Fresh off the heels of the Land Symposium held in Fort Lauderdale, Cruise Planners hosted the Luxury Forum at Secrets St. James & Wild Orchid in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The event convened over 60 luxury suppliers with nearly 150 travel advisors offering training and resources for advisor community. Fellow franchisees and supplier partners at the Luxury Forum shared best practices when it comes to boosting travel sales, and how to attract, service and retain luxury clients.
“Luxury travel is more popular than ever and we are seeing many clients shift gears and splurge for the experience, especially once they’ve had a taste of it,” said Michelle Fee, CEO and founder of Cruise Planners.
The three-day event was hosted by Fee and Scott Koepf, chief strategy officer. The event opened with a rousing welcome from Fee, who detailed the rising demand for luxury travel. This was followed by a welcome reception.
Fee hosted a Luxury Agent Panel that included top producers who shared their best-practices and ideas on how best to succeed. Ignacio Maza, executive vice president of Signature Travel Network was the keynote speaker for the event and offered insight on luxury travel. The forum also consisted of supplier presentations from Viking, Seabourn, Cunard, Regent Seven Seas, Explora Journeys, Space Perspective, Scenic, Atlas Ocean Voyages, Azamara, Avalon, Tauck and Rocky Mountaineer. Advisors were also able to network and interact with suppliers at the trade show.
Besides trade shows and various luxury travel brand presentations, the Luxury Forum included several key panel discussions with topics such as:
- The Luxury Traveler – Moderated by Maza from Signature Travel Network
- Luxury Land Travel Partners – Panel moderated by Koepf and Michael Heim, with Kensington, Classic, Brendan, Pleasant Holidays
- CP-Luxury Agent Panel – Rodney George, Marc Bokoff, Anoop Mittra and Nick Pena, and moderated by Fee
Advisors also enjoyed a unique networking event at the pool and cabana area. The farewell reception was held at Barracuda Beach and hosted by Secrets St. James & Wild Orchid.
This year, Cruise Planners’ corporate outreach program, CP Cares, chose to partner with Garland Hall Memorial Children’s Home in Montego Bay. Donations included household items, school supplies, books, toiletries, gift cards, and more for the orphanage.
For more information, visit www.cruiseplanners.com.
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