NEST, the Network of
Entrepreneurs Selling Travel, said 65 home-based agents have signed
on with the marketing group since January. NEST now has a total of
410 home-based agencies. NEST was founded in 2004 by American
Marketing Group and recruited home-based agencies, with or without
ARC or IATAN accreditation, that place their business directly with
suppliers rather than through host agencies. In other NEST news,
the organization recently reached preferred-supplier agreements
with DuVine Adventures, Uniworld Grand River Cruising, Mayflower
Tours, Homeric Tours, AirparkUSA, STAR Service Online and Office
Depot.
NEW JERSEY HOME-BASED AGENT SEMINARS, an informal organization run by a home-based
retailer, has events coming up that might interest agents in the
Garden State. Frank Hryszkanich, who operates his home-based
agency, Travel, Ports & Voyages, in Old Bridge, N.J., said he
started the seminars because theres "very little training going on"
in the area. Theres no membership fee to join Hryszkanichs group,
and he said all home-based and brick-and-mortar agents can attend."
Hryszkanich holds seminars throughout the year, and in November is
planning a home-based agent trade show in East Brunswick, N.J.
Exhibiting vendors include Tourlite International, CIE Tours,
Homeric Tours, Mark Travel, Tauck Tours, Celebrity, Carnival and
Royal Caribbean. There will be a $10 admission fee. For more
information on the show and future seminars, call
732-251-1775.
OSSN, the Outside Sales
Support Network, will hold its 2007 Fall International Conference
in Greece from Oct. 16 to 26. The event, dubbed the Garden of the
Gods II conference (the group held its first fall confab in Athens
10 years ago), features five days in Athens and a three-night
cruise in the Aegean Sea aboard Louis Cruises Opera. A
pre-conference stay on Mykonos is being offered. Educational
sessions and seminars are planned, including several sponsored by
the Greek National Tourist Office designed to show retailers how to
package the destination. Homeric Tours and Lufthansa are OSSNs
partners for the conference. Costs and sign-up details are at www.ossn.com.
THROUGH THE PORT HOLE
Carnival Cruise Lines
is sending its newest ship, the Carnival Splendor, to South America
in 2009. The move will mark the lines entry into the destination.
The ship will sail three 14- to 18-day trips to Brazil, Argentina,
Uruguay, Ecuador, Chile and Peru beginning in January
2009.
FAM OF THE WEEK
Egypt
Trip: Visits Aswan,
Cairo, Edfu, Esna and Luxor.
Departure: Sept. 12 from
New York to Cairo via Egypt Air.
Length: Eight nights,
including a five-day Nile River cruise on the Oberoi
Philae.
Sponsor: Big Five Tours
& Expeditions, Stuart, Fla.
Cost: $1,950 per person,
double. Includes international air, hotel, the cruise, all meals,
flights within Egypt, sightseeing and entrance fees. Also includes
a site inspection of the Oberoi Zahra.
Noteworthy: The rate is
valid for IATAN agents only. No single supplements are available.
The companion rate is $2,250.
Contact: (800) 244-3483,
Ext. 2209; fax: (772) 287-5990; e-mail: [email protected].