SKAL Thinks Out of the Box for 2013 World Congress in New York

SKÅL International’s 2013 World Congress will be hosted by the New York City SKAL Chapter between 28 September and 5 October 2013.

It will be the first time the Congress, which is expected to attract over 1,200 travel industry delegates from around the globe, has been based in New York since 1955, and the first time held in the United States since 1994.

“We are extremely honored to have been selected as the coordinator of this Congress,” said John Ruzich, former New York Club President and present SKÅL International Auditor. “Our goal is to ensure that these travel industry executives, coming mostly from overseas, have a positive experience in New York, so they continue to recommend our city as a destination to the millions of travelers’ itineraries they influence every year.”

Making SKÅL International’s 74th Congress even more unique is the fact that it will be the first to be held at sea. The Carnival Cruise ship Glory will be the site for the actual association meetings and member networking.

Mr. Ruzich and an active organizing committee have been working closely with the leadership of SKÅL International, which is headquartered in Spain, to ensure every aspect of the Congress makes it an event to remember. The “Glory” will leave and return from New York City with ports-of-call in Boston, MA, Portland, ME, Saint John, NB Canada and Halifax, NS Canada. Daytrips are being arranged at each stop, as are pre/post tours within New York City and the region.

“A major advantage of having the 2013 SKÅL Congress starting and ending in New York is that attendees will also have the opportunity to arrange meetings with the many New York-based travel partners,” said Paul Kastner, current President of the Skål New York Chapter.

SKÅL International New York was the first chapter in North America and will be celebrating its 75th Anniversary during the Congress. Many of the Club’s members will be providing Congress attendees incentives to visit their businesses and attractions while in the City as tourism is an important part of their annual revenue. Non-SKÅL companies who wish to reach this audience must first become a Club member.

SKÅL International’s World Congress is an annual meeting of representatives from the association’s 450 Clubs throughout 85 nations with approximately 20,000 professional members.

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