News from Sandals, Virtuoso + More in JimBits

As Canada's leading supporter of the Virtuoso network of luxury suppliers, Vision Travel, A Direct Travel Company management and advisors were front and centre at two recent Virtuoso events in Vancouver and Toronto.

"The luxury sector is key to our success," says Lynda Sinclair, senior vice-president of leisure travel for Vision Travel, which currently has over fifty locations across Canada. "These shows featured a tremendous mix of suppliers and proved an excellent opportunity for our advisors to network and learn. In fact, one of independent travel advisors that recently joined us was able to source an On Site to fulfill a client request with the special Virtuoso touch that sets us apart."

Joelle Goldman, director US & Canada for global member partnerships at Virtuoso, added "Vision travel advisors truly understand what we are all about and have given us first-rate support from the beginning. As a result, we have a special partnership with Vision Travel which is one of the largest Canadian Virtuoso member agency groups."

Among the Vision Travel management from across Canada at the Toronto event were Lynda Sinclair, Jennifer Strazzeri (director of leisure sales and operations, Ontario), Robin Dunn (leisure regional manager, Western Ontario), Heather Calvert (leisure regional manager, Manitoba and northern Saskatchewan), Terry Kaszas (leisure regional manager, Saskatchewan) and Lucy Catalanotto (regional manager, New Wave Travel).

Online registration is now open for Sandals Resorts' Canadian series of Certified Sandals Specialist workshops which take place between May and September 2019. With workshops in over 40 cities from St. John's, Newfoundland to Surrey, British Columbia, Sandals invites agents to "take the keys" and lock in more bookings than ever before.

During the fast-paced, concise sessions, agents will receive key product updates, key selling strategies, key tips and more key information they need to sell Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts. The workshops also fulfill the educational requirement towards becoming a Certified Sandals Specialist, as well as the maintenance requirement for agents already holding CSS status.

The majority of workshops are scheduled in the morning (7:45am - 12:30pm) however in select cities, afternoon (1:00pm - 5:00pm) and evening (5:00pm - 9:00pm) sessions are available. In Quebec, workshops are conducted in both English and French.

In addition, the Sandals workshops are ACTA approved. Each travel agent or manager who completes a workshop receives 10 credits towards their Certified Travel Counsellor or Certified Travel Manager designation.

Space is limited and agents are encouraged to register early. A non-refundable fee of $40.00 is required at time of registration. All participants will receive a 2019 workbook manual (which serves as an excellent resource guide), a 2019 CSS certificate (to show off and post on social media) as well as a supply of the newest collateral materials.

Agents can register online at www.uvisandals.ca and contact their local Business Development Manager or Inside Sales 1-800-545-8283 or 416-223-0028 for any additional information.


The first workshop is May 1 in Vaughan. The last scheduled one for this year is Sept. 26 in Mississauga.

The Saint Martin / Sint Maarten Annual Regional Tradeshow (SMART) 2019 is to provide 15 different speakers, workshops and masterclasses, as to assist the Northeastern Caribbean tourism sector with an overview of the latest developments in tourism. Innovations from both sides of the island, the Caribbean, the United States and Europe will be highlighted in a parallel track to the many business meetings going on during SMART.

It was decided in 2018 by the four SMART partners L'Association des Hoteliers de Saint Martin, Saint Martin Tourism Office, in conjunction with the Sint Maarten Tourist Bureau and St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association, that innovation should be a key theme to facilitate the best possible comeback of the destination.

Within the workshop settings, managers and entrepreneurs are offered expert workshops on how to further improve their operations. Topics will be amongst others on social media strategy, deployment of technology, revenue management, the importance of customer reviews, occupancy strategies and customer engagement, increasing customer satisfaction, digital marketing trends and economic & environmental practices - (the value of being a 'Green' business in the Caribbean.

Workshops from abroad will be provided by amongst others North American companies like Avvio, Flip.to, STR, TravelClick and TripAdvisor. Caribbean innovations will come amongst others from BookSXM, Caribious, InspireFocus and ShowMeCaribbean. Experts like EPIC and hospitality institutions will provide insights on how to make operations more sustainable. Each workshop will take place twice a day, giving delegates more chances and space in their SMART-agenda to attend the workshops of their interest.

The tradeshow will be held May 21 to 23, 2019 at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort Casino and Spa. We are expecting numerous Tour Operators, Travel Agents, Travel Writers and Event Planners from the US, Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean to attend this important event. In previous years, SMART featured suppliers from Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Barthelemy, St. Kitts & Nevis and St. Maarten-St. Martin.

Carnival Cruise Line has long touted the value of using a travel advisor when booking a cruise vacation, and now that commitment is being intensified through a yearlong initiative called WUATA: Why Use A Travel Advisor. Aimed at helping travel professionals attract new clients and deepen the loyalty of existing clients, WUATA is a multifaceted program with special events that bring clients and industry experts together to promote the travel agent community.

Carnival's Why Use A Travel Advisor program will feature a WUATA Party (a wordplay on What-A Party) in four cities, social media promotions, contests, exclusive merchandise, giveaways, text alerts and WUATA Word, an innovative crowdsourced word cloud that will grow throughout the year as the movement expands. Easy-to-use tools are available on GoCCL.com to help travel advisors spread the word to existing and potential clients.

Carnival will host WUATA Parties in Orlando, Florida, May 8; Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 24; New York Sept. 8; and Los Angeles Oct. 29. None are planned for Canada yet.

But a Carnival spokeswoman told TravelPulse Canada that Canadian travel advisors can fully participate in the WUATA program.

"We recommend that they register for WUATA parties that may be convenient to them on GoCCL.com. They can participate in WUATA word and describe why Travel Agents Rock in one word by visiting WUATAWord.com, as well as, sign up for WUATA updates by text by texting WUATA to 1-866-469-8282 (normal text messaging rates may apply)."

There's a new travel show in town that adventurers will want to add to their must-watch list. Québec recently released Born To Let Go, a streaming series dedicated to uncovering the destination's travel marvels. The new series is available on demand to anyone with a curiosity to experience unusual adventures in the beautiful landscapes of Québec.

Born To Let Go is a collaboration between all Québec tourism regions and sector organizations, and takes the opportunity to highlight Québec's local businesses and creative talents. Québec singer-songwriter Charlotte Cardin takes care of the theme song with her stunning rendition of Daniel Bélanger's Fous n'importe où - a true Francophone escape anthem and vacation soundtrack classic for thousands of Québecers.

The first few episodes of Born To Let Go were released a few weeks ago on the QuébecOriginal YouTube channel and four new episodes are now available to enjoy.