The first Wednesday in May is Travel Agent Day with the industry collectively celebrating, as Carnival Cruise Line put it this week, the “incredible efforts of travel advisors whose guidance and knowledge helps consumers make the vacation choices that are right for them.” And while a little love is always nice, a few perks are even better. Here then is a small sampling of some of the TAD events, activities, and incentives on offer, both today (May 5), and, in some cases, throughout the month.
ACTA
ACTA is celebrating Travel Agent Day today and advises agents to check in on its social media channels or online at acta.ca/travelagentday for more details, including a chance to win trip prizes courtesy of Air Canada and Sandals. The association also notes that it has a social media toolkit to help agents spread the word “on how important the service of a professional travel agent is when booking a trip.”
Globus Family of Brands
Agents are invited to tell clients why they are excited to travel again on Facebook or Instagram (use the hashtags #GlobusLovesTravelAdvisors or #AvalonLovesTravelAdvisors) for a chance to win a $500 give card of their choice (Quebec residents excluded). The contest closes on May 30 and the winner will be based on a random draw.
The Travel Corporation
The company of a thousand brands (well a few dozen, anyways) has a host of activities and incentives on offer for its “cherished” travel agent advisors:
• Uniworld Boutique River Cruises is offering rates of up to 60% off its published fares for travel advisors on select departure dates for 2021 voyages to experience Uniworld first-hand. The offer is available to any agent who completes ‘Uniworld University’ as part of The Travel Corporation’s (TTC) Academy program.
• Trafalgar/Costsaver are celebrating travel agents for the entire month of May. At 1 p.m. EST today (May 5) the Canadian BDM team is hosting a Facebook Live event via its Travel Agent Tribe Facebook page to thank and celebrate its agent partners for all they do. Additionally, agents are invited to participate in a month-long contest for a chance to win a $500 future travel voucher towards a Trafalgar/Costsaver vacation. To enter, agents are asked to comment on weekly posts to be shared on the Facebook page throughout May, and each comment equals one entry into the grand prize draw. Agents can earn up to four entries, commenting in response to questions like, “I’m proud to be a Travel Advisor because…” or “My ultimate pivot moment in 2020 was…” with the grand prize winner to be randomly selected at the end of the month.
• Contiki: Travel agents will earn 2% commission top-up on any new booking made between May 6 and 13. E-mail sales@contiki.ca with your booking number to receive the extra commission.
• Insight Vacations/Luxury Gold: A special contest is being held on the IV Insider Facebook page with the prize to be revealed today (May 5). Visit the page for further details.
• Red Carnation Hotels: Agents interested in experiencing one of the luxurious boutique collection hotels are invited to reach out to Melissa Young via email: myoung@rchmail.com. Requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
• African Travel, Inc.: Travel agents who complete the 2021 advisor education program can take advantage, with a companion, of exclusive advisor rates on select 2021 Africa departures. Plus, agents will receive $200 total cash back on the cost of their educational trip after their first booking of seven nights or more. Call 1-800-421-8907 for details.
G Adventures
G Adventures is awarding Canadian agents a bonus 2% commission on every new booking made between May 3 and 15 for travel by Jan. 31, 2022. And to help agents incentivize their customers to book now, the adventure operator is also extending its 15% off Classic trips sale for the month of May. The discount applies to a wide selection of tours across the portfolio, all of which can be combined with the 2% commission bonus for new bookings made. Agents should be registered on Sherpa and can use the code GNORMOUS for the bonus commission to be applied.
Air Canada Vacations
Today only travel agents will earn an extra 2% commission on select vacation packages booked through the tour operator plus an extra $100 per confirmed group. Terms and conditions are as follows:
- Dates: Only applicable to new bookings of select vacation packages made on May 5, 2021, for travel completed by April 30, 2022. Not applicable to flight-only, land-only or cruise bookings. Minimum three-night stay required.
- 2% bonus commission: Valid for new individual bookings only. Only applicable to new bookings of select vacation packages to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, Hawaii, California, Orlando, and Las Vegas.
- $100 bonus commission: Valid for new confirmed group bookings only. Applicable to any destination. $100 commission is per group booking.
Cuba
The Cuba Tourist Board in Canada has revealed the winners of its Travel Agent Day photo contest. “We want to thank all the participants, we had fantastic entries which made very difficult to pick the winners,” said CTB director Lessner Gomez. “The choice was difficult based on the number of terrific photo-memories that were submitted. It is obvious that the agents who participated have a special place in their heart for Cuba, and the photos they submitted reflected this.” The first-place photo was “The Red Car” by Karen Grant, The Travel Agent Next Door, Toronto. Second: Lucie Lamoureux, Vacances Bellefeuiile, Saint-Jérôme, Que.; and third, Leo-Paul Cormier, Maritime Travel, Toronto.
The Bahamas
The Bahamas tourist board will celebrate Travel Agents Day with a virtual party on May 6 dubbed “Da Backyard.’ Both Ellison ‘Tommy’ Thompson, Deputy Director General, as well as Bridgette King, Executive Director Global Sales, will be joined by other members of the Bahamas Tourism Office team at 3 p.m. (EST) for a fun, interactive afternoon featuring Bahamian music, videos, islands updates, games, cocktail/mocktail demo, virtual photobooth, as well as prize giveaways for the best dressed advisor in tropical attire. To RSVP, click HERE.
Carnival Cruise Line
Carnival Cruise Line is celebrating travel advisors today with a special webinar, an exclusive rewards points offers, and a new ‘Travel Agent Rocks’ toolkit. Travel advisors registered with the cruise line will receive an email invitation to join the live event at 2 p.m. EST with a chance to win a variety of prizes including the line’s Travel Agents Rock T-shirts. All advisors who attend the event will also receive a special offer to book their next personal cruise with Carnival. In addition, members of Carnival’s Loyalty Rocks! Rewards Program will receive 50 bonus rewards points, which can be used for a variety of items, including gift cards, electronics, and home goods.
Sandals/Beaches
Citing an “unwavering commitment and dedication to travel advisors that spans 40 years,” Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts has announced several incentives to celebrate Travel Agent Day:
• Registering Bookings: For today only (May 5) the 30-day policy for registering Tour Operator bookings on the Sandals Travel Advisor portal (taportal.sandals.com) has been temporarily lifted. Advisors have the exclusive opportunity to register all of their missed bookings that were not previously registered within the 30-day window.
• P2P x2: Advisors will receive double Points to Paradise for every new direct booking or Registered Tour Operator booking made for today only (May 5)
• Certified Sandals Specialist Status (CSS): Current CSS status will be extended through the end of 2022
• Preferred Sandals Agency Status (PSA): Current PSA status will be extended through the end of 2022
• The Chairman’s Royal Club Status (CRC): Chairman’s Royal Club members will maintain their membership for 2022.