Benefits of SYTA Membership:
The Student & Youth Travel Association of North America (SYTA) is the non-profit professional association that represents the interests of student and youth travel. Our association works to set standards and to help students, parents and educators experience the social and educational value of travel. SYTA creates business opportunities for our members and brings them together to help create a better environment for students and youth. We are the voice of the student & youth travel industry. Active members include tour operators and travel agents. Associate members include hotels, restaurants, attractions, airlines, convention & visitors bureaus, associations, and others.
Raising Standards:
SYTA's high standards for membership are making our organization the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" in the student/youth travel industry. Everyone benefits from high standards - increased trust on the part of students, parents & educators in planning trips leads inevitably to more student travelers. Our insurance and consumer protection requirements protect you and your customers.
Recognition:
SYTA has begun an aggressive public relations campaign to put our "brand" and the standards that our brand represents before the public and end users. SYTA promotes and mails a referral list of our approved Active members to students, parents & educators to help them in planning their trips. Wouldn't you like to see your company's name on that exclusive list? And, of course, only SYTA members can use the SYTA logo - the symbol of quality and professionalism that student-trip planners are looking for when planning a trip.
Student & Youth Traveler Magazine:
SYTA has its own quarterly student travel magazine that is mailed to Middle Schools, High Schools and College campuses in the United States and Canada.
Member to Member Discounts:
SYTA member companies offer over 100 free or discounted benefits exclusively to each other: Tickets to museums, attractions, skiing or discounted travel, hotels, restaurants are just a few of the opportunities SYTA offers within our membership.
Consumer Education:
SYTA publishes free brochures on travel safety tips and information on planning student/youth trips. An educated consumer is a smart shopper who looks for quality and safety - the kind of quality and consumer protection that SYTA's membership criteria represent.
Member Education:
SYTA provides informative educational workshops and speakers at our conventions. The educational opportunities at our conventions prepare our members for success.
Networking:
SYTA events - the annual Convention and Trade Show and the annual Summer Get-Together - provide opportunities to network in an informal, friendly fashion that promotes business friendships - the kind of relationships that last and provide more lasting business opportunities. Our Member-to-Member Directory facilitates this communication between events.
Collective Voice:
SYTA is the organization that represents the specific interests of our segment of travel before legislative and regulatory bodies. This benefit of membership will continue to grow as our organization grows.
Industry Education:
SYTA provides workshops that educate hotels, restaurants, attractions and DMOs about the benefits of serving the student & youth industry and the best way to meet the needs of students & youth. SYTA-educated supplier companies and organizations are willing and able to meet the needs of student/youth tour operators - SYTA tells them who you are, what you need and how they will benefit by working with you.
Business Development:
SYTA members can obtain leads generated by our presence at educator's conferences at special low rates; members can receive direct links from the SYTA homepage to theirs; SYTA acts as a call-in service for students, parents and educators seeking quality travel services. SYTA is the only organization that serves the same people our members serve - students, parents and educators - and works to bring these groups together. SYTA's work creates trust for our organization among potential customers, and this trust extends to our members.
These benefits are the reason that SYTA continues to grow; the reason that we have become the voice for our segment of the industry. If you qualify for membership, we invite you to join your voice with ours - as together we help set high standards for our segment of the industry, promote quality student and youth travel, and provide abundant opportunities to help you grow your business. Joining SYTA is the right thing to do - and it's a good business decision.
