To celebrate National Travel Advisor Day today, May 1, Carnival Cruise Line is launching a search for the best of the best in a new contest that supports the yearlong “Why Use a Travel Advisor” (WUATA) program dedicated to promoting the value of travel agents.
With the launch of Carnival’s “Most Trusted Travel Advisor” contest, consumers can brag why their travel advisor is the best in the business in the quest for the title.
In addition to the winning travel advisor being named Carnival’s “Most Trusted Travel Advisor," the agent and their client nominator will be awarded a cruise on Mardi Gras — debuting in August 2020 — and roundtrip airfare. The agent also will receive a $1,000 bonus and the commission from their client’s Mardi Gras cruise.
The contest is part of Carnival’s WUATA: Why Use A Travel Advisor program, and Travel Agent asked Adolfo Perez, senior vice president of sales and trade marketing, about whether the initial announcement last month is bringing in new agents to sell Carnival.
Perez stressed that “the point of this campaign is not necessarily to get more agents. It’s really to get the word out to consumers – and this has a whole consumer facing angle to it in a year-long campaign – about how important and how valuable a travel agent can be in planning your vacation and why you should use a travel advisor.”
“There’s no better way to reinforce that sentiment than by asking clients to help us choose Carnival’s Most Trusted Travel Advisor in North America!” said Perez. “We know it takes hard work and dedication from agents to make their clients’ vacation dreams come true, and we want to recognize their efforts.”
Carnival’s “Most Trusted Travel Advisor” WUATA Contest is launching today in support of National Travel Advisor Day (May 1). The day will be celebrated throughout the industry, and travel advisors can follow all of the events and activities at www.ASTA.org/TravelAdvisorDay and on social media with the hashtag #TravelAdvisorDay.
To nominate a travel advisor for Carnival new contest, clients can visit www.wuatacontest.com and submit a short story on why their travel advisor deserves the title by recalling a time when they saved the day, made them feel extra special or went above and beyond the call of duty. The contest is open from May 1 through October 29, and the winner will be announced at a Fort Lauderdale cruise event on November 13.
The three finalists will be selected by a committee of judges including Ann Chamberlin, senior vice president, membership & strategic partnerships for American Society of Travel Advisors; Charles Sylvia, vice president, membership and trade relations, for Cruise Lines International Association; and members of Carnival’s sales leadership team.
All three travel advisors will receive an all-expenses paid two-day/one-night trip to South Florida for the grand prize winner announcement ceremony.
In addition to the title the “Most Trusted Travel Advisor,” the grand prize winner and their nominating client each will receive a cruise for two aboard Mardi Gras, with roundtrip airfare to the embarkation city. The newly named ‘Most Trusted Travel Advisor’ also wins a $1,000 cash prize plus commission from their client’s Mardi Gras cruise.
The first and second runner-up travel advisor winners also each will receive a cruise for two aboard Mardi Gras and roundtrip airfare to the embarkation city. All three winners will be celebrated by the Carnival sales team.
To promote the new program, Carnival will focus on social media channels, such as Perez’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/CarnivalTrade/. The line is also getting help from John Heald, the line’s popular brand ambassador and veteran cruise director, on his wildly popular Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/JohnHeald/.
In addition, Carnival will be creating a video series, which Perez and Heald will promote on those pages, as well as for use on YouTube and other social media sites.
The videos will showcase consumers' first-hand stories that are poignant, compelling, heartfelt and show just how important the travel agent was to a past trip or vacation experience.
Perez said that video content will also be made available to agents for their use on websites and social media.
WUATA Basics
Aimed at helping travel professionals attract new clients and deepen the loyalty of existing clients, Carnival’s WUATA: Why Use A Travel Advisor is a multifaceted program with special events that bring clients and industry experts together to promote the travel advisor community. Agents can read Travel Agent's announcement story on the program here.
WUATA features WUATA Parties in four cities, social media promotions, contests, exclusive merchandise, giveaways and WUATA Word, an innovative crowdsourced word cloud that grows 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.
The four cities for WUATA Parties include Orlando, FL, on May 8, and both Perez and Heald, as well as others, will participate.
Other parties hosted by Perez (but minus Heald) are planned on July 24 in Toronto, Canada (which Perez said has replaced Minneapolis, MN, as initially announced); New York City on September 8; and Los Angeles on October 29.
For additional information about Carnival Cruise Line call 1-800-327-9501 (individual) or 1-800-327-5782 (groups) or visit the line’s travel advisor Internet portal,GoCCL.com. Carnival can also be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
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