Travel agents will be able to earn up to 70 CLIA Cruise Counselor credits when attending the Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) TrainingFest 2011, a two-day program of seminars and a trade show. From mid-July through October 1, TrainingFest will visit 11 cities throughout the U.S. as well as two locations in Canada.
CLIA reported that this year’s program features new and updated seminars, a new Friday-Saturday schedule designed to facilitate training with minimum disruption of agency work-days and a new, more efficient format. CLIA will also host a complimentary Saturday morning continental breakfast for participants who attend one or more seminars.
Agents may take up to four seminars during the two days of TrainingFest, choosing from two levels of courses offered in three-hour training periods on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the choices include: "Cruise Vacations – An Introduction and Principles of Professional Selling," both new and updated since last year, as well as "Group Sales Made Easy and Negotiating to Win."
On Saturday the seminars include "Power Selling Techniques," which is also new and updated; "Cruising…Knowing the World you Sell;" "Getting Connected: A Primer on Social Media Networking;" and a brand new seminar for 2011: "Specialty Cruising," which focuses on the increasingly diverse nature of the cruise product offered by CLIA members, from adventure voyages to Antarctica to European river journeys to world cruises.
Seminars are offered on Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Saturday courses follow a Continental Breakfast and Trade Show, from held from 8 to 9:30 a.m. The trade show enables participants to meet with representatives from numerous CLIA member cruise lines to discuss product, special sales opportunities and even the individual lines’ own training programs.
Fees for TrainingFest 2011 range from $45 to $150 depending on number of seminars selected and CLIA membership. The program is also open to non-members who pay slightly higher rates.
July 15-16: Houston
July 22-23: New York/Flushing
July 29-30: Seattle/Bellevue
August 5-6: Chicago/Rosemont
August 12-13: Las Vegas
August 19-20: Washington, D.C./Arlington, VA
August 26-27: Orlando
September 9-10: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
September 16-17: Toronto
September 23-24: Los Angeles/San Pedro, CA
September 30-Oct 1: Atlanta
To register, or for more information about TrainingFest, visit www.cruising.org.
