In this issue, we feature one of the hottest international destinations in our cover story, "
Reinventing Singapore." As you will read, Singapore's transformation has not taken place overnight. Tourism officials set goals, put together a plan to achieve them and have been steadily executing this plan for the past decade or so. It's a classic formula for success in any field, and it has helped make Singapore not just a trendy destination, but a trendsetter on the world stage.
At TravelAge West, we're currently looking for our own trendsetters for our annual Trendsetter Awards. As we have in past years, we want to acknowledge travel agents who are standouts in their field -- agents who have used creativity, ingenuity and hard work to reach their goals. Winners and runners-up will win great travel prizes, be honored at our black-tie WAVE Awards gala in Beverly Hills, Calif., and be featured on the cover of TravelAge West.
This year's award categories are: Best Use of Social Media, for an agent's ability to use social media to generate sales and increase awareness about his or her business; Best Community Service Effort, for a community service project that has benefited the community in a substantial way; Top Agent Under 40, for an agent who, despite his or her relatively young age, has taken a leading role in the industry; Best Group Booking Sales Effort, celebrating an extraordinary group booking challenge; and Best Industry Activist, given for notable efforts in support of the travel agent community as a whole. As of press time, sponsors for this year's awards include Globus Family of Brands and Gogo Vacations.
Agents can find a link for entries at TravelAgeWest.com. Entries must be received by March 4.
So, if you feel particularly proud about something you did in the past year -- or if you know an agent whom you think is worthy of recognition -- let us know, so we can reward agents who serve as examples of the best of our industry.
