Italy specialist Central Holidays is targeting home-based agents with more fam trips in the coming year and more help in selling group travel.
The company also said it is regularly adding agent commission and travel specials on its website at www.centralholidays.com/specials/index.html.
Central Holidays is focused on helping home-based agents more effectively sell group travel by offering packages and tours that can be tailored to client interests, said a company spokeswoman. “Agents can choose from Central Holidays’ suggested group travel itineraries, or they can consult with a company group specialist to customize a travel program,” she said.
Themed itineraries include religion, culture, education, archaeology, art, architecture, river cruises, food, wine and winter sports. The company also recently added 10 European honeymoon packages that can be customized based on a couple’s interests.
Central Holidays recently hosted nearly 200 travel agents on fam trips to Italy in conjunction with tourist offices in Piedmont, Como, Brescia and Mantova. The company chartered a 767 that flew from New York to Milan, and agents were divided into seven groups to explore different regional itineraries.
During the fam trip, the tour operator was named the partner for “Passione di Cristo,” a Passion Play that takes place every five years in Sordevolo, Italy, and is similar to the play performed in Germany’s Oberammergau.
The next “Passione di Cristo” is scheduled for June through September 2015. Central Holidays has created sales material for agents and group leaders interested in organizing tours for the event.
More such educational trips introducing agents to Italy and the rest of the Mediterranean are planned, the company said.
“Our goal is to make doing business with Central Holidays easy and profitable for agents. … We offer an ongoing range of training opportunities and a comprehensive array of travel programs, all commissionable to agents,” company President Fred Berardo said in a statement.