GOGO to Charge Agents for New Partner Program

TRAINING
Travel Partner Solutions Launches Sept. 1
On Sept. 1 GOGO Vacations will launch a fee-based travel agent support program called GOGO Travel Partner Solutions. The program will focus on helping agents grow their client base. GOGO’s marketing executive Jim Tedesco will be managing director. The membership fee for Travel Partner Solutions will be $495 per year for agencies and $200 per year for individual agents. Among benefits: access to GOGO’s in-house Leadership Academy and Global Sales Academy as well as monthly webinars.

Fam Trip Heads to Cuba after ASTA
The Cuba/US People to People Partnership has organized a pair of fam trips taking place after September’s ASTA Global Convention and the NACTA conference in Miami. The eight-day trips are priced from $1,984 and include charter flights on American Airlines along with five-star accommodations from Sol Melia. The trip will take agents to Havana, Matanzas, Varadero, Santa Clara, Cayo Santa Maria, Trinidad and Cienfuegos. For information or to register, contact John McAuliff, jmcauliff@ffrd.org or 917-859-9025.  Registration closes Aug. 19.

Canadian Trade Group Offers Turkey Fam Trip
ACTA has teamed up with Atourz and Turkish Airlines to offer a travel agent fam to Turkey. The fam, scheduled for Nov. 16 to 24, will visit Istanbul, Ankara, Goreme, Cappadocia, Konya, Pamukkale, Aphrodisias, Kusadasi and Ephesus. Applications are open to full-time retail travel sellers and agency managers; priority will be given to CTC- and CTM-certified ACTA members. The trip will be limited to 16 agents. ACTA is offering the fam as part of its commitment to continuing the educational programs offered by CITC, which recently merged with ACTA. Details of the Turkey trip can be found on ACTA’s website. http://www.acta.ca/fam-trips

Visit Wales Offers Chance for Free Fam
Travel agents can win two spots on the upcoming fam trip from Visit Wales. Agents can enter by registering at the Visit Wales site and completing weekly quizzes until Aug. 23. Participating agents will be entered into a drawing to win a spot on Visit Wales’ fall fam trip running Oct. 2-9. The six-night fam trip is sponsored by Visit Wales and VisitBritain, and includes four-star accommodation and round-trip coach air.

TOOLS
Special Needs Group Adds Cruise Accessibility Info
Travel agents can now find detailed information about cruise ship accessibility for four cruise brands – Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line – on the Special Needs Group website. Special Needs Group plans to have information available for all lines serving North American travel agents by the end of 2013. Special Needs Group also offers a Certified Accessible Travel Advocate certification program for agents. More than 1,250 agents have been certified since the program launched in November 2011.