VAX Vacation Access will kick off its second annual National Plan a Vacation Week, March 18 to 24.
The virtual travel-planning event brings together suppliers, consumers and the 100,000 travel agents who use the VAX booking platform.
VAX said the week is focused on highlighting the value of travel agents, and provides agents with free promotional tools, including a customizable micro-website featuring supplier offers. The microsites are meant to showcase agents' value, increase sales, and gain new customers.
Last year, VAX said that over 1,500 agents participated in the event, and 17 suppliers set up virtual booths.
A VAX spokesman said that this year the event has been tweaked to make it more about the value of the travel agent. VAX is using the recent wave of consumer press praising travel agents as a launching pad.
The VAX spokesman said that the tools available to agents will help them showcase their specialties, noting that according to surveys from last year's event, agents who had the most success were the ones focused on niches.
"When the travel agent builds a microsite, they can pick themes and indicate they are specialists in the Caribbean, Mexico, or whatever their specialty is," the spokesman said.
Suppliers or travel agents interested in participating in National Plan a Vacation Week should visit
www.vaxvacationacces.com/vacationweek.
Follow Johanna Jainchill on Twitter @jjainchilltw.