No Countdown Just Yet

The question I am asked the most these days is, “Have you started counting down the days until retirement?” My response is always, “Are you kidding? There is too much to do!”

At the top of my agenda is planning for ABA’s 2025 Marketplace in Philadelphia, Feb. 1–4. During a recent visit to the city with my colleagues—Vicki Osman, vice president of meetings, events & education, and Lori Eison Howard, meeting sales manager—we explored the world-class Pennsylvania Convention Center, walkable downtown hotels, and venues like the Reading Terminal Market that will host the various events that take place during Marketplace. If you haven’t been to Philly in a while, you are in for a treat. It is a fantastic city with amazing architecture and a gritty, frenetic vibe that I love.

Easily accessible by bus, train, and plane, Philadelphia is ready to welcome Marketplace attendees on the eve of the 250th anniversary of America. I can’t think of a better place to kick off the sesquicentennial than in the birthplace of democracy. Learn more
about the exciting upcoming events, new museums, and hot tips for visitors in our cover story, “Come for Philadelphia. Stay for Philly,” written by the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau exclusively for Destinations.

Shortly after Marketplace registration opened on May 1, we had more than 300 operators sign up. Reserve your spot by registering today at marketplace.buses.org.

2024 is shaping up to be a very busy year. Congress and federal agencies continue to drive issues that will profoundly impact the motorcoach, tour, and travel industry. Whether it is access and fees for national parks, environmental mandates that will restrict the availability of diesel engines in California and potentially other states, labor and wage mandates that impact employees and employment, and more, the issues facing the industry never end.

The new buses.org website launched in April, and it is getting a lot of traction and positive feedback about its ease of use as compared to the old site. The weekly e-newsletters have changed as well under a new communications director, whose focus is on getting the right information to you where and when you want to receive it.

The ABA councils are all moving full speed ahead. The Hispanic Motorcoach Council meets in late May. The Women in Buses Council meets regularly with great webinars monthly. The Next Era Leadership Council had a fantastic kickoff at Marketplace and is developing content for the new industry leaders to help ensure successful planning, transition, and leadership.

In short, ABA is running hard and firing on all eight cylinders to serve its members. As my time at ABA winds down and I look ahead to retirement, I would like to thank everyone—and I mean everyone—for all they have done to make ABA successful and support my leadership of the association. None of what we accomplished would have happened without a great staff, a supportive and focused board of directors, and members who are the heart and soul of the association. Thank you all for allowing me to serve you for 28 years.

Sincerely,

PETER J. PANTUSO, CTIS 
President & CEO 
Follow Pete on Twitter at @PantusoPeter 
ppantuso@buses.org