NEW YORK -- Cold, rainy weather, mud everywhere and hard work for
no pay -- everyone loved it.
More than 300 tourism professionals turned out on Ellis Island
June 13 to volunteer for a day helping the Travelers Conservation
Foundation (TCF) restore the long-neglected grounds of the historic
immigration receiving station.
The project, called "Tourism -- Caring for America," was one of
a series organized by the TCF, a charitable organization created by
the U.S. Tour Operators Association (USTOA) to promote the
preservation and responsible use of cultural and environmental
resources.
The foundation also is sponsored by the National Tour
Association, the American Bus Association and the Student Youth
Travel Association.
"We didn't want [the event] to be just the USTOA or just tour
operators," said TCF executive director Bruce Beckham. "That's why
we invited people from all segments. We want it to be the whole
travel industry."
And volunteers from all segments did show up, including
destination management companies, hotels, publications, tour
operators, attractions, airlines and cruise lines.
The workforce included chairmen, CEOs, sales directors and
account executives -- all far out of their respective elements and
thoroughly enjoying themselves.
No-tie Friday
Taking the concept of business casual to the extreme, these
businesspeople were wearing work gloves and old clothes, slinging
shovels, pushing wheelbarrows, hauling garbage, knocking concrete
off bricks, pulling weeds and building window frames.
And the National Park Service loved every minute of it.
"We're ecstatic when things like this happen," said Joel Frank,
chief of tourism at the National Park Service. "When it's done
right in the organization and preplanning and goes off without a
hitch, we can do in a few hours what would normally take months
with the staff we have."
But if not well-planned, volunteer projects are more trouble
than they're worth, Frank said.
However, he was confident the group would do the necessary
planning because he checked up on the work of Tauck World
Discovery, the tour operator that was one of the prime movers
behind the TCF and which has spearheaded a number of similar
projects.
"When I got the call from the TCF, I checked with every park
they had done work for," Frank said, "and everyone I called said,
'When are they coming back?' So I knew they would do a good
job."
Raising awareness
Arthur Tauck, chairman of Tauck World Discovery, said the
volunteer work has changed the relationship of the tour industry
and the National Park Service.
"The consciousness in the park service has been raised to
tourism," Tauck said. "It used to be very provincial, almost as if
they were saving the parks just for the employees. But today the
attitude of cooperation in the parks is incredible. The word about
these things is getting around to all the parks."
For the TCF, Beckham said, it's only the beginning.
"We're just trying to get the awareness out there that the TCF
is here, it's for real and we're going to do a lot more in the
future."
For information on how to get involved with the Travelers
Conservation Foundation, call (888) 821-5990 or log on to www.tcfonline.org.