April Matters: What We’ve Delivered and What Comes Next
Delivering real value to member businesses and staying focused on the issues that matter
April matters.
It is one of the most important months for ABA – Marketplace registration opens up, and our bus and tour operator members renew for the year ahead. This naturally then becomes the time to step back and measure what your association is delivering.
Our members are the foundation of ABA, and my focus for you is straightforward: deliver real value to your business and stay focused on the issues that matter most.
This work is not abstract. It is about helping you run a stronger company, protect your margins, create new revenue, and compete in a market that continues to shift. As we look at the progress of the past year and the work still ahead, I want to be clear about where ABA is delivering and why that matters to your business.
Marketplace Is Driving Real Revenue
Marketplace is one of the strongest examples.
Our latest independent research shows that attendees generated $124.9 million in booked business, with returns reaching up to 20 times the cost of attendance. For bus and tour operators, that translated to $49.2 million in bookings, or roughly $124,000 per operator.
That matters because Marketplace is built around how this industry actually does business. Pre-scheduled appointments bring the right buyers to the table, and the event’s structure is designed to turn those conversations into contracts. In a competitive market, operators need more than visibility. They need results. Marketplace continues to produce them.
We Are Taking On the Insurance Crisis
We are also taking on the insurance crisis with the seriousness it demands.
Insurance remains one of the most pressing challenges facing operators today. The ABA Foundation is leading one of the largest studies on this issue, so we can bring real data to a problem that has been discussed for too long without enough evidence to drive change.
At the same time, we are developing a new operations-focused event centered on safety, maintenance, and regulatory alignment. The goal is practical: give operators better tools to manage risk, control costs, and strengthen their position in a tougher operating environment.
Advocacy That Lowers Your Costs
Advocacy continues to deliver direct bottom-line value.
Over the past year, our advocacy team delivered more than $100 million in savings for operators by reducing tariff rates. That is not symbolic. That is a real financial impact that affects fleet planning, equipment decisions, and business confidence.
A recent court ruling may now allow companies to recover duties that have already been paid. We are working to make sure operators understand the opportunity and have a clear path to act. That is what it means to have an association working for you every day. We are not just tracking policy. We are working to produce outcomes.
Elevating Your Role in the National Parks
We recently brought the voice of bus and group travel directly into conversations at the White House around National Park fee structures. The goal is simple: make sure policies do not price operators out or limit access for the traveling public.
Too often, motorcoaches are overlooked in these discussions. We are changing that by making the case that operators are essential to access, mobility, and the visitor experience across our public lands.
Pushing Back on Costly Idling Rules
The same is true of costly, uneven regulation.
In cities like New York, operators are facing aggressive enforcement of idling laws that raise costs, create operational challenges, and put drivers in difficult positions. ABA is actively leading the opposition. We are making the case that motorcoaches are part of the environmental solution, not the problem, while working to stop harmful policies before they spread to other markets.
The Return on Your Membership
This is all part of a larger point.
Membership has to deliver a measurable return.
For most operators, ABA delivers an annual financial impact of $225,000 to $300,000 through a combination of cost savings, revenue generation, and in-house support that would otherwise require significant outside expenses. For the cost of your membership dues, that is a meaningful return.
Staying Focused on What Comes Next
Everything we do is centered on one goal: building stronger bus companies and a stronger group travel industry.
The past year showed what focused work can produce. It also made clear that there is more to do. Cost pressures remain real. Regulatory challenges are not going away. Operators still need stronger business opportunities, better tools, and a louder voice.
That is the work ABA is committed to for the rest of this year and beyond.
We will keep building programs that create revenue. We will keep fighting policies that raise costs. We will keep investing in advocacy, operations, safety, and research that strengthen your business and reinforce the role of motorcoaches in the broader travel economy.
Now is when we recommit to that work.
Stay in the fight with us as we grow and protect the bus and group travel industry.
