ASTA’s Young Professionals Society (YPS)
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ASTA’s Young Professionals Society is a group of travel professionals designed for those travel agents who are under the age of 40. The YPS was created for the purpose of networking, education and career development. YPS plans on hosting networking events at all ASTA conferences.
How could YPS benefit me?
The objective of the YPS is to create a forum for young travel professionals to network with each other. Being a part of this group will enable you to establish strong business contacts in the travel industry. Membership in ASTA or employment with a premium agency is required to be a member of YPS.
Exclusive for Members | ||
 |  Spring 2010 Newsletter [PDF] 6MB |  YPS Newsletter archive |
  Network with the Young Professional's Group on LinkedIn and Facebook! | ||
YPS Member's Only Day
ASTA's Young Professionals Society announces our first-ever Member's Only Day, Saturday, September 11, 2010 in Orlando, Florida. This full day program of networking, mastermind roundtables, industry topics, and a special dinner event is organized in conjunction with THETRADESHOW, the #1 travel trade show in North America. Click here for more details.
YPS Webinar Wednesdays
On the next YPS Webinar Wednesdays, Jason Coleman, Chair of ASTA's Young Professionals Society will interview "Social Media Superstar" Jason Beukema, 2009 Young Professional of the Year and Ryan Fitzpatrick for an interactive jam session on how to use social media to engage and sell to your clients.
Jason Beukema, founder and president of Whet Travel in Miami Beach is the creator and producer of the highly successful and much publicized Groove Cruise. Marketing almost exclusively through viral channels like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, Beukema has built the Groove Cruise into a powerhouse which now has over 50,000 friends, fans and followers along with millions of views on YouTube. Ryan Fitzpatrick is the Director of Marketing of Whet Travel and is a master at implementing social media marketing strategies.
Using the Groove Cruise as an example, we'll cut through the social media hype and dive into what works and what doesn't (using real world examples), and how you can compete in this new marketing environment. Come with your questions and get ready for an interactive jam session on social media and how you can explode your travel business with social media.
Join ASTA's Young Professionals Society on Wednesday, August 18 at 2pm Eastern for our next YPS Webinar Wednesdays topic, "Social Media Superstars."
Register for this free webinar today.
Ride the Young Professionals Track at THETRADESHOW
The first-ever ASTA YPS Panel, sponsored by Sabre Travel Network, was a very well received education session on how to enhance the professionalism and business acumen of younger people in the industry. The audience featured a mix of both domestic and international agents and included ASTA members and non members. Members of ASTA's YPS committee led the discussion about the challenges this group faces to gain credibility and grow their business.
"The ASTA programs available at TTS provided updates and insights into what ASTA has done and is doing for my business. They were a valuable use of my time as I walked away with methods to strengthen my company" —Kari C. Thomas, CTC, Will Travel, Inc.
"As a young professional, you may or may not have noticed some of the seminars at THETRADESHOW that will help you succeed in this business. To ensure you don't miss them, I felt that it was important to highlight those seminars.Remember, to check out THETRADESHOW exhibitor list and make those valuable connections. Have a great show!" —Robbi Hamida, CTA, DS Past Chair, ASTA's Young Professional Society
Q&A with Stephanie Lee, Marketing Director, Travel Quest
Q: What value do you find in being an ASTA YPS member?
A: It's a great way to build a community outside your office. We come from different areas of travel but have a lot of common ground. I don't think anyone could argue about the value of having a group of people that are invested and passionate about their jobs that you can share ideas with and discuss problems facing the industry.
Q: How has being a member of ASTA helped you in the industry?
A: ASTA is like a personal assistant! They help keep me keep on top of important industry events and happenings, put together fabulous whitepapers that help me stay abreast of industry trends, and have been there when our agency needed advice many times.
Q: Do you have any words of advice for other young people coming into the industry?
A: I would encourage you to become involved with your local ASTA chapter and/or YPS. Being new to the industry is a great asset-- you see things from a different perspective. Being a young professional is another great asset that can bring a whole dimension to many travel agencies. My advice would be to not be shy about being new to travel and younger than most of your colleagues, see these factors as strengths that can help everyone.
YPS Committee
ASTA’s YPS is governed by a chairman who is elected for year-long terms by ASTA’s Board of Directors. Thirteen young travel professionals who are members of ASTA are nominated to sit on the committee. YPS is proud to be sponsored by Best Western, Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority, Sabre and TravelAge West.
Sponsors:
ASTA Staff Liaisons: Mathew Bancroft
If you have any ideas or suggestions for the YPS, please e-mail yps@asta.org
