It's Travel Agent Day!

Travel Agent Day is back!

Since 2012, travel agents across Canada have been recognized for their hard work in an ever-changing industry on the first Wednesday in May, a celebration which has since expanded to encompass all of May as Travel Agent Month, with numerous companies offering special incentives for agents. A Facebook page devoted to the occasion can be found here.

“We salute you - the thousands of professional travel agents who share their knowledge, their stories and their personal experiences to help people make their travel dreams come true,” read a statement from the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies. “What you do matters to so many people. Your efforts on behalf of your clients makes you part of some of the most memorable events in their lives. Many of your clients may have researched where they might want to travel to, but they come to you to cut through the clutter and to be reassured they won’t be disappointed or misled by what they see on the Internet. They count on your expert advice, they get inspired by your knowledge about the climate, accommodations, local customs and the documents they’ll need so that everything runs smoothly from the time they leave home until they return. They trust you. They get excited when they book their trip - and they come back to you because you don’t let them down. Be proud of that.”

Here’s a roundup of all the special offers currently available to agents:

Until May 10, agents booking with Air Canada Vacations will receive an additional two per cent commission when booking any of packages, including Flight and Cruise options, for travel from Nov. 1, 2018 and completed by April 30, 2019. This offer is not applicable to Groups, including Air and Cruise only.

AMResorts has launched its ‘Amazing May’ travel agent campaign, with contests, special rates and prizes for agents throughout the month. Full details are available here.

Club Med has introduced its Agent Calendar, a dedicated website with daily goals to complete for a chance to win a grand prize of 30,000 Great Agent points, the equivalent of a five-night stay in one of Club Med’s North American resorts. The calendar and full details are available here.

For every booking made during the month of May, Exodus Travels has pledged to send one additional child on the adventure of a lifetime with its responsible tourism initiative, The Inspiration Project, which local children with the opportunity to experience the same adventures as visitors to their countries which they likely would never be able to afford to do. More information is available here.

G Adventures is offering the top-selling agent on May 2, 2018 a free trip to Sri Lanka, Morocco, Colombia, South Africa or Iceland; a randomly-selected agent will also receive a free trip to one of those destinations. For more information, click here.

Every booking made during the month of May with any of the Globus family brands (Globus, Cosmos, Monograms and Avalon Waterways) instantly becomes a ballot, with the first randomly-drawn entry winning the choice of a Globus nine-day Bavarian Highlights FAM departing Oct. 28, or a Cosmos nine-day Dublin to London FAM departing Oct. 14. The second winner will receive a spot on the remaining trip. Winners will be announced the first week of June. Find out more at www.agentlingo.ca.

Royal Irish Tours is giving agents the chance to win a free space on their 2018 FAM (taking place Nov. 2 – 9, 2018), including airfare from their home city. Every booking made on an RIT trip during the month of May will result in an entry into the draw. The winner will be announced on June 4, 2018. The cost to attend this fam (if you are not the lucky winner) will be $599 for the land portion, and airfare will be available at a discounted rate through RIT. For more information or to apply, email agentfam@ritvacations.com.

For today only (May 2, 2018), agents have the exclusive opportunity to register all of their missed Sandals bookings online at taportal.sandals.com and earn more. By registering bookings online on Sandals’ travel agent portal, agents can maximize their earnings and benefits as part of the Certified Sandals Specialist program. Only registered bookings count towards an agent’s commission and overall sales growth.

Sunwing will be offering agents two times STAR Agent Reward Points, which convert to cash, on all bookings for made during Travel Agent Day. The promotion applies to all bookings for departures between May 3 and Oct. 31, 2018. In addition, throughout the rest of May, agents can earn triple STAR points on Sunwing Experiences (even as stand-alone purchases) as well as earn a ballot each time they make an excursion booking that will go towards a daily draw for the chance to win an excursion for two; a total of 30 excursions will be given throughout the month.

TPI is celebrating its advisors today and for the month of May with opportunities to win daily prize giveaways, capped off with a grand prize cruise for two aboard Norwegian Cruise Line.

On May 2, agents booking with Transat will earn extra Bonbon Rewards when they book South, Florida, Europe or cruise packages and flights only. When combining this offer with Transat’s Early Booking Promotion, they will earn up to $75 (15 x rewards) per room and up to $15 (5 x rewards) per passenger. More information available at Get Connected.

UnCruise is offering agents a $100 bonus commission per traveller on any new reservations booked in May on its 2018 and 2019 Columbia and Snake Rivers departures, including the Rivers of Adventure, Rivers of Wine, and Rivers of Wine & Culinary itineraries.

And be sure to check out the May edition of PAX magazine, featuring Travel Agent Month content including our cover story with ACTA's Wendy Paradis!