This was not the show I anticipated. After attending in 2024 and having a great experience, I was very underwhelmed by a few things: 1. The quality of the hotel was not up to par. 2. There were only 17 tour planners to meet with and three of those were from MARS. There were probably five or less who were even remotely interested in offering new itineraries. In fact, one of the travel planners told me he only plans three trips a year and several told me they only do day trips. When it came time to create itineraries, let's just say it was lame at best.

It was great to meet new people. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming. The workshops and speakers today great job.. I found it very informative. I do believe for the first meet and greet when the suppliers and operators come together. It would’ve been nice to go around the room and introduce yourself.. It was too dark to read the badges.

Great show as usual! Made some new friends, connected with some old friends. I wish we could receive our appointment schedules in time to conduct some research on who we will be meeting with. That's my only suggestion to improve the conference.

This trip was well designed. The stops along the tour were pivotal sites in the struggle for civil rights in America and are well selected. The tour leader, Rue, added special points of interest to the general information that enhanced the enjoyment of the tour. I would attend any trip with Rue as the tour leader. She is an asset and an exceptional selection for this tour. The hotels were mostly satisfactory. One hotel was below my expectation for comfort on a trip of this caliber. There needs to be a little variety in the food offerings for dinner night after night.

The tour offered many excellent sites but the schedule was overly ambitious and not realistic for a group our size. The tour director did not read the group well, made itinerary decisions without consulting our own leaders, and neglected to confirm reservation times and locations, meal set-ups, or visitor restrictions (are cameras allowed? bags permitted? what size?). Despite these problems, the tour was a powerful, educational, and moving experience.