|  | | Scandinavia
| | With the seat of the cruise industry firmly entrenched in europe, it was only a matter of time before northern europe, particularly scandinavia, would become a hotbed for cruise vacations. | |  |
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| Identifying Agents
| | Home-Based Travel Agent | | The Travel Agency industry must grasp control of its own destiny and determine its own future—including how professional travel agents are defined and identified, says Bruce Bishins, president of the Travel Retailer Identification Program (TRIP). |
| | Jennifer Byrne
| | Home-Based Travel Agent | | When agents tell their stories of how they got in the business, a burgeoning love of travel at a young age usually tops the list. However, few agents can say that initial love of travel extended so far as to rating the digs of competing suppliers. "As a kid, when I would go on a family vacation I always wanted to see all of the other hotels in the area," says Jennifer Byrne of The Tropical Travelers in Malvern, PA. |
| | Creating the Perfect Pitch
| | Home-Based Travel Agent | | Sales pitches surround us all day, every day, in one form or another. Product branding is trumpeted at us from the time we pour our breakfast cereal in the morning to the time we go to bed, watching the television commercials and infomercials dance on our television screens as we nod off to sleep. All throughout the day, we encounter billboards, newspapers, mail and e-mail, phone calls and fliers... the list is endless and all are intended to sell us something. How can you separate your sales pitch from the clamor of all the others? |
| | The Right Stuff
| | Home-Based Travel Agent | | Some might believe that new home-based agents really aren't equipped to sell world cruises. Just don't tell that to Cary Haskin, the owner of Cary on Travel, a new home-based agency affiliated with Cruise Specialists (a Virtuoso member) and Luxury Travel Network in the San Francisco Bay area. |
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| Getting Rid of Bad Clients
| | Home-Based Travel Agent | | It happens to all of us: Relationships falter and friendships fail. Sometimes parting is not such sweet sorrow, especially when the end of the relationship also removes a thorn from your side. But what do you do when the difficult person is a client? Can you afford to turn away his business, or will it be more of a personal sacrifice if you remain committed to the relationship? The decision will likely come down to what amount of strife you find personally tolerable in your professional life. Your "unbearable" client may be another agent's "challenge." Read on to learn how some agents determine between the difficult ones and those that need to be let go. |
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| | |  | | Sailing the Scandinavian Seas
Scandinavia is a European destination for both seasoned cruisers and for first-timers who have already experienced other areas of Europe by land. Stress to your clients that they will be paying for their cruise in U.S. dollars, which makes a European cruise one of the best vacation values going right now. | | Tools for the Trade
In a recent interview, Jackie Friedman, general manager of host agency Nexion (www.nexion.com), said that the company is investing in marketing and training programs to help agents build their businesses, including lucrative group and corporate sales. Nexion members also win from a stream of innovations from Nexion and its partners in Sabre Travel Network. This includes the recently launched Nexion Town online community and Nexion Xpress. | | It's All in the Numbers
Recently some terrific research was released that paints a clear picture of your world as home-based travel agents, and of the travel distribution landscape overall. This past month, PhoCusWright Inc., the leading research company in the travel industry, unveiled the findings of its new report, "PhoCus Wright's Travel Agency Distribution Landscape: 2006–2009." | | De-Taxing and Relaxing
Doing the Charleston A package at AAA Five-Diamond Wentworth Mansion in Charleston, SC, lets guests take a break from money and tax talk and enjoy a relaxing getaway for the cost of their government rebate. | | Tips for Saving Time and Money
There can be no doubt that technology is constantly changing the travel industry. Beyond the obvious convenience of how e-mailing has cut down on your calls and the manner in which e-tickets have saved your absent-minded clients, there are many technology tips that could improve the efficiency of your business. | |
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| | | |  | | Ecotourism
It was a lot easier to pick out the best eco-friendly resorts and tours about five years ago, but thanks to Al Gore, the floodgates have opened and every major supplier is claiming to have gone green. In fact, Googling "ecotours" will return about 1,310,000 hits. | | Ireland's Pastoral Regions
Music streams out of O'Connor's Bar in the center of Killarney, Ireland, every time the door opens onto the sidewalk, with lively jigs and reels beckoning to passersby. | | San Diego
San Diego is a city that is regularly lauded for its quality of life. Travelers can rent a little of this quality by dropping by for a visit. In my experiences in San Diego, I'm always impressed by the city's easygoing energy and the simplicity of navigating the city's streets. For a major metropolis, there's a surprising hometown feel that can probably be attributed to San Diego's distinctly different neighborhoods. Two of my favorites are the Gaslamp Quarter and San Diego's version of Little Italy. | | Scandinavia
With the seat of the cruise industry firmly entrenched in europe, it was only a matter of time before northern europe, particularly scandinavia, would become a hotbed for cruise vacations. | | On Location
The public's enthrallment with celebrity has had benefits for travelers and the travel industry in the form of tours inspired by popular films, TV shows and books. | |
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