Trailblazing TTRA: 50 Years of Tourism Research Excellence

Membership History

Membership in TRA was primarily industry people in the east, with most from New York and Washington D. C. Membership totaled about 150. WCTR was composed of directors of university bureaus of economic and business research, state highway directors, state travel offices, and other users and producers of travel research. The tourism industry had just begun to show an interest in this travel research organization, with various sectors asking to be members. WCTR’s membership likewise numbered about 150. Also, the Canadian travel industry had shown a decided interest in WCTR with a number of members, a WCTR president, and Canadian board members.

After deciding to become one organization, selecting a name was difficult. Much discussion took place as the eastern group name, Travel Research Association, seemed to be perfect, but something different was needed. After much discussion, the founders chose The Travel Research Association (TTRA) as the new organization’s name. Two councils functioned under the TTRA name— ECTR for the eastern group and WCTR for the western group. To be a TTRA member, an individual joined one of the councils, which was awkward as people simply wanted to join TTRA. Salt Lake City, Utah, was selected as the headquarters, with Mari Lou Wood as the secretary-treasurer. Housed in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Utah, the newly created organization began a stay that would last 23 years.

After a period of operating as two councils under the TTRA banner, it became clear that the organization needed to become one in name, purpose, activities, publications, membership, and so forth, and truly merge. This happened at the 1971 conference when the two councils transferred all assets into the TTRA common base. The ECTR group elected to continue with its luncheon functions and became the New York Chapter of TTRA. At the same time, the Canadian members began discussing the possibility of forming a Canada chapter, which they did. Many of the active members on the West Coast, in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas, also began discussing becoming chapters. In 1972, the merging of the two organizations was complete, with TTRA operating as one organization. The name was changed to the Travel and Tourism Research Association.

In addition to hundreds of individuals who gave so much time and effort to create TTRA, two universities (the University of Utah and the University of Colorado) played an important part in TTRA’s origin, history, and success.

Success Factors

The success of TTRA is due to the dedication of its members, who are committed to advancing the field of tourism research. TTRA provides a forum for researchers to share their findings, learn from each other, and collaborate on research projects. The organization also bridges academia and the tourism industry, facilitating knowledge transfer from research to practice.