CLIA has announced the 2011 schedule for TrainingFest, its two-day program of seminars and a trade show that provides agents with the opportunity to earn up to 70 CLIA Cruise Counselor credits.
From mid-July to Oct. 1, TrainingFest will visit 11 cities throughout the U.S. and two locations in Canada. This year’s program offers new and updated seminars, a new Friday-Saturday schedule designed to facilitate training with minimum disruption of agency workdays and a new, more efficient format. CLIA will host a complimentary Saturday morning continental breakfast for participants attending one or more seminars.
“CLIA is totally committed to making much-needed training as convenient and thorough as possible for our agent partners,” said Bob Sharak, executive vice president of marketing. “In addition to a full range of online and classroom seminars, as well as learning opportunities at such events as Cruise3sixty, TrainingFest brings education to cities across North America. This is a great way to earn a large number of credits toward CLIA certification without traveling far from home.”
Agents can take up to four seminars during the two days of TrainingFest, choosing from two levels of courses offered in three-hour training periods on Friday and Saturday. On Fridays the choices include: Cruise Vacations – An Introduction as well as Principles of Professional Selling, both new and updated since last year, along with Group Sales Made Easy and Negotiating to Win.
On Saturdays the seminars include Power Selling Techniques, which is also new and updated; Cruising…Knowing the World you Sell; Getting Connected: A Primer on Social Media Networking; and a brand new seminar for 2011: Specialty Cruising, which focuses on the increasingly diverse nature of the cruise product offered by CLIA members, from adventure voyages to Antarctica to European river journeys to world cruises.
Seminars are scheduled on Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Saturday courses follow a continental breakfast and a trade show which begin 8:00 a.m. and last until 9:30 a.m., which enables participants to meet with representatives from numerous CLIA member cruise lines to discuss product, special sales opportunities and the individual lines’ own training programs.
Fees for TrainingFest 2011 range from $45 to $150, depending on the number of seminars selected and CLIA membership. The program is open to non-members, who pay slightly higher rates.
TrainingFest Schedule
July 15-16: Houston
July 22-23: New York City/Flushing
July 29-30: Seattle/Bellevue
Aug. 5-6: Chicago/Rosemont
Aug. 12-13: Las Vegas
Aug. 19-20: Washington DC/Arlington
Aug. 26-27: Orlando
Sept. 9-10: Calgary
Sept. 16-17: Toronto
Sept. 23-24: Los Angeles/San Pedro
Sept. 30-Oct 1: Atlanta
To register or find more information about TrainingFest, visit www.cruising.org.
