noted: “In the 40 years that I have been in the US travel industry, this past year has definitely been the most challenging one. Despite the problems that we all are facing, ATS membership has remained stable and actively engaged in promotional activities. As an organization, we have made great strides in the implementation of our Strategic Marketing Plan as outlined several years ago, thanks to the hard work of the marketing committee led by Dave Spinneli.”

The other members of the new ATS board include: Malia Asfour, The Jordan Tourism Board NA; Fred Berardo, Central Holidays; Pamela Hoffee, The Globus Family of Brands; Gordon Stearns, Tour Designs; Donna Flora, American Express Company; Mirko Ilich, Traveling Times; Helena Novak, General Tours World Traveler; and Robert Whitley, United States Tour Operators Association.
The ATS board also expressed thanks and appreciation to departing members of the board including HE Akel Biltaji, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Knut Haenschke, E H Marketing; and Michael Stolowitzky, American Express Vacations.

ABOUT ATS – PRESENTING TOMORROW’S DESTINATIONS

The American Tourism Society (ATS) was established in 1989 by a group of US tourism industry executives to provide exclusive access, business networking, and promotion for transformational destinations. It is a nonprofit, nonpolitical, travel industry organization whose membership includes experienced tour operators, destination tourist offices, hotels, airlines, and other travel industry professionals. Collectively, ATS members generate over four billion dollars in sales involving three million North American travelers. ATS holds an Annual Fall Conference and a Tourism College hosted by a different member destination each year; conducts travel marts and seminars in the US for its members; and has a website: www.americantourismsociety.org . For more information on The American Tourism Society, write: 149 Madison Avenue, Suite 602, New York, NY 10016, USA; phone: 212.893.8111; fax: 212.893.8153; or email: [email protected] .