ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- ASTA is gearing up to sponsor agent seminars, a
training program featuring president Michael Spinelli and a
conference during the coming months. A rundown follows:
Sales seminars and the Internet will figure prominently at
ASTA's 1998 International Conference at the Alcora Hotel in
Seville, Spain, from Feb. 11 to 14. ASTA said the conference is
designed to help members discover ways to maximize profits through
effective use of the Internet and innovative sales and marketing
strategies. Seminars will include topics such as Using the Internet
as a Communication and Resource Tool, Incentive Travel Dynamics,
Sales and Marketing Strategies, Today's International Travel and
Perfect Partners: Working with ASTA Members Worldwide. Other
seminar topics are Building a Web Page on the Internet, Spain as a
Destination, Increasing Business from the U.S. Travel Market,
Customer Management Solutions, The Power of Ecotourism in Today's
Travel Industry and New Connections: The Internet and the Travel
Industry. Registration is $215.Society president Spinelli will conduct a one-hour seminar at
ASTA's Trainingfest, designed to encourage agents to sell vacation
packages instead of air tickets. Trainingfest will held in
Albuquerque, N.M., from Feb. 26 to March 1. Spinelli said he will
conduct similar Pathway to Profitability seminars at ASTA's
regionals, Tourfest and Cruisefest. "I got rid of the air ticketing
business one year after I went into business and I haven't had an
unprofitable year in 39 years," Spinelli said. "There is no money
in point-to-point air."The Society will hold its 1998 Eastern Regional Conference at
the Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa, Fla., May 28 to 31. The regional
will feature a Niche Marketing Strategies Course and provide
attendees with an opportunity to take the Travel Agent Proficiency
test. Registration is $99 per person before March 1, $169
afterwards. The resort is offering delegates a $110 rate for
deluxe, one- and two-bedroom accommodations on a first-come,
first-served basis. A $29 fee is required for the Niche Marketing
course. Participants interested in taking the proficiency test must
call the Institute of Certified Travel Agents at (800) 542-4282 by
April 26. The test fee will be $70. For more information on the
events, ASTA agents may call (800) ASK-ASTA and nonmembers may call
(703) 684-8319. Information also is available on ASTA's Web site at
www.astanet.com.