About Us

ABOUT NAJ and TheTourOperator.com

TheTourOperator.com, the Travel Planner's Best Friend.

TheTourOperator.com (formerly VisitNAJ.com) is produced by North American Journeys, Inc. which has been marketing incoming tourism to North America since 1992 through a variety of specialized events and publishing projects.

TheTourOperator.com (North American Journeys) is the only travel site designed to be used by international, domestic and receptive tour operators, travel media, and travel agents researching new ideas for products.

Our Team

Jacob "Jake"Steinman , Founder and CEO, North American Journeys... In 1992, Steinman launched Active America, the forerunner to North American Journeys, following an 18-year career as co-founder and publisher of City Sports,  a chain of regional sports and recreation travel magazines. In addition to his duties as president and C.E.O. of  www.thetouroperator.com and North American Journeys, Steinman is the Editor-in-Chief of two industry newsletters—Inbound and The Destination Marketer—as well as chairman of Active America Travel Summit, E-Tourism Summit, and NAJ Tour Operators Summits West and East.  E-mail: jake@visitnaj.com

Sofia Williamsson, Director of Operations, has overseen the production and coordination of all material on TheTourOperator.com.
E-mail: sofia@visitnaj.com

Liz Porter, Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, built a successful apparel company with a partner, which she sold prior to entering the travel industry. As Director of Marketing for a hotel management company based in Northern California, she directed advertising and marketing and has served in an advisory capacity to tourism boards leading press tours for international journalists coming to the U.S.

Tom Berrigan, Editor At Large. For nearly 15 years, Berrigan was communications director for the Travel Industries Association of America, producers of Pow Wow. He has been editing Inbound and The Destination Marketer and assisting in moderating NAJ conference events since 2000.
E-mail: tmberrigan@aol.com

Don Langley, NAJ Newsletter Associate Editor. Don Langley has written extensively on the subject of travel forthe past twelve years. As editor of Travel Trade, and a regular contributor to several consumer and trade publications, Langley brings a vast wealth of travel expertise to the industry.

Nancy Windesheim, Director of Design , whose career has spanned over 20 years of award winning design, has provided art direction for all of NAJ projects for the past 11 years and is a principal in Windesheim Design Company.

Leslie Straw, Web site Design Director, has extensive experience in design technology and has been critical in designing thetouroperator.com.

Zoey. Director of Homeland Security. (Résumé upon request) While Australian Shepards are known for their gentle nature, Zoe mutates into a Pit Bull when unwelcome solicitors happen by the office or she isn't fed by 5:30pm.

TOUR OPERATOR TRAINING AND OUTREACH
www.thetouroperator.com contracts with highly regarded, experienced industry representatives to train and promote our website and clients in various countries.

UNITED KINGDOM: Jo Young, Lofthouse Enterprises, jyoung@visitnaj.com .

JAPAN : Parmesh Bhatt, JCN Inc, . E-Mail: bhatt@inter.net

GERMANY: Axel Kaus, Kaus Media Services. E-mail: akaus@kaus.info

LOS ANGELES RECEPTIVE TRAINING: : Tere Stamoulis, The Stamoulis Group, . E-mail: tere.sam@verizon.net

NEW YORK RECEPTIVE TRAINING: TBA

NAJ PUBLISHING PROJECTS

North American Journeys (Established 1998) An annual tour planning directory and companion piece to TheTourOperator.com sent to qualified domestic and international tour operators containing editorial related to destinations, attractions, events, accommodations, and packaging trends edited for the professional travel planner.

Inbound, (Established 1996), a bi-weekly fax newsletter covering news, trends, and research on the leading inbound tourism markets. Target audience: North American-based destinations, suppliers and receptive tour operators. Subscription Fee: $275 per year.

The Destination Marketer, (Formerly Travel America, Established 2001), a bi-weekly fax newsletter which offers news, trends, and analysis of the domestic tourism marketplace. Subscription Fee: $260 per year.

The NAJ Newsletter, a monthly online newsletter located at www.TheTourOperator.com, which covers trends and news about suppliers, destinations and receptive operators.

EVENTS AND CONFERENCES

Active America Travel Summit (established 1992). A destination development conference for the Japan inbound tourism market that brings together top Japanese tour operators with invited suppliers and destinations to develop new tour opportunities. April 17-19, 2008, Marriott Renaissance Detroit Hotel, Detroit, MI. For more information, visit www.activeamerica.net

E-Tourism Summit. A travel industry conference and marketplace that will focus on e-commerce and marketing international tourism. Attendees will include suppliers such as airlines, rent a car companies, hotels, attractions etc, as well as destination marketing organizations. 8th Annual E-Tourism Summit: Nov. 8-9, 2007, Mark Hopkins Hotel, San Francisco, CA. For more information, please visit www.etourismsummit.com.

NAJ Tour Operator Summit West/East: . A marketplace and conference bringing together west coast/east coast tour operators with destinations and suppliers. NAJ Summit West: Feb. 11-12, 2008, Hilton LAX, Los Angeles CA: NAJ Summit East: June 16-17, 2008, Holiday Inn Midtown, NYC. For more information, go to www.najsummit.com