FRAMINGHAM, MA, May 14, 2018 – From curriculum involvement by luxury legends like Larry Pimentel, CTC, to an all-new multimedia format, The Travel Institute’s redesigned Luxury Course puts students on the fast track to success in selling and marketing to the affluent traveler.
The revamped online learning platform is built around a new multi-layered approach to education delivery, which includes:
- A video teaching segment by Larry Pimentel, CTC, president and CEO, Azamara Club Cruises;
- “Luxury Travel Insider” columns and insights written by luxury travel consultants and suppliers, including AccorHotels, Abercrombie & Kent, Ritz-Carlton, SeaDream Yacht Club, and Seabourn Cruise Line;
- A collection of recorded webinars focused on topics such as specialization, luxury trends, and strategies for differentiation in the competitive marketplace;
- Extensive and timely online content accessible on all mobile devices.
“The luxury market is on fire right now,” said Guida Botelho, CTA, director of training, “so it’s imperative that our revised course delivers exactly what today’s travel professional needs to succeed with this demanding yet highly profitable customer base. In addition to our staff expertise, we’ve tapped into some of the brightest minds in the luxury segment – both from a supplier and retail angle – to redesign our course. We’re thrilled with the end result, especially the high marks it’s received from the agency community during the pre-launch evaluation period.”
The five-lesson online course begins with an overview of luxury travel and then dives into specifics of the benefits and challenges of specializing; luxury trends, products, and client profile; marketing and sales skills; and creating a marketing plan for the luxury travel specialty. Each lesson is built around a multi-media format that includes interactive flashcard grids and stacks, informative recorded webinars, and eye-catching images. Brainstorming questions, key words, quick checks of the student’s understanding, and at-work exercises are also contained in each lesson. In addition, course participants will learn from:
- Application activities to create a simple marketing plan and agency promotion strategy
- Course summary and glossary of terms
- Resources tab, containing links to websites, magazines, and books
- Supplemental reading material
Cost of the online course and exam is $54. Premium Members of The Travel Institute enjoy the course free of charge as part of their unlimited learning experience and Basic Members save 10% on the enrollment.
About The Travel Institute
Since 1964, The Travel Institute has been a non-profit global leader in travel industry education and certification. We have certified more than 25,000 Certified Travel Associate (CTA), Certified Travel Counselor (CTC), and Certified Travel Industry Executive (CTIE) graduates and trained thousands more through our destination, niche and lifestyle courses and webinars. Much like accountants or other career professionals with their respective credentials, when you see Travel Institute certified graduates you know they are committed to upholding the highest standards and have completed rigorous courses and challenging exams to verify their expertise. Adding to our Certifications and Designations, The Travel Institute also offers unlimited learning online in our Premium Member Lounge, which serves as a 24/7 classroom across all mobile platforms for college-level courses in business, finance, sales, marketing, social media, and more.