First Travel Ministry Conference to be held in Chicago

Jerusalem is an important city for different faiths, photo courtesy of IMG Associations

The World Religious Travel Association (WRTA) will hold their first of five Travel Ministry Conferences on Thursday, June 17, at the Field Museum in Chicago. Travel agents, pastors, ministry leaders and members of the faith community will come together at the conference, where one can learn more about and implement faith-based travel.

The Travel Ministry Conferences are the newest educational and networking events for the faith-based travel industry, which are hosted by WRTA. These half-day gatherings have a two-fold purpose. First, the Travel Ministry Conferences provide an informal, educational, and engaging venue for religious leaders and individuals to learn about faith-based travel and vacation possibilities, as well as how to build a travel ministry program at their faith community.  Secondly, the conferences provide a fantastic opportunity to meet with tourism organizations, destinations, and travel providers specializing in faith-based travel, cruising, and events.

Educational events that take place at each conference include a Travel Ministry Presentation, Faith-Based Travel Opportunities for Your Program, Meet the Faith-Based Travel Providers and How to Build an Effective Travel Ministry Program.

Chicago exhibitors include the Fireside Dinner Theatre, the Israel Ministry of Tourism, Lake County CVB, Leisure Group Travel, Lisle CVB, Marriott International and Wens Travel. The sponsor is the Palestine Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Participants receive a free parking voucher, a continental breakfast and lunch and free museum admission.  For religious leaders, the cost is $20, but WRTA members can go free. For travel agents, the cost is $40 for non-members and $25 for members. Sellers and displays pay $300 or $250 for members.

The conferences are open to anyone interested in faith-based travel, cruising and events. This can include leaders and members of a faith community or simply any individual interested in this type of travel.  In addition to the attendees, the conferences will also include travel industry organizations and professionals who specialize in faith-based travel such as travel agents, tour operators, hotels, suppliers, destinations, and more.

To register for this event, obtain the registration form for The Travel Ministry Conferences.  After completing the form, either email or fax it to WRTA staff at headquarters@WRTAreligioustravel.com or 859.226.4434. To register over the phone, call the WRTA staff at 888.255.9782 (ext. 101) or 859.219.3529. For more information about The Travel Ministry Conferences, visit the official website for WRTA and click on the link for “Travel Ministry”, or access the official Web page for the Travel Ministry Conferences.

The second Travel Ministry Conference will be held Thursday, July 8, at the Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville. Exhibitors will be Anchor Trailways & Tours, Grueninger Tours and Trailways Transportation Systems.

While Chicago and Nashville are two of five locations for tourism conferences this year, others are held in Denver, Philadelphia and San Diego. Although the schedule, topics, and format for each event are the same, some of the speakers will be different. Furthermore, local and regional faith-based travel opportunities will be discussed at each conference, which will differ for each event. Anyone is welcome to attend more than one event.

Leisure Group Travel magazine has partnered with WRTA to promote the events to the faith-based travel community.  Jeff Gayduk, publisher of Leisure Group Travel said, “We’re delighted to partner with Kevin Wright and his team to introduce faith-based group travel on a grass roots level to both clergy and the trade.  History has proven that an effective travel ministry is beneficial to religious organizations from all denominations.  It helps them strengthen ties with constituents and spread the word of the Lord.  We believe these events will go a long way towards introducing the concept of a travel ministry to more religious organizations.”