ORANJESTAD, Aruba -- The Aruba Tourism Authority (ATA) officially
launched its agent training program at its annual tourism
conference, which was held in San Nicholas, Aruba, last month.
The program, initially introduced at Gogo's Learning Conference in
Aruba last fall, is designed to educate agents about Aruba as well
as foster relationships between agents and the tourism authority,
an official said.
Agents who complete the Aruba Certified Expert (ACE) program
will earn Institute of Certified Travel Agents credits. The exact
number of credits to be earned is under review.
The program costs $35 for a four-hour seminar conducted by the
authority in major U.S. markets.
Agents who complete the program get a $20 rebate on their first
booking.
ATA said it hopes to develop a home-study version of the
program.
Retailers who become Aruba specialists will be included in a
referral program and will have access to an ACE agents-only Web
site.
They also will receive reference materials based on their
specific needs and markets.
Names of ACE agents will be distributed with Aruba travel
information and will be listed on ATA's Web site, www.aruba.com.
The ACE agents-only Web site is scheduled to be up and running
later this year at www.aceagent.com.
For additional information on the specialist program, call (800)
TO-ARUBA.