Land Summit at the Majestic Mirage in Punta Cana, D.R.
GOGO Vacations hosted the four-day intensive training at Majestic Mirage in Punta Cana.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. – Land and resort vacation business is booming for work-from-home travel agents with Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc., with land sales up 25 percent year-to-date compared to last year. With non-cruise bookings making up more than 20 percent of the business, the need for travel agent training in this niche is more important than ever which is why Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. hosted the second annual Land Summit at the Majestic Mirage in Punta Cana, D.R. Approximately 100 travel agents attended the four-day training, which consisted of interactive workshops, agent panels, exclusive hotel events, 10 site inspections and networking opportunities.
“We are thrilled to have partnered with Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. on their annual Land Summit,” said Brennan Quesnele, vice president of sales for GOGO Vacations. “The opportunity to collaborate as the host wholesaler while partnering with Majestic Mirage, Olympus Tours and many others was the perfect alignment to educate, highlight the destination and provide useful insights on selling land package vacations. We had an action-packed Land Summit agenda that informed, inspired and engaged while providing a whole lot of fun and long-lasting memories, as well as the experience and confidence needed to sell land vacation packages and groups.”
Land business has continued to grow each year as a result of the increased marketing efforts of travel agents with Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. In addition to providing them with a dedicated “land brochure” which promotes everything related to resorts, escorted tours and more, agents who subscribe to the free Automated Social Media program have access to destination-themed social media posts. Land vacations are also promoted on websites, direct mail pieces and within weekly email newsletters. In addition, more emphasis has been placed on land trainings as a result of preferred relationships with more than 25 suppliers.
“We find it more beneficial for our agents to have smaller training groups so they can really engage with the suppliers and each other, gaining a deeper understanding of the product which ultimately results in increased sales,” said Drew Daly, general manager of network engagement and performance for Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. “In fact, travel agents who attended the 2017 Land Summit experienced more than $1 million in sales over the past year. We anticipate this number to increase after this year’s Summit.”
The Land Summit concluded the 2018 Immersive Education Series, which featured intimate training opportunities on niche topics such groups, luxury and river cruising, which is launching in 2019.
“I was able to achieve everything for which I had hoped at this year’s Land Summit,” said Jeff Leach, Dream Vacations franchise owner and vacation specialist in Omaha, Neb. “The sessions were insightful and the variety of resorts we inspected was perfect. But, the most important accomplishment was the new relationships we were able to build with our vendor partners.”
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He currently studies Communication, Media & Culture in Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens.
