The seminar roster for the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) 73rd World Travel Congress showcases a variety of first-hand learning experiences for every type of travel agent, from sales and marketing seminars to destination specialist programs. This year, Congress also will offer seminars exclusively for suppliers and travel educators.

ASTA`s World Travel Congress has always been about education, and this year will be no different. With more than 40 fantastic educational seminars planned, there will be something for everyone, said ASTA 2003 Congress Chair Mary Peters. With such a wealth of educational opportunities, every ASTA member who attends Congress will able to take away practical business strategies and apply them directly to their own agencies.

Below is a listing of seminars that will be featured at Congress:

Courses for Agency Owners and Managers:

• The Model Agency Program. Courtesy of ASTA and Best Western International. Presented by Nolan Burris. This seminar focuses on identifying the core principals an agency must follow and provides agents with the essential business tools needed to be successful in today`s challenging business environment.


• So You Have a Web Page - How to Make it Work For You. Presented by Chelle Yarbrough, CTC. There are tens of thousands of travel related Web sites, but what makes some of them succeed? This session will teach the best practices of agencies that are profiting from their Web strategy.


• How to Make a Million Dollars Selling an Airline Ticket. Presented by Susan Tanzman. This seminar will discuss the various options available to use consolidators profitably. It will review what they can offer, how to select them and how to book their products.


• Making the Internet Your Most Profitable Business Partner. Presented by Chelle Yarbrough, CTC. Through this seminar, agents will learn about a blueprint for a successful Internet strategy, including writing a business plan, understanding the commitment involved, setting SMART goals and measuring success.


• The Ins and Outs of Being a Host Agency. Presented by Joanie Ogg, CTC, MCC. This seminar will focus on how agency owners and managers can join with independent travel professionals to open new markets and to provide quality professional services to the public.

Home-based Agents Seminars:

• Making the Move to Home: Opportunities and Answers - Operating Your Travel Business From Home. Presented by Joanie Ogg, CTC, MCC. This seminar will focus on how one can simply and effectively make the move home from operating as a storefront agent and/or owner.


• Operating Your Home-Based Cruise Agency for Success. Presented by Joanie Ogg, CTC, MCC. Agents can explore ways to re-engineer or start their travel business from their home through this seminar. It will open up new channels of information about operating a home-based, cruise-focused travel agency and will give the facts needed to make important business decisions.


• Make More Money Working from Home: Successful Home-Based Agents Tell You How. Moderated by Joanie Ogg, CTC, MCC. This session will showcase stories from travel professionals about success working from home. Participants will learn some of their strategies and how they have been able to increase sales and revenue from their home-based offices.

Young Professionals Seminars:

• Working a Room - How to Network Effectively. Presented by Kate Koziol. A key growth strategy is effective networking. During this session, agents will gain insider tips on finding the best networking opportunities, creating a game plan for success and preparing to meet and impress new contacts.


• Under 40, Over $40K: Panel Discussion.


• Rules of the Game: Business Dos and Don`ts. Presented by Barbara Bergstrom. Agents must not only do what they do best, but do it better than anyone else. In this seminar, they will learn how to make business etiquette their personal power tool to give themselves the competitive edge.

Travel Educators Seminars:

• How to Begin Your Own Travel School. Presented by Sharon Scott, CTC. This workshop will analyze the benefits of running a travel school and outline the steps in opening a travel school, including state filings, hiring, training, curriculum design, pricing, placement, etc.


• How to Design a Successful Travel Curriculum. Presented by Sharon Scott, CTC. This seminar will cover the fundamentals in designing a competency-based curriculum. Beginning backwards, utilizing needs analysis, participants will learn how to identify what they want the final result to be and to design a curriculum to meet that need.


• Moving Travel Training Online. Presented by Sharon Scott, CTC. This workshop will feature a lively presentation and interactive workshop beginning with the basic how to`s of accessing the Net and progressing to the intricacies of designing effective Web-based training (WBT).

Supplier Seminars:

• How to Work a Trade Show Booth. Presented by Kate Koziol. Suppliers will learn what they can do to increase interest in their offerings and generate more interest and sales.


• Rules of the Game: Business Dos and Don`ts. Presented by Barbara Bergstrom. Suppliers must not only do what they do best, but do it better than anyone else. In this seminar, they will learn how to make business etiquette their personal power tool to give themselves the competitive edge.


• Working a Room - How to Network Effectively. Presented by Kate Koziol. A key growth strategy is effective networking. During this session, suppliers will discover insider tips on finding the best networking opportunities, creating a game plan for success and preparing to be ready to meet and impress new contacts.


• Seeing Your Site from the Customer`s Perspective: How to Maximize ROI Through Customer Experience Management. Presented by Jill Kyte. Suppliers will learn about the emerging technologies that capture customer data, measure the online customer experience and deliver a customer view of the company to help businesses maximize the return on their Web site investments.

Destination Specialist Seminars:

• Selling Chic: Niche Market Travel To France. Courtesy of ICTA. Thanks to the abundance of its sites and activities, France is the most visited tourism destination in the world. This interactive workshop, based on ICTA`s new Destination Specialist France, explores ways to increase sales to La Belle France by discovering the many facets of the world`s most popular destination.


• Ireland Destination Specialist Seminar.


• Hong Kong Destination Specialist Seminar.


• More seminars to come!

Business Building Seminars:

• The Journey to Success - One Way, Round Trip or Open Jaw? Presented by Nolan Burris. The principles of The Process of Success are applied in this workshop in a way that directly addresses the challenges faced by travel professionals today. Agents will take a journey through the process of success through the eyes of two very similar agencies with two very different approaches. Where one struggles to stay afloat, the other rides the waves of success.


• Burn Your Business Plan and Sizzle With Success! Presented by Nolan Burris. In this program, the process of developing a successful business plan will be turned inside out. Agents will discover how to let their visions and dreams be their guide and create a plan that truly sizzles.


• International Chapter Presidents: Business Exchange.

Sales and Marketing:

• Tour Operator Program (TOP) Seminar.


• Miami: Your First and Last Port of Call. The world`s premier playground, Greater Miami, offers visitors the best of all worlds. Agents will learn about this rare destination where the cutting edge of urban chic co-exists with the beauty and splendor of a tropical paradise.


• Profiting Through Travelers with Disabilities. Presented by Roberta Schwartz, CTC, MCC and Stephen J. Mydanick. This session will familiarize agents with meeting the needs of their clients and guests with disabilities - a market representing more than 54 million Americans who spend close to $100 billion a year on travel.

Panel discussions:

Travel Agent Best Practices. ASTA and Hyatt have teamed up to recognize travel agencies for creative business processes that have broken the mold in the travel selling industry. Participants will hear real-world examples of how businesses of every size can improve their operations.

Alternative Booking Engines - Options for Technology. This panel discussion features system providers who will discuss the different technology-related resources available to help meet the daily challenges of reducing operating expenses, improving efficiency and providing value to customers.

Under 40, Over $40K.

Make More Money Working from Home: Successful Home-Based Agents Tell You How. Moderated by Joanie Ogg, CTC, MCC. This session will showcase stories from travel professionals about success working from home. Participants will learn some of their strategies and how they have been able to increase sales and revenue from their home-based offices.

Politics and Prose - How to Let Politics Work for You. Moderated by Suzan Tanzman. Hear how you, as an agent, can effectively work with your Congressman, and what it can do for your agency if you become politically active.

Product Seminar Sessions:

Product seminars will showcase such suppliers as Modern Agent, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Amtrak Vacations, American Express, British Heritage Tours, Cancun Convention and Visitors Bureau, Peru Tourism Bureau, Revelex, Advanced Results Marketing, Andover International (Interactive Russia), Imagion.com and many others.

Cruise Seminars:

• Cruise Vacations: An Introduction. Courtesy of CLIA. This seminar is a comprehensive overview of the tools required to successfully sell cruise products, identify motives, apply strategies introduced to increase cruise sales, match clients with the right cruise product and apply insider secrets to selling the cruise experience.


• From Business to Pleasure: Turning Corporate Clients into Cruise Passengers. Presented by Mark McMullen. A base of loyal corporate clients is a prime sales opportunity waiting to happen. This workshop will address strategies for how to best approach corporate clients and techniques to effectively market to them and close more sales.


• Secrets to Advanced Cruise Sales. Presented by Tom Ogg. This fast-paced seminar will concentrate on developing ideas and opportunities for new and seasoned cruise agents.


• Matching the Cruise Experience to the Client. Presented by Mark McMullen. With hundreds of product offerings available, the key to keeping clients happy is selecting the right product to meet their needs. This workshop will outline a proven process for profiling prospects and for moving them from shoppers to satisfied buyers. Strategies and tips for successful upselling will also be highlighted.


• Creating a Cruise Marketing Plan. Courtesy of CLIA. Successful businesses know a marketing plan is an absolute essential. This course will show agents how all the pieces fit into the marketing puzzle. This seminar identifies the essential components in a successful yet simple marketing plan and how to apply them.


• Building Client Loyalty. Courtesy of CLIA. This program will show agents how to read their customers and sell from their perspective. Participants learn how to uncover hidden client needs, apply quality service, reinforce client loyalty and customize their sales techniques to different types of cruises.


• Group Sales Made Easy. Courtesy of CLIA. This program demonstrates how to develop group cruise business as a profit center. It will cover how to identify groups and their characteristics, identify sources for lead development, market to groups and analyze group potential, pricing and promotional budgeting.


• Operating Your Home-Based Cruise Agency for Success. Presented by Joanie Ogg, CTC, MCC. Agents can explore ways to re-engineer or start their travel business from their home through this seminar. It will open up new channels of information about operating a home-based, cruise-focused travel agency and will give the facts needed to make important business decisions.