Travel Agent Professional September 2017 by Travel Agent Professional

Travel Agent Professional September 2017 Issue 53

Getting Clients to Come Back â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Best Tips By Cindy Bertram

Auto Europe Renews Maine Seafood Rewards Program for 17th Year Earn Live Maine Lobsters for Business Class Package or Prestige Car Rental Auto Europe, the industry’s ﬁrst global car rental aggregator, has renewed the Maine Seafood Rewards program for Travel Agents for the 17th year. Qualiﬁed bookings include a 7-day luxury or prestige car rental or a business class airfare travel package to Europe that includes hotel and/or car. For each booking, travel agents may choose to enjoy three Maine lobsters or two pounds of salmon shipped fresh to their door. “We’ve renewed this unique incentive for the 17th year at the request of our Agent partners. We’re proud to continue this one-of-a-kind program that not only supports our Agents but our local Maine businesses as well,” said Robert Ardino, Auto Europe’s Vice President of Sales. Maine Seafood Rewards can be redeemed by the booking agent or by their client at the agent’s choice. In accordance with ASTA, Agency owners/managers may choose to exclude their agency or individual agents. The program is valid until December 31, 2017, for travel anytime in 2017 and is open to US residents only due to shipping requirements. For more information or to claim your rewards call 800-223-5555 or email tasales@autoeurope.com.

About Auto Europe With over 60 years of experience in the rental car industry, Auto Europe specializes in helping travelers ﬁnd the best car rental rates in Europe and other popular destinations around the world. Auto Europe’s deep understanding of the complexities of renting cars abroad paired with their knowledgeable team of rental specialists (available 24/7) allows Auto Europe to provide travelers with the highest quality service in the industry before, during and after their rental. To ﬁnd the best rate on a car rental for your next trip abroad or to learn more about renting a car in Europe visit www.autoeurope.com.

September 2017

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Getting Clients to Come Back – Best Tips By Cindy Bertram

Cindy's Inside Cruise & Travel Track, LLC

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Green Fingered Tourism By Paull Tickner Paull Tickner & Associates Ltd.

Showcase Auto Europe ...........................................................17 American Marketing Group:.......................18

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Cover Photo: Carnival Cruises Line

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Travel Agent Professional

2017

By Les-Lee Roland

TAP

How To Keep Your Head Above Water — Literally!

Travel Agent Professional September 2017 Issue 53

Travel Agent Professional Staten Island, NY 10312 E-mail: Ann@travelagentprofessional.com Phone: 718.360.3153

Joel M. Abels

Legend In the Travel Industry April 1927 to January 2007

Ann M. Hoek Publisher/Creative Design ann@travelagentprofessional.com Bonnie Walling Editor Bonnie@travelagentprofessional.com Alan Cohen Vice President Marketing Alan@travelagentprofessional.com

Meet Our Editorial Board Paull Tickner, Creator of Special Interest Britain ptickner@customgb.co.uk www.customgb.co.uk Cindy Bertram, Cindy’s Inside Cruise & Travel Track, LLC cindybert@att.net Mitchell J. Schlesinger President, MJS Consultants mjschlesinger@bellsouth.net Les-Lee Roland Owner of The Package Deal Sue Shapiro, President Shapiro Travel Resources sue.shapiro@gmail.com www.shapirotravelresources.com Rusty Pickett, ECC Shellback Cruises www.shellbackcruises.com Sherry Laskin, ACC Travel Writer/NACTA Webinar Moderator www.cruisemaven.com This online magazine is dedicated to the memory of Joel Abels, Travel Trade's editor and publisher. Joel and his life's work may be gone, but with your help it can live on.

Travel Agent Professional has its roots in Home Based Trade, the first magazine of its kind, started by Joel Abels in 2004. Joel and Lenore Abels ran Travel Trade for nearly half a century – it was started by her grandfather, John S. Lewis, and her father, Sidney Lewis, in 1929, and they took the publication over after her grandfather’s passing. Under Joel’s direction, the company grew to be one of the travel agent industry’s leading publications, reaching more than 45,000 agents throughout North America. It spawned a famous series of trade shows and three monthly magazines – Cruise Trade, Tour Trade and Home Based Trade. The Abels also garnered enormous respect – Joel received the Neal Award, called “the Pulitzer Prize of the business press,” for his hard-hitting editorials. On a personal note, after working with Joel for over a decade and staying with him until the end, I grew to truly care for and respect the man. He was like a second father to me. Joel was old school, he stood by his word and believed in his work. There will never be another. While nobody can replace this industry legend, we’re hoping that this new publication, which reunites the original Home Based Trade editorial board, will be able to carry on his passion for travel and those who sell it.

Ann M. Hoek The opinions expressed in these columns are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Travel Agent Professional.

September 2017

How To Keep Your

L e s - L e e R o l a n d

But being a travel agent, I do have responsibilities for my clients. And for my own planned trip next week to South Africa. I have checked the calendar of all payments due between now and mid October, and I have contacted my clients not all are here in Florida. Not knowing if I will have By Les-Lee Roland Owner of The Package Deal

access to computers, since a power outage is predicted, I have taken pen to hand and written down booking numbers and info on payments. Also, I have them on a flash

This is not a normal Friday. My eyes are glued to the

drive. But honestly, will that be one of the first things I

Weather Channel for info on Hurricane Irma. My area is

take if I have to evacuate?

in the red and we ARE going to be hit, if not by the eye, the middle bands are acomin’.

I have sent out E-mails to my large groups telling them I have contacted the cruise lines and they are working

I’ve lived in Fla thru Andrew which didn’t hit Sarasota,

with me.

where I live, on the West Coast. Then we had Charlie, the one that turned its direction less than 30 miles from

Kudos to the suppliers who sent out blasts stating final

my home, and went around us.

payments or deposits due for already booked, no penalties for a few days. Even Oceania’s office is shut down,

This time we are not going to be so lucky.

but still taking phone calls from maybe- Nebraska?

I’m as prepared as I can be with water, flashlights, putting

I appreciate the notifications from NCL who put into

my valuable info in a plastic bag that will be tied to my

writing in advance which cruises they were cancelling.

body. My neighbors are going door to door to help

Also even my Marriott rep, stated which properties

everyone remove anything that is not tied down outside.

throughout Southern Florida were already shut down.

So now, I have another 24 hours to either stare at the

But did I hear anything Carnival or RCL, or Bahama

TV, look though my possessions - which don’t mean

Cruises, or Pearl, with their weekly or bi-weekly cruises

much anymore. Did I really need those last eight pairs of

from Fla. No – nothing.

shoes I bought - my weakness. My grandson called and asked if I am taking his picture with me. I started crying.

I’m sure they are moving the ships – but to where?. They can’t be taking the passengers out to their regular itiner-

September 2017

Head Above Water —

Literally!

aries of the Caribbean. Are they leaving empty? Why did-

about what they might want. But, my notebook never

n’t they negotiate with FEMA for taking elderly people or

lets me down.

people unable at evacuate, and provide safety. Some low attention hospitalized people, or Alzheimer patients -

Another thing to ponder - who, if you’re a home based

along with caregivers. Maybe they were concerned about

agent, has access to your banking info if you’re in the hos-

their costs for cleaning and food and staff! But, I’m sure

pital. I always keep an account for escrow or group allot-

they will write a check afterwards for rebuilding the ports.

ments, but there is a balancing act between all the accounts - who’s your go to in case of an emergency.

But, perhaps we will hear about heros or those companies later.

Are your annual payments for ARC or IATA or CLIA or Dept. of State Licensing, etc, in place. Do you have

So this is the time for you agents to think about possible

them written down on a calendar so someone can see

catastrophes. Not a Hurricane but what about a medical

they are due?

one, or a car crash. Suppose you were incapacitated suddenly, are your files in order and do you have a designat-

Most important, is your communication with your clients

ed person who has access to the files to keep you cur-

up to date? I’m sending out notice to all my clients that I

rent with payments and reservations.

am still operating, and finding great destinations for them to put on their bucket lists.

Just a few months ago I went through surgery and rehab. I took my laptop and my tablet with me. Along with my

And for others who have been effected by this active

Bible - no not the New Testament, but MY RED NOTE-

Hurricane season, they may need to get away. Insurance

BOOOK with all my notes for the past few weeks.

companies can negotiate with hotels and cruise lines for

Comments I made about discussions with clients, offer-

long term stays. Years ago, there was a couple who lost

ings I presented, etc. Every few weeks I change the color

their home due to forest fires in California, and they

so I always know which notebook to go to. We’ve all

opted out for living on a cruise ship for months.

gotten those phone calls from a perspective client –“I spoke to you months ago about that honeymoon trip,

So this is not supposed to be a maudlin column, but

and I thought the price was out of our range, but is it still

maybe an open your eyes- and just keep your head

available.” I hate to act as if I don’t remember if it was

above water – oh oh – wrong choice of words.

Tahiti or Fiji, but my notebook backs me up. And FEMA will send money to South Florida and it will Of course, I had put the people into my database, and if I was really good, I had probably entered something

Travel Agent Professional

be re-builded.

6 C i n d y B e r t r a m

By Cindy Bertram Cindy's Inside Cruise & Travel Track, LLC

Before making purchases today, people do a d v a n c e r e s e a r c h , e s p e c i a l ly w h e n i t involves a higher priced item. They go online and also reach out to friends, family, or colleagues to get more ideas and referral suggestions. That’s a given. Travel

Reflecting on our own purchase decisions When it comes to making our own purchases, I admit it. I do research first, even before I reach out to a business/company. I’ll also reach out to

is no different. Getting new clients comes

friends and colleagues for referrals. How I’m

through prospecting, networking, creating

greeted from that first hello, making me feel

par tnerships, and sharing your exper tise and value, as well as getting referrals from

that I am “not just number coming through the door,” also plays a part in my decision process.

other clients. Once you close that fir st

I recently had an unsettling situation come up. I

sale, it really doesn’t end. Getting clients

reached out to a business owner for help with a

to come back and rebook is the ongoing par t of having a long term successful busi-

plumbing issue. (He had done a previous project for me about 2 years ago.) I contacted him, and he said he could come by the next day

ness.

September 2017

after finishing another job. He gave me an approximate time and said he’d call me when he left the other site. The next morning I didn’t receive a phone call at the time he’d given me. After waiting for a half hour, I called him. He said he had two other more important jobs that came up, and wasn’t going to be able to make it after all. I’d have to wait three more days, if I wanted to use his services. I felt a bit betrayed, but was able to get another plumbing company referral from someone I trusted. I immediately called this company, and they were able to schedule an appointment for someone to come out the next day at 8 am. The plumbers they sent came out on time, were professional, yet down to earth, and got the issue resolved. I posted a very positive review on their web site, and will recommend this company to others as well. And should anything else plumbing related come up, this is now the company I will call. This personal situation I dealt with that original plumber definitely ended my relationship using his services. With travel, ours is really a relationship business in diverse ways. We create wonderful experiences for our clients, along with fixing problems (even behind the scenes) so things go smoothly, before, during and at the end of their trips. We become their advocates.

Travel Agent Professional

Insights - Adolfo Perez, Vice President, Sales and Trade Marketing, Carnival Cruise Line Adolfo Perez began his career at Carnival Cruise Line first working part time on weekends as a check-in agent while still in high school. Now 30+ years later, he’s vice president of sales and trade marketing. Adolfo heads up Carnival’s international trade team of over 70 employees who work to communicate and accommodate travel agents selling Carnival. When I reached out to Adolfo, we covered some key areas as far as keeping clients. I mentioned that we often hear statistics about people booking once with a travel agent professional, but then move on to booking that second cruise through someone else. I asked him, “Why do you think this happens?”

September 2017

9 Adolfo explained, “The old saying ‘out of sight out of mind’ has a lot to do with this issue. This is why it’s so important for agents to get to know their clients and keep in touch regularly. This is a relationship business – and most of us in it are relationship people. So it’s key that agents continually build relationships with their clients at every touch point. For instance, they can make first time clients become repeat clients by regularly checking in for birthdays, anniversaries or any other important life moments already established with them. Providing regular value by sharing insights, thoughts on new cruises or destinations and tailored vacation suggestions further build the relationship. Bottom line – it’s key to provide value and stay in touch, and make it a personal touch. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone or send a handwritten card. Everyone sends emails and, for the most part, they’re forgettable.”

Ensuring that a client comes back Adolfo and I then talked about suggestions to ensure that a client will come back to rebook. I asked him, “Can you share some tips on what travel agents should do from the beginning of that potential booking, to the actual booking and finalization, along with trip arrangements - throughout the clients' trip and after they return?” Adolfo mentioned, “Providing exceptional service throughout the process is important at every stage. You can only deliver that kind of service when you know your clients well. Understand their needs, their wants, and the dislikes. It’s so important for agents to adopt a service driven culture in everything they do. Following up in a timely manner, offering suggestions the client may not have thought of before and simply being pleasant and engaging are all key service elements. As a travel advisor, agents are always thinking many steps ahead of what the client is anticipating. Ensuring that the client knows this and feels the advocacy and expertise agents bring to the table throughout the process – even post trip – will create a strong and lasting relationship.”

What successful travel agents do? In Adolfo’s role he and his team work with travel agents on an ongoing basis. I asked him what he’s seen successful travel agents do that works well to bring clients back and be "clients for life.”

Travel Agent Professional

Adolfo provided more, and said, “Much of what I mentioned above in terms of strong and stellar service as well as providing value ties in. Agents who roll the red carpet out for service and continually provide value – and highlight this value - are going to retain and maintain clients for life. I use a travel agent for many of the personal trips I take. Why do I use a travel agent? Because they give me advice based on their experience and what they know about me, and they take care of every detail. That’s service and that’s what keeps me coming back.”

Adolfo’s Number one Goal – Being travel agents’ advocate Today having a good travel partner and getting support from them day to day is so critical when it comes to travel agents’ success. Adolfo has clearly said to travel agents, "My number one goal is being your advocate! Together with my team we've set up many ways to meet, talk, and partner with you. We know earning more is critical to your success."

September 2017

11 Steps Adolfo and his team have done to be travel agents’ advocate In our discussion, I asked Adolfo more about this and he explained, “My first step in fulfilling my pledge was to listen and understand what was important and needed addressing. And listen I did. With the support of our senior leadership and my team, we have delivered on that promise over the past two years. One of the topics at the top of the list was commission and earning potential. In the fall of 2015, we made a sweeping commission structure change that lowered our commission tier targets by an average of 32%. That immediately raised the commission for thousands of travel agents in 2016. Keeping on the commission theme, we recently announced that we’re paying full commission on Future Cruise Credits and we doubled the commission on our free casino cabins at the same time. I also recently announced our “AMP Up Commission Challenge” for September. Travel agents have the opportunity to raise their commission for bookings in September by up to 4 points (15% is the maximum) by hitting reasonable booking targets during the month.”

Showing support and appreciation for travel partners – diverse ways I asked Adolfo more on how he and his team were showing support, and he shared a bit more. “We also show our support and appreciation for our travel partners by hosting events like Agentpalooza, Carnival Conversations, and our 100+ city tour of “Together We’re Better” regional events. We are now present at many more industry events and partner national conferences in a very big way. Let’s not forget that we have frequent fun contests that reward travel agents for engaging with us in many different ways. We try to add fun wherever we can the way only Carnival can. Keeping in touch and nurturing our relationships is key to our success with the trade.” Adolfo then said, “I also realized early on that we needed more support out in the field. Since 2015 we have added a total five new sales territories and added a regional vice president for the northern US and Canada, demonstrating our commitment to our travel agent partners across North America.”

Being the best sales team – Travel Agents Rock Theme Another important real and genuine effort Adolfo and his team have done surrounds their Travel Agents Rock theme.

Travel Agent Professional

12 I asked Adolfo to share a bit more and he explained, “We’ve wrapped up all that we’re doing to be the best sales team in our Travel Agents Rock theme. About a year ago, I shared a picture of a mug or a t-shirt that said “Travel Agents Rock” on my Facebook page. I thought the saying really captured what we all believe here at Carnival, but I had no idea how popular it was going to be. We printed up some t-shirts and began randomly giving them away on my Facebook page. Little did I know how much people really wanted them. In fact, during my fundraising campaign for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society this year, I was able to raise $30,000 just by selling these tshirts. Travel Agents Rock has grown into something between a program and a movement. It has expanded into a full travel agent engagement program. Our signature event was our ‘Agentpalooza’ bus tour earlier this summer. We visited six cities including New Orleans, Charleston, Orlando, Houston, Atlanta, and Jacksonville and celebrated with music, food, fun and Carnival giveaways. We also collected canned goods for the local food banks in each city which made the event a nice way for all of us to give back to these communities that do so much for our shared business.” Adolfo then went on and said, “We’re working hard every day to be the top sales team in the business and this is just the beginning. Travel Agents really do rock and we are their biggest fans. Agents can follow our latest agent programs at #thelist on my Facebook page and on GoCCL. We’ll have more announcements soon, so we look forward to keeping in touch with everyone along the way!”

Continuation of relationships Paying travel agents commissions on Future Cruise Credits Carnival announced it would pay travel agents commission on Future Cruise Credits applied to new bookings July 10, 2017. I asked Adolfo how this change came about, and what it involved.

September 2017

13 Adolfo provided more details and explained, “This change was actually prompted by one of our strategic partners, David Crooks at World Travel Holdings. His agents told him that they have to work just as hard on selling a booking with a future cruise credit, so why should they make less. I thought, hmm, this makes sense. So we made the change earlier this year. In basic terms, we used to calculate commission on these bookings after a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) was applied. Now we calculate the commission before applying the FCC. This is a good change for agents as it adds incremental earning opportunities for them.”

Being client advocates Finally Adolfo and I discussed another area - how travel agents can be advocates of their clients. Adolfo provided some great thoughts, and explained, “Agents can leverage their experience and understanding of the product they are selling their client to provide tailored suggestions. By getting to know the client and knowing the product they’re selling, agents can be an advocate by anticipating their clients’ needs throughout the sales process and once on vacation. It’s about looking out for one’s client from beginning to end – and continually offering information that will benefit their client or make their client’s experience better. Post trip, it’s about ensuring the client was pleased from start to finish and handling anything that needs to be resolved in a timely manner.”

Final thoughts Being advocates of our own clients is another part of our DNA along with being service driven. Learning great tips and insights from a supplier partner like Carnival are things we can also put into place when working successfully with our clients.

Travel Agent Professional

14 Green Fingered Tourism P a u l l T i c k n e r

As we move into the season of mellow fruitfulness, thoughts should turn to offering clients imaginative tours packed with visits to interesting historic castles, magnificent stately homes and beautiful gardens, perhaps linked to one of our many outstanding garden shows. Your target audience will be Master Gardeners, Friends of Arboreta and Botanical Gardens, Orchid, Rose and other specialist societies and your local Garden Club. However, a wider audience might be interested in being offered say a Cornwall tour with a day at the Cornwall Spring Flower Show with the rest of the itinerary focusing on Arthurian legends, Poldark, Doc Martin and learning the difference between a Cornish and a Devon Cream Tea. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not the same!

By Paull Tickner Paull Tickner & Associates Ltd. Paull Tickner, owner of U.K.-based Custom GB, is renowned for his expertise in creating and operating imaginative, value-added tours of Great Britain and Ireland. Visit his website at www.customgb.co.uk and email him at ptickner@customgb.co.uk

September 2017

Springtime in Cornwall: Because of the Gulf Stream’s warming effects on Cornwall’s river valleys, spring comes early for the stately homes and gardens in England’s south west. This is excellent news for clients who can’t travel in May because they’re busy with their own gardens and gardening events. The Cornwall Garden Society Spring Flower Show takes place on April 7-8. The itinerary can be spiced up by adding Arthurian myths and legends, as well as some Poldark and Doc Martin on location visits. Tulips All the Way: The two late April/early May Tulip Festivals at Arundel Castle, the ancestral home of the Dukes of Norfolk and the award-winning, colour-filled Pashley Manor gardens provide the perfect starting point for an imaginative tour of stately homes, castles and gardens in southern England. They’ll also add something special to cruises sailing in or out of Dover or Southampton. Perfect for Green Fingered Clients: With more non-stop trans-Atlantic flights heading to Manchester, England’s northern gateway, you should be offering clients programmes that include some of the 10 north of England winners of the prestigious Historic Houses Association Garden of the Year Award. By basing your clients in the

Travel Agent Professional

16 Lake District, the Derbyshire Peak District and York, you can include a day among the impressive show gardens at the April 26-29, 2018 Harrogate Spring Flower Show. The Glorious Cotswolds: For those able to travel in early May, the Cotswolds delivers exactly what’s required for garden-loving clients looking for internationally renowned gardens, hidden gems rarely opened to the public, classic English villages and ancient coaching inns. Time the visit to include the awe-inspiring show gardens and prize-winning blooms in the floral marquees at the RHS Malvern Spring Show scheduled for May 10-13, 2018. RHS Chelsea Flower Show: If you want your clients to be dazzled by colourful flowers, innovative garden designers and amazing horticultural exhibits, plan a visit to Chelsea, arguably the world’s most prestigious and inspirational flower show. The show takes place May 22-26, 2018, but make sure your clients get there as early as possible to enjoy a stroll through the award-wining gardens, the creative floral artworks and spot emerging gardening trends.

Bloomin’ Gorgeous Let’s talk about a tour that’s filled with swathes of bright blues, yellows, purples, pinks and reds, timed to coincide with the annual Scottish Rhododendron Festival. Filling April and May, these great explosions of colour can be found in many of Scotland’s most historic castles and stately homes. Late May departures can include a day at Gardening Scotland, the national gardening and outdoor living show which takes place just outside Edinburgh between 1st-3rd June. Add a skirl of the pipes and a whisky distillery or two and you’re home and dry, well almost.

September 2017

Travel Agent Incentives & Rewards: • Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund — Auto Europe, in solidarity with their travel agent partners, is pledging $5.00 per reservation booked by any travel agent, nationwide, for their client now through Sept 30, 2017, towards a relief fund to assist agents in the aftermath of the destruction wreaked by Hurricane Harvey. In addition, Auto Europe's CEO will personally match the pledge. • Join the Best Rewards Program in the Industry — from plane tickets to gift cards and travel credits, you'll earn great rewards by booking with us. Sign up for Drive Your Rewards today! • Dedicated Fleet of High-Demand Vehicles exclusively for our travel partners. See details on page 17. • Earn 20% commission on any sports car, luxury or prestige self-drive booking paid by December 31, 2017. Mention promo code IK20 at the time of the booking. • Fresh Seafood Rewards — Earn three lobsters or two pounds of salmon on any sports car, luxury or prestige self-drive booking paid by December 31, 2017. Mention promo code IK20 at the time of the booking. • 10% Commission on Car Rentals in the US — Remember we offer car rental pickups at over 20,000 locations worldwide including the United States. Book your client's domestic car rental and receive up to 10% commission. Car Rental Specials & Offers For Your Clients: • Save up to 30% off worldwide car rentals - Limited time offer • Free upgrades in select destinations in Europe • Motorhome & RV rentals - explore your destination in a spacious vehicle • Motorcycle rentals - numerous pick-up locations throughout the United States • GPS rentals with select car rentals The Auto Europe Advantage: • Compare Rental Companies for the Best Rates • Unparrallel Global Car Rental Expertise • Free cancellation up until the minute before Pick-up • 24/7 Service Hotline from Pickup to Dropoff

Travel Agent Professional

ASTA Honors Travel Industry Veteran, Rick Mazza, With Lifetime Achievement Award The American Society of Travel Agents, better known as ASTA, bestowed its Lifetime Achievement Award to A.J. (Rick) Mazza, founder, president and CEO of American Marketing Group (AMG), the parent company of 19 travel brands and three agency networks (TRAVELSAVERS, NEST, and the Affluent Traveler Collection). Not an annual award, the Lifetime Achievement recipient is only recommended periodically by ASTA’s board of directors to honor a travel industry luminary “whose creativity, dedication and inspiration have advanced the travel and tourism industry.” As a 50-year veteran of the travel industry, Rick founded AMG to service the travel agency community. AMG encompasses the first marketing group for travel agents (TRAVELSAVERS) and the first and only marketing group for independent homebased agencies (NEST). Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg, Co-Owner and CoPresident of Valerie Wilson Travel, and Chair of ASTA’s Corporate Advisory Council who presented Rick with the award stated, “It is an honor for ASTA to recognize Rick for his continuous dedication and leadership in the travel industry. Thank you, Rick, for your unwavering belief in the travel community”. Countless travel professionals offered high praise and congratulatory remarks for Mazza including, Arnold Donald, CEO and president of Carnival Corp., who said, “This is a recognition of your career lifetime achievement but also a recognition of the many lives you’ve touched.” At Royal Caribbean International, Senior Vice President of Sales, Trade Support and Service Vicki Freed called the recognition well-deserved. “You’ve dedicated

your life to our industry and you’ve made us a better industry,” Freed stated. Mazza’s travel agency roots Mazza began his career as a travel agent and owner of a successful travel agency in his hometown of Brooklyn, NY, and co-founded the American Travel Affairs Council (ATAC). Following the events of 9/11 and in recognition of the fact that nearly one in 10 jobs worldwide is connected to the travel industry, Mazza helped in an industry-wide campaign to jump start the travel industry once again. He has received numerous awards and honors throughout his distinguished career for his work and dedication to the travel industry. Past winners of ASTA’s Lifetime Achievement award are: Tom Comlin (2008), Dave Stockart (2007), Francis Goranin (2003), Daryl Thrasher (2001), Don Daly (1996), H.G. “Red” MacKenzie (1994) and H. Whitley Hawkins (1993).

September 2017

Travel Agent Professional

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