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Focus on Short-Term Group Travel
Holiday greetings from MTS TRAVEL! We enjoy helping
so many of you with
travel arrangements for your short-term teams. Please
be aware of some major
concerns we have for group air travel in 2005. The
airlines are closely
monitoring how many seats they allocate for group
travel on each flight.
Travel demand is up, and many airlines are also using
fewer planes on
international routes, so that the flights are fuller. All
this translates
into potential difficulties in finding lower airfares for
your teams. Delays
in making your travel plans could result in airfares that
are hundreds of
dollars more expensive than expected, or worse yet, no
space available to
the destinations where you wish to serve. Please
decide quickly which dates
you wish to travel and contact MTS TRAVEL for quote
requests. If you are an
existing MTS TRAVEL client, please click here to
choose the office that normally serves you. If you
have not worked with MTS
TRAVEL before, please click here to use our MissionFare
Sampler. Thank you!
| Featured Tour - Footsteps of Moses - April 8-23, 2005 |
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Retrace the steps of Moses in this fascinating
voyage
through Jordan and Egypt.
Click here for a full itinerary
Click here to see more tours
from MTS TRAVEL.
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Spotlight on... MTS TRAVEL Offices
Greenville, Mississippi |
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Joining MTS TRAVEL in October 2002, Mainstream
Travel has been in business
since 1965. It is the only full-service travel agency
located in Greenville,
Mississippi. Greenville is located along the levee in the
heart of the
Mississippi Delta, the home of the blues.
With over 100 years of combined experience, the seven
Travel Consultants
specialize in leisure, corporate and group travel. By
joining MTS TRAVEL,
the Greenville office has become a member of the
exclusive vacations
consortium, Virtuoso. The team has also added a new
member to focus on MTS
TRAVEL's specialty of church, mission, relief and
development travel.
Manager Saundra Lane brings 13 years of travel
experience to her leadership
role. If you're ever in the Greenville area, stop by the
office and the
friendly staff can direct you to the best steak and
seafood restaurant in
town, if not in the entire south!
More »
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| Sneak Preview - 2006 Choir Competition in Oberammergau, Germany |
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MTS TRAVEL is working with German tourism authorities
and the mayor of Oberammergau to arrange this
unique event on the stage of the world renowned
Passion Play. If your church, high school or college
choir would have potential interest in competing, please
contact Cindi Brodhecker at
cindib@mtstravel.com
or 800-418-2929 ext 81383.
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| Featured Link: Transportation Security Administration |
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In this month's featured link we introduce you
to "Transportation Security Administration" This
section links you to the latest Transportation Security
Administration information.
Want to know the recent changes to passenger
screening or the security checkpoint wait time
at your airport. Answers to these and many
other questions can be found in this beneficial
section. Go to www.mtstravel.com and click on
Travel Links, then on Air Travel, and then
TSA Security Guidelines or Click here to
explore on your own.
CST 2013363-40
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| Six Essentials for Short-Term Missions Leaders |
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You have an eager group of qualified
volunteers ready to accomplish their one-week,
two-week, or one-month mission
assignment. What steps are necessary to book travel,
get passports and visas,
and make sure they take the proper health
precautions? Here are some practical
"How Tos", to help your short-term missions program
run more smoothly.
How To. . .
- Find low airfares.
You may receive a
reduced price per traveler if you
book 10 or more on identical flights. Sometimes you'll
get one free ticket for
every 15 to 30 purchased.
It's best to allow a reputable travel agency to
negotiate with the airline for you-preferably an agency
that specializes in missionary travel, MTS TRAVEL has
been booking
foreign travel to developing countries for our clients for
over 45 years.
- Deal with foreign air carrier schedules.
(or
non-schedules!) Travel via commercial aircraft within
developing countries can
be quite different from U.S. domestic flights! Just
because your seats are booked
and the flight is scheduled to leave at a certain time,
don't count on it! Be
patient and courteous with airline workers. This is not
the USA "instant"
culture. Strident complaining will accomplish little-
except to call attention
to traveling Americans.
- Allow ample time for passport and visa
issuance.
Passport - For a first-time passport
application, a citizen
must appear at the nearest passport agency or county
court with the following:
- Birth Certificate, original with raised seal.
- Driver's license, or positive ID containing
photo, signature and
physical description. Without a positive ID, you must
appear with a witness
who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien who
has known you
for at least two years. Your witness must prove his or
her identity and
complete and sign an Affidavit of Identifying Witness.
- Photos, two identical passport-size
photos. Don't submit
your own or use vending machines. They will be
rejected. Get
several extra photos per person-especially if your
workers need visas.
- Check for $55 for those 16 years+
(passport validity 10 years, renewal fee $55); $40 for
those under 16 (passport
validity 5 years; no renewal-must reapply). Your local
passport agency or
county courthouse will also levy a $30 execution
fee.
Once all of the above are submitted, passport
issuance usually takes four to six weeks.
More Info »
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