Have you ever taken 200 people around the world, to a country that for the majority, speaks no English? Us either.
Our trips normally average close to 50 people, so back in July when we learned we had the ability to take 100 people to China this April we were a bit surprised at the increased availability. We were even more surprised when all 100 of those seats were booked within 45 days and we had a waiting list that was ever-growing.
"Hey Leo, can we have an additional 50 seats added to our trip this year?" our president, Joe Unterreiner asked the representative for our travel agency, Citslic.
150 People are now coming with us to China. Crazy right? It get's better.
The fall is our busy season where schedules are jammed packed with events like Flathead Manufacturing Day, the Timber Tour and Small Business Saturday. Needless to say, with 150 people already signed up for our trip, marketing the thing more was the last thing on our minds.
"Hey Leo, can we add another 50 seats to our trip this year?" 200 people coming to China with us - WHAT?!
Fortunately with every 30 seats we sold to our passengers we were given the privilege of bringing a staff member for assistance overseas. Joe and the director of our Convention and Visitor Bureau, Diane, were already scheduled to go on the trip. It wasn't long before Joe called our Administrative Services Manager, Katie and I into his office to tell us we'll be flying to China in 6 months.
While Katie and I were (and still are) extremely excited, the idea of taking 200 people around the world and the logistics of the whole thing was definitely daunting.
Over the following weeks it was all-hands-on-deck in the office to collect 200 passports, complete Chinese visa applications, schedule 200 plane tickets, organize travel groups and stay on top of our normal day-to-day Chamber projects.
Needless to say we're definitely well-versed in everything about this trip. We even took a Chinese Travel Vocabulary class at Flathead Valley Community College for four weeks.
Now we are 14 days away from being wheels up and on our way to Beijing and really couldn't be more excited.
Wish us luck!
-Kate Lufkin, Marketing and Communications Specialist for the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce
Kate has been with the Kalispell Chamber since August 2015, prior to which she was a competitive equestrian. Kate graduated from The University of Montana in 2013 with two bachelor degrees in Marketing and Management as well as an Organizational Communications minor and Entertainment Management certificate. Go Griz!
Follow along with our trip to China via this blog. We'll be posting daily updates, photos and features of our trip, including a special evening with Ambassador Baucus.
