The National Tour Association (NTA) is the largest trade association in the escorted group tour industry. Members of this association represent a major share of the group motorcoach travel business in the United States. The researchers obtained permission from and worked closely with NTA to analyze the following aspects of group tour operations: market segments, seasonality, organization of tours, modes of transportation, hotel accommodations used, methods of promotion and tour programs offered. A profile of the “average” group tour operator was developed from descriptive statistics.
