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Become a Travel Agent
Home-Based Travel Agent News
February, 2007
Marketing through On-Line Communities
How to Grow Your Business
Lots has happened since the last newsletter, so I thought I
would get right to it. This newsletter's focus is how to
maximize online discussion group's opportunities for
developing solid business from them. By online discussion
groups I mean sites like
www.Cruise-Chat.com,
www.CruiseCritic.com,
www.CruiseMates.com,
www.CruiseAddicts.com,
and so on. These forums are becoming more and more
influential every day with consumers looking for information
about their cruise and with thousands of avid cruise
members, they can usually find it from cruisers that have
been there and done that. These forums offer cruise
specialists a wonderful opportunity to evolve new clients,
but you must carefully tread lightly before the clients
start coming.
Here is an article
written Nancy Norris, a self-professed discussion group
junkie on how to exploit the online cruise discussion
groups for new business. And,
here is one written by Tom Ogg dealing with a
similar
subject.
If you do visit cruise
discussion sites,
here is a new countdown ticker site that is really cool!
www.CruiseTickers.com.
Discussion groups can be a source of profitable business if
you take the time to develop them.
Refer a Friend
Hey, if you like receiving this
newsletter, why not refer a friend to receive it? This is an
entirely opt in newsletter free of advertising and B.S.
designed to empower home-based and cruise agents. Just
forward a copy of this newsletter to a friend (or many friends VBG) and
have them join
here.
New Educational Opportunities
I have just added more free
educational opportunities to the growing list of specialist
programs that is now approaching 100. You can see the entire
list
here. The Alaska Travel Industry Association has
made their Alaska Certified Expert training program
available for absolutely free to travel agents that want to
learn more about Alaska. This is the same exact course that The
Travel Institute charges $79.00 for. To find out more about
it click
here. Also added were specialist programs for
Kissammee, Florida,
India and
U S Airways Vacations Specialist.
Ever Wonder What It Takes to Be a
Successful
Home-Based Travel Professional?
Here is an excellent article
written by Joanie Ogg CTC, MCC on what it takes to become a
successful home-based travel professional. I think you will
find this interesting, even if you have been in the industry
forever.
Here is a link to it.
You Are Invited
Home-Based Success Series Seminars
Coming Your Way!
Look for the upcoming
"Home-Based Success Series" coming your way. These seminars
organized by Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity
Cruises, Globus Family of Brands and NACTA are the rave of
the industry. If one is located near you, don't miss it.
Here is a list of ones being offered this month.
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Monday, February 19 |
Dallas, TX |
Dallas Ft. Worth Marriott |
Celebrity
Featured |
8a -12:30p |
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Tuesday, February 20 |
St. Louis, MO |
Hilton St. Louis Frontenac |
Celebrity
Featured |
8:a-12:30p |
|
Wednesday, February 21 |
Denver, CO |
Hilton Garden Inn
Englewood, CO |
Celebrity
Featured |
8:a-12:30p |
|
Thursday, February 22 |
Phoenix, AZ |
Embassy Suites
Phoenix, AZ |
Celebrity
Featured |
8:a-12:30p |
|
Friday, February 23 |
San Diego, CA |
Hilton San Diego Mission Valley |
Celebrity
Featured |
8:a-12:30p |
For Reservations Information, Click Here
Also, here is the upcoming
schedule. I will include specifics in future
newsletters.
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Week of March
5th - 9th, 2007 |
Port of Los
Angeles, Bay Area, Sacramento, San Antonio, and
Houston |
|
Week of April
23 - 27th, 2007 |
Detroit,
Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Atlanta |
|
Week of May
20-26, 2007 |
Pt.
Canaveral, Miami, NY, New Jersey, and Norfolk,
VA. |
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Week of June
18-22, 2007 |
Tampa,
Charlotte, Philadelphia, Chicago and Minneapolis |
NACTA Cruise
Seminars
Join me on
one of NACTA's upcoming cruise seminars. Several have just
been added and there are lots more coming. I am doing the
Tulip Time River Cruise and most of the others. These are
for home-based travel and cruise agents and are the best way
to familiarize yourself with the various cruise lines, ports
and products. They all offer seminars and ample networking
opportunities. I hope to see everyone of you on a cruise
seminar this year. You will love them, I guarantee it.
2007 Summer
Cruise-a-Thon
Many of you
know that Joel Abels, Editor and Publisher of Travel Trade
Magazine, the travel industries oldest continuing trade
publication passed away in January of 2007. Joel's wife
passed on exactly two weeks later. Joel and Lenore were
friends of Joanie and myself and we will miss them forever.
However, Joel's legacy continues and this next Cruise-a-Thon
is likely to be the most important industry gathering in
decades. My advice is to attend it at all costs. I suspect
that it will be one of those once-in-a-lifetime events and
that you should register for it now. They have been the
hallmark of cruise conventions for well over a decade and
this one will be fantastic. Cruise-a-Thon is operated by
Travel Trade Magazine and every cruise line executive in the
industry attends. There are seminars, ship inspections,
general sessions, parties and much, much more. To find out
more about Cruise-a-Thon follow the link below.
June 1 -
4, 2007, Seattle, WA
Cruise-a-thon
Information
What
Would You Like to See in This Newsletter?
Take a moment and let me know
what you would like to see in this newsletter. Drop me a
note at
HomeBasedTvlAgnt@aol.com and share you ideas. If you
would like to contribute an article to this newsletter,
simply send it to the above e-mail address and I will
consider it. However, I ask that it share information that
would benefit the readers of this publication and not be
self promoting in any way.
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