The Premier Community for Educational Travel Planners
Developing meaningful travel programs for alumni, members, donors, lifelong learners, and mission-driven audiences requires specialized expertise, trusted partnerships, and thoughtful program design. ETC provides the professional community, industry insights, and practical resources to help you create educational travel experiences that are operationally strong, culturally meaningful, and aligned with your institution’s mission.
Group Travel Programs for
Alumni, Museums, and Nonprofits
Higher Ed
& ALUMNI
MUSEUMS, ZOOS,
GARDENS & AQUARIUMS
CONSERVATION
& NONPROFIT
Group Travel Programs for
Alumni, Museums, and Nonprofits
Travel planners within the ETC community are the professionals responsible for developing and managing educational and affinity travel programs on behalf of universities, museums, alumni associations, conservation organizations, cultural institutions, and nonprofit organizations. Their work sits at the intersection of program design, institutional stewardship, donor and alumni engagement, and partnership development.
Unlike traditional leisure travel, these programs are often mission-driven and audience-specific – designed for alumni, members, donors, lifelong learners, or highly engaged communities seeking intellectually meaningful and culturally grounded experiences. Travel planners must navigate complex institutional considerations including insurance requirements, faculty or study leader coordination, traveler expectations, operational logistics, and long-term relationship management with trusted operators and destinations.
ETC provides a dedicated professional community where planners can exchange best practices, discuss emerging challenges, discover new destinations and partners, benchmark their programs against peers, and strengthen the specialized skills required to lead successful educational travel programs.
“ETC is my continuing education – how I develop my career path. The quality of speakers helps me grow and it is my access to the world of travel beyond alumni networks.
I consider ETC as an essential part of my annual professional development goals and include it yearly in my performance reviews and goal setting. IUAA encourages and supports its professional staff to seek out ongoing professional development. IUAA’s leadership values my involvement with ETC.”
Bill Bennett
Director of Alumni Travel
Indiana University Alumni Association
Group Travel Programs for
Alumni, Museums, and Nonprofits
Build Trusted Partnerships: Connect with experienced tour operators, destinations, hotels, and industry partners who understand the operational and educational priorities of affinity and institutional travel programs.
Strengthen & Grow Your Program: Learn from peers and industry experts about traveler engagement, program positioning, budgeting, recruitment strategies, and approaches for building sustainable long-term travel programs.
Learn from a Community of Peers: Exchange ideas, itineraries, operational insights, and best practices with a collaborative network of travel planners facing many of the same opportunities and challenges.
Navigate Risk & Institutional Complexity: Stay informed on evolving considerations related to traveler safety, insurance expectations, institutional compliance, and crisis management in an increasingly complex global environment.
Elevate Your Program:
Educational Travel Planner Certification
- Professional Recognition: Gain professional recognition within the highly specialized field of educational and affinity travel.
- Program Management & Risk: Build practical expertise in program management, risk mitigation, traveler experience, and institutional collaboration.
- Peer Learning & Industry Exchange: Learn directly from experienced leaders across universities, museums, alumni associations, and nonprofit travel programs.
- Educational Travel Program Design: Develop the knowledge and tools to create travel experiences that are educationally meaningful, operationally sound, and culturally grounded.
“I received my Educational Travel Planner Certification through the Educational Travel Consortium (ETC).
Through this training, I have gained the skills and best practices essential for success as a nonprofit educational travel planner, enabling me to effectively create and manage the travel program at my museum.”
Jared Scherer,
Director, Donor Experience & Travel
California Academy of Science
Year Round Member Programming
WORKSHOPS
Interactive virtual learning sessions focused on practical skills, operational training, and professional development for educational and affinity travel professionals.
ROUNDTABLES
In-person, facilitated half-day learning and discussion gatherings designed for deeper peer exchange, strategic conversations, and collaborative problem-solving.
MEMBER
MEET-UPS
Informal, member-led virtual gatherings organized around shared interests, regions, roles, or emerging topics within the educational travel community.
FORUMS
Facilitated virtual conversations focused on a specific issue, trend, challenge, or emerging topic affecting the educational and affinity travel sector.
Hear From Our Members...
Fast-Track Your Travel Program with ETC Jumpstart
Whether you are launching a new program, recently took on travel responsibilities at your institution, or are pursuing your Educational Travel Planner Certification, Jumpstart is your gateway. Build true confidence and competence through virtual training, an intensive in-person pre-conference seminar, and year-long direct 1-on-1 mentorship from seasoned peers.
How to Maximize Your First ETC Conference
“To a person who’s a first-time attendee, I say become a real ETC junkie. Go to all the sessions. Get up and get to the early breakfast because you’ll learn a lot there and you’ll meet folks. Visit the marketplace. Make sure you get around and introduce yourself to
the vendors and to all the programs that are there.
The more you get involved, it’s like anything else in life the more you will take away.”
Jean Anne Hattler
Director of Alumni Travel Program
Duquesne University