MORE THAN A
DOZEN major suppliers will attend the first trade show
ever produced by the New Jersey Chapter of OSSN, a unit of the
outside agent network that holds frequent informational meetings
for its Garden State members. Organizer Frank Hryszkanich, who is
director of the Central New Jersey Chapter, said top suppliers that
will be on hand for the Sept. 7 trade show include Central
Holidays, Costa Cruise Lines, Asia Classic Tours, Sunswept Resorts,
Continental Airlines Vacations, Trafalgar Tours, Travel Impressions
and Auto Europe. Education will be part of the event. Bernie
Blomquist, CLIAs manager of training development, will present a
90-minute module of Professional Selling Skills. Participation in
the session can be used as an agents 2006 CLIA Card Renewal
Training Requirement Verification, Hryszkanich said.
THE OSSN SHOW, which will be held at the Cambridge
Inn, 19 Summerhill Road, Spotwood, N.J., will run from 5 to 6:15
p.m. Dinner will be from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. And the CLIA training
module starts at 7:30 p.m. The director said the cost to attend the
full program is $25. He noted that the CLIA course by itself
usually costs that much. More details are available by calling
(732) 251-7400 or emailing [email protected].
IN OTHER EVENTS NEWS, Pro Travel Network, the Las
Vegas-based host agency, said it has 500 agents confirmed to attend
its training event in Puerto Rico on Sept. 16. The 2-year-old firm,
which is CLIA- and Iatan-appointed, said it has more than 4,000
independent agents associated with it. At the training event,
agents will attend sessions by CLIA, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
and the Puerto Rico Tourist Board. Pro Travel president Paul
Henderson said the firm is in the process of going public.
Retailers can learn more about the host agency by calling (702)
254-8893.
TIME TO CHAT? Vacation.com added a live chat to
its members-only AgentNet booking and communication portal. Called
AgentNet LiveHelp, it's similar to AOL's Instant Messenger. "When
an agent is sitting with a valued customer, the last thing they
want to do is pick up the phone and admit that they don't have all
the answers. With our new AgentNet LiveHelp tool, our members can
receive an instant response from our Membership Services team
without diverting any of their attention from the client," said
Dick Knodt, president and CEO of Vacation.com.
FAM OF THE
WEEK
Easter
Island, Chile
Departure: Oct. 27 from
Miami to Santiago, Chile, via American.
Length: Seven
nights.
Sponsor: Tara Tours,
Miami Springs, Fla.
Cost: $1,699 per person,
double. Includes roundtrip air, accommodations, most meals,
sightseeing and transfers.
Trip: Visits Easter
Island and Santiago, Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, Chile.
Noteworthy: Rates for a
second agent are $100 additional. Departure taxes are not included.
Companions are eligible at an additional cost.
Contact: (305) 871-1246;
fax: (305) 871-0417; e-mail: [email protected].