IITA Summit 2025 Wrap-Up

Nearly 200 inbound industry professionals came together last week in Salt Lake City for the IITA Summit 2025 to do business, network and hear the latest trends and forecasts for international travel to the U.S. 

The Summit opened with a traditional Native Blessing offered by Steve Todachiny, from the Dinéh tribe, which is a part of the Navajo Nation. Summit Chair Chris Pilley, CEO of Rocky Mountain Holiday Tours, acknowledged that the land the Summit was meeting on which was named for the Ute Tribe, was the traditional and ancestral homeland of the Shoshone, Paiute, Goshute, and Ute Tribes, who had been living, working, and residing on this land from time immemorial.

For the third year in a row, the IITA Summit was carbon neutral as a step in IITA’s commitment to sustainability. IITA limited the amount of printing and other materials as much as possible, and for those emissions that are not avoidable, like the venue and attendees’ travel, IITA compensates for them with the help of partners Tourism Cares and Sustainable Travel International. 

IITA works with several other organizations to support sustainability in its broadest definition – that is, the impacts travel and tourism have on the environment, culture and local communities, as well as the visitor experience.

“Understanding the effects of travel and tourism is all of our responsibility and critical to the long-term viability of our industry,” said IITA Chair Lena Ross, COO of America 4 You. “Toward that end we partner with several impactful organizations, including Tourism Cares, AIANTA – the American Indian Native Alaskan Travel Association, and Travel Unity, which were all with us in Salt Lake sharing their brain power.”

Information Sharing
The program focused attention on the many major events that will draw visitors from around the world over the next decade – FIFA World Cup, Route 66, Summer and Winter Olympics and more – and the opportunities they represent for the U.S. travel industry. In addition to forecasts on inbound travel growth by NTTO and Brand USA and the major events coming to America, education sessions featured sports tourism, indigenous tourism, the relationship between hotels and inbound operators, international youth travel, emerging markets, DEI, tourism readiness and the state of tourism education. 

Attendees also participated in open discussion Forums where they were first able to share opportunities and challenges within their categories (that is, sellers and inbound operators). A final Forum brought the groups together to share their discussions and identify commonalities to help IITA prioritize its agenda.

Like last year, the most important topic was the need for education, at all levels and throughout the industry. Recommendations included more supplier training, like the Steps to Success program, tour director training, working with high schools, vocational schools and colleges/universities to help align tourism education with the industry’s needs. 

IITA will review all Forum comments for consideration in its forthcoming budget and work plan. 

Announcements Made at Summit 2025

• IITA’s Inbound Insider Steps to Success program, powered by Alon Tourism Solutions, has a new online version for individuals to access the training at their own pace and convenience: Steps to Success Online.
• IITA will host an Inbound Operator Retreat in conjunction with its August Board meeting to have serious conversations about the future of the inbound industry. The Retreat will be hosted by the Greater Zion and Black Desert Resort in St. George, UT.
• Travel Unity and AIANTA (American Indian Alaska Native Travel Association), both IITA partners, signed an MOU to foster a more inclusive tourism industry, amplifying Indigenous voices across all facets of travel.
• HI USA (Hostelling International) shared preliminary results from a new global study on international youth travelers to the U.S. and announced a soon-to-be published report, Building Youth & Student Travel to the United States, which will be free to IITA members. (Click here to reserve your copy.)

IITA Board Actions
The Board of Directors and its Advisory Council met in Salt Lake City. Several guests joined the meeting to update the Board on their respective areas: Brian Beall, NTTO; Tyler Gosnell, US Travel; Ted Bravos, International Tour Management Institute, and Steve Richer, IITA’s DC Consultant. Here are a few actions taken during the meeting.

• Agreed to co-sign an op-ed with other tour associations – NTA, SYTA, ABA, UMA and USTOA – entitled “Strengthening Ties Through Travel: The Importance of U.S.-Canada Tourism” in an effort to share the thriving cross border travel and tourism industry between the U.S. and Canada.
• Agreed to support the National Park Conservation Association’s efforts to express concern to the White House, Secretary Burgum and Members of Congress in urging for an immediate hiring freeze exemption for national parks, particularly seasonal staff for the coming season.
• Established an Advocacy Committee, appointing Peter van Berkel as its chairman.
  
  

Check out some of our favorite moments from the Summit captured on film! 📷✨