The Mexico Tourism Board (MTB) today launched VisitMexicoUniversity.com, a new online
educational training and loyalty rewards program for travel agents.
The site, designed to reflect a modern and dynamic
Mexico, is the
official home of the certified specialist program and a one-stop travel agent
resource center, replacing the MTB’s Magic of Mexico program.
Agents enrolled at www.mexicorewards4agents.com will be
automatically moved over to the new site.
The new site was designed and developed for the MTB by
Marketing Solutions, a division of Northstar Travel Media that also owns Travel
Weekly.
The MTB said the new site is dedicated to helping agents
maximize, in an interactive way, the potential of Mexico’s diverse offerings,
from the museums of Mexico City and the country’s many beach destinations to
off-the-beaten-path gems and colonial cities.
The program also focuses on experiences and themes, such as
weddings, gastronomy, culture, spas and nature, offering guides and tools to
help agents sell diverse types of trips to Mexico.
As users enter the new site, which requires a one-time
straightforward registration, they will find multiple tools with drop-down
headings on the home page to help navigate their journey.
Clicking on the “Planning” heading, for example, brings up a
list of major carriers serving Mexico from the U.S., 12 key destination areas
within Mexico, interactive maps and descriptions of top hotels in six
geographic regions.
Clicking on a specific hotel brings up a deep profile of the
property, including starting rate, website links and email addresses,
commission information and GDS reservation codes.
If an agent wants to locate beachfront properties or find
resorts that offer golf or urban properties featuring a rooftop pool, that
information can be entered in and pulled up from the Hotel Search section.
The certification section, listed under the “Education”
heading on the home page, comprises 10 chapters that make up the official
course a user must take to become a certified Mexico Travel Expert.
To complete the education program, agents need to review all
10 course modules, which cover topics ranging from Mexico regions and states to
cultural offerings, aspects of selling Mexico, detailed beach resort
destinations, colonial cities and the elements that help to sell to different
market sectors.
Each chapter includes a quiz at the end with five to eight
questions that require a passing grade of 80% to move on to the next chapter.
After Chapter 10, instead of a chapter quiz, there is a
final exam. Agents who pass become certified Mexico Travel Experts and can
download and print a certificate attesting to that status.
There is no time limit on taking the course; the chapters
can be studied and the quizzes can be taken at the agent’s leisure. Agents can keep track of their progress during the course.
A supplemental Graduate Center within the Education tool,
which cannot be unlocked until the agent completes the course, includes
information about specific offers, resources and fam trips available to agents.
The MTB said the benefits of certification are many. Agents
will receive two Continuing Education Units issued by the Travel Institute and
become eligible for invitations from MTB’s hotel, air and tour operator
partners.
Mexico Rewards, the incentive component of the new program,
enables registered agents to track their sales on the site by entering each
client’s booking information.
Each booking is tracked; the more eligible rooms that are
booked, the more chances of winning cash and travel prizes from Mexico’s
partners.
Additional tools include videos, webinars, slideshows,
information-packed guides and brochures.