Barbados, the easternmost Caribbean island, located in the Lesser Antilles just northeast of Venezuela, has always been known for its top-notch resorts, tropical weather and beautiful beaches. But there is much more to a Barbados vacation that you can suggest to your clients. T...
Barbados, the easternmost Caribbean island, located in the Lesser Antilles just northeast of Venezuela, has always been known for its top-notch resorts, tropical weather and beautiful beaches. But there is much more to a Source: Agent@Home / © 2009 Performance Media Group
By Doris & Phil Davidoff
“There’s an island across the sea. Beautiful Kauai, beautiful Kauai. And it’s calling, just calling to me. Beautiful Kauai, beautiful Kauai.” These lyrics, from the song by Randy Farden titled “Beautiful Kauai,” evoke the ultimate in natural beauty, which can be found throughout the
By David Cogswell
Indaba, the African travel trade show, grew bigger in 2008, with a 25 percent increase in buyers and a 37 percent increase in international visitors. The third-largest travel trade show in the world, after ITB and World Travel Market, Indaba is focused only on Africa inbound tourism, which makes ...
By James Ruggia
As the third largest island in the Caribbean, at about the size of Connecticut, the appeal of Jamaica extends far beyond its beaches, thanks to its mountainous interior, rain forests, and more than 100 rivers and waterfalls. Culturally, Jamaica
By Carol Canter
Over the past two years Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo has experienced major changes that have helped it become a favorite two-in-one Pacific coast destination. Kor Hotel Group’s entry into the market with the purchase of Villa del Sol, a Small Luxury Hotel and for decades Zihua’s only high-end hotel, was major change. ...
By Barbara Beckley
Just a 45-minute plane flight from French Polynesia’s capital of Papeete, the island of Bora Bora offers white sand beaches, emerald peaks and turquoise lagoons, making it a favorite for romance and relaxation. New excursions, entertaining restaurants, and new and newly renovated resorts – including one with an ...
By David Cogswell
With fuel prices soaring, the value of the dollar plunging and consumer confidence wavering, the travel industry is mired in strange and challenging territory. But to (QUOTE OR PARAPHRASE??)Nelson Mandela, no challenge we face can be greater than what we have already accomplished. Travel agents ...
By Kerry Medina
Despite the sluggish U.S. economy, hotel companies around the world still count the group market as a key component of their sales. Groups aren’t exactly small change for travel agents either, but this business certainly requires more time and effort than hotel bookings for most individual travelers. From finding group ...
By Doris & Phil Davidoff
The best and easiest way for travel agents working from home to compete with large brick-and-mortar and online travel agencies is by focusing on group travel. This will result in greater profits with less frustration. An organized process for selling and operating groups is essential for assuring satisfied clients and ...
By John Severini
Selling a successful group is quite different from just being in the group selling business. What’s the difference? Ask any agent who has spent hours of time, effort and hard dollars in promoting a group only to find that the work and sweat equity didn’t produce the type of ...
By James Ruggia
In 1957 Arthur Frommer published the iconic guide, “Europe on $5 A Day.” There are times these days when we’d be happy to enjoy Europe at $5 a minute! Still, there’s a lot of wisdom in that old book, and Frommer’s tips are often as applicable today ...
By Doris and Phil Davidoff
A newspaper reporter once asked the famous bank robber Willy Sutton why he robbed banks. His answer was simple – “It’s where the money is.” When asked why travel agents should sell groups, our answer is the same – “It’s where the money is!”
Travel agents ...
By Jeff Miller
Over the last several years most segments of the travel agency community, including agents working from home, have made a concerted effort to expand their marketing to include group business. This is primarily due to the enhanced revenue available for selling such travel, along with the fact that it is ...
By Anita Pagliasso
Don’t you get tired of everyone wanting the cheapest deals? The next time one of your clients asks for that bargain trip let them know that you can arrange free travel for them to any destination or cruise of their choice. Who doesn’t want to travel for free? This is ...
By Mimi Kmet
Selling Las Vegas should be like selling any other destination, right? Well, yes and no. Yes, you have to know the product; and it helps to market the destination to groups and sell optional tours. And no, because the product is so unique and diverse, and because it ...
By Stacey Zable
If you missed the “live” Virtual Home Based Expo last month, you can still be a part of it at www.VirtualHomeBasedExpo.com. The two-day event, which ran June 5-6 and had an estimated 8,000 agents registered at press time and more ...
By Stacy H. Small
I’ve always believed that you need to differentiate yourself from the pack in order to be successful. Thus, it was quite refreshing to travel to the other side of the world (New Zealand) and hear the country’s top tourism executives expound on this point.
By Kelley Sexton
“Dear Travel Agent, I am the representative for Dr. Johanes Martin, a missionary in Ghana. Please arrange first-class air tickets on ABC Airways from Accra to Hong Kong.”
Does that message sound familiar? I get at least one a week. What’s their ...
By Mike Daly
I awoke this morning before daybreak to a knock on the swinging door of our hut in the Timbavati Nature Reserve. It was Jimmy, our driver and safari guide. I didn’t know before I arrived in South Africa that this would be the way I’d start every day ...
By Suzanne Slavitter
It’s time to go back to basics. Let me first take a moment to tell you about my background since I’ve spent my 20-year career speaking to travel agents about marketing and selling niche products. As the co-owner of Sports Empire Inc., I spend each day working with travel agents ...
By Larry Pimentel
If you have been reading this column you know that in recent months it has focused on the spending patterns of affluent travelers in this fragile economy that many of the so-called pundits say is “tanking.” You will also recall that two earlier columns dealt with the results of ...
By Kate Rice
Kirsten Chute, owner of Hinsdale, Ill.-based Cruises for Families, took advantage of becoming a parent and the advent of the Internet to build a group cruise business that focuses on family. She uses a two-pronged marketing strategy—combining the Internet, and local schools and children’s programs—to build a business that ...
By Jane Jamison
The new Puerto Rico Travel Expert (PRTE) program, completely revised and expanded, is now available at www.TravelAgentAcademy.com. The PRTE program shows you how Puerto Rico can fill the vacation, meetings and convention needs of just about every client, and why they must “Explore Beyond the Shore” to discover ...
By Penney Rudicil
I love technology and learning about new products and services available. Although I feel as though I use what I consider to be the newest and most up-to-date technology, I enjoy hearing from you about the products you use. What follows are some of your most recent questions and comments, ...
By Kate Rice
Good old-fashioned word of mouth in the best way to build business, experts agree. There is no recommendation like that of a friend referring you to someone, saying you have served him or her well.
Word of mouth used to be a face-to-face or telephone-to-telephone phenomenon. But ...
By Mimi Kmet
River cruising is on the rise, as clients continue to thirst for new travel experiences. In fact, river cruising grew more than 50 percent last year over the previous year, according to the United States Tour Operator Association. Though the sheer numbers are small compared with the cruise industry in ...