Travel Best Bets recently partnered with AmaWaterways to take 12 of its Connected Agents to Cambodia and Vietnam for a week-long Mekong River FAM.
The group sailed AmaWaterways’ Riches of the Mekong itinerary aboard AmaDara from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7, travelling from Kampong Cham, Cambodia, to My Tho Port in Vietnam.
The FAM included top-producing Connected Agents as well as advisors looking to expand their river cruise business.
“River cruising continues to offer tremendous opportunity for travel advisors, but there’s no substitute for experiencing the product yourself,” said Claire Newell, President of Travel Best Bets. “These opportunities give our Connected Agents the knowledge and confidence to speak from personal experience and better advise their clients.”
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Scott Bender, Travel Best Bets’ Connected Agent Training & Development Coordinator, accompanied the group along with Fatima DaSilva of AmaWaterways.
During the seven-night sailing, advisors visited rural communities, markets, historic sites and local artisans throughout Cambodia and Vietnam.
Travel Best Bets & AmaWaterways partnered for a week-long Mekong River FAM. (Photo Credit: Travel Best Bets)Stops and excursions included Angkor Ban Village, Phnom Penh’s Royal Palace and Central Market, the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng, as well as a Buddhist monastery and blessing ceremony in Oudong and a tuk-tuk tour of Phnom Penh.
In Vietnam, advisors travelled by traditional trishaw through Tan Chau, visited silk-making and rattan-mat workshops and explored Sa Dec and Cai Be. The itinerary also included demonstrations of traditional rice paper, candy and regional food production.
Training was incorporated into the FAM, with advisors taking part in AmaWaterways product training and a ship tour. Bender also led a Travel Best Bets training session, “Evolving With Your Client,” focused on how advisors can adapt as their clients’ travel interests and needs change.
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Several participants added pre- and post-cruise stays, giving them experience with incorporating a Mekong sailing into a broader Southeast Asia itinerary.
“When an advisor has experienced the ship, excursions and destinations first-hand, that knowledge comes through in the conversation with the client,” Newell said. “That’s what turns training into better advice and stronger business.”
The Mekong trip is part of Travel Best Bets’ ongoing Connected Agent training program, which includes supplier education and first-hand destination and product experiences.
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