President's Message
By now, you’ve seen lots of amazing full-color photos -- in the “OSSN Daily” newsletter, and in the members-only section of OSSN.com – capturing the excitement of the OSSN 2007 Spring Conference in India.

Incredible India!
By OSSN President & Founder Gary M. Fee

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What these pictures can’t fully communicate, though, is the incredible diversity and energy and chaos that is India today. We experienced the sights and sounds that travelers to India tell stories about long after they’ve returned home: the overloaded mopeds and taxis coursing through the streets, the ever-present smiles greeting us along the way, the outstanding food . . .

As travel agents, we focused a lot of our energy on absorbing the wonders of India’s “Golden Triangle.” In New Delhi, we toured the city’s old and new quarters and learned the basics of selling this destination from the experts with India Tourism. Then, we journeyed to Agra for a Kathak dance performance and an early-morning visit to the famed Taj Mahal. Later, we moved on to Jaipur (India’s “Pink City”) for tours of the Amber Fort, the City Palace, and the Royal Observatory. Plus, we enjoyed a marvelous elephant polo match and dinner in Jaipur before our return to New Delhi. (Many of us added on the extension to Udaipur at the end of the basic conference.)

And, throughout the trip, we recuperated each evening in five-star hotels at every stop!

One hundred eight OSSN agents participated in the India conference -- a record number of home-based travel agents visiting this exotic destination. So far, we’ve not received a single complaint from these agents about their experience, and that alone speaks volumes about the quality of this trip.

On behalf of OSSN, I’d like to give another round of thanks to our gracious hosts and sponsors for the conference: the India Ministry of Tourism; Amit Kashore and his colleagues at Eastbound (the ground operators); our friends at Taj Hotels, Palaces, and Resorts and at The Oberoi Group; Andy Vhatia and his staff at Air India; and Henry Kartagener at Kartagener Associates, Inc.

Believe it or not, it’s now time to focus on the next OSSN international conferences!

For fall 2007, Melody is already working on plans for a trip to Greece that will combine a cruise with a land stay. And, for 2008, we’ll circulate a survey this summer to OSSN agents asking your opinions of five different destinations that could host upcoming trips. Watch the “OSSN Daily” for further updates.

If you didn’t take advantage of the recent trip to India, you missed a life-changing experience that’s tough to duplicate by clicking through our online photos. We invite you to join us this fall in Greece – and in other exotic ports of call next year – so that you’ll have exciting stories to share with your clients who want to expand their own travel horizons!

(Credits: OSSN)