Speaking at the opening general session, John Caldwell, President of MLT Vacations, talked about how

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort was the magical setting for nearly a thousand travel agents who headed in mass to the Home Based Travel Agent Forum , organized by the Outside Sales Support airline travel vacation Network (OSSN).
According to Jill Sala, with Travel Show Marketing Group, producers of the bi-annual home-based travel forums, “approximately 70 percent of U.S. travel agents today are home-based, so there is an ever-growing demand for these shows, which are specifically dedicated to the home-based segment.”
Cruise ship and Disney property inspections, general sessions, training seminars, an exhibit floor with more than 250 suppliers (including Amadeus), and even an outing to a Walt Disney World park, kept the travel agents busy from morning ‘til dusk during the jam-packed conference days.
Speaking at the opening general session, John Caldwell, President of MLT Vacations, talked about how the growing agencies can stand out in this fast-paced and ever-changing industry. In order to succeed, airline travel vacation Caldwell recommended to home-based travel agents that they should capitalize on new technology by taking advantage of the popularity of social media to grow their business. “Start looking at Facebook from a different angle; look at it as a business opportunity to connect and get your message out,” said Caldwell.
This message was reiterated by agents who spoke with Teresa Lang, one of the sales managers working airline travel vacation the Amadeus booth. Teresa discovered that agents nowadays are focusing on just one or two social media channels, but ensuring that they contain lots of interesting content, especially photos. She also noticed that there were fewer agents who were new to the industry, and more established agents who are specializing in niche travel such as “bucket list” travel, sports travel and Disney travel.
Andrea Vasquez, an Amadeus events team member, was mesmerized with the Amadeus booth and the quick set-up time achieved by great teamwork. She was also impressed by the high-tech look and feel of the booth. “With a limited amount of space, our brand shined bright against all others,” said Andrea.
We had an outpouring of travel agents who stopped by our booth to connect with Amadeus, while trying to win one of two $50 gift cards via the “Get On Board” airline travel vacation scratch-off cards. The lucky winners were Ricky Tyus from Tyus Tours Travel in Columbus, OH , and Phil Angelo of Leisure Travel Experts in Mint Hill, NC . As a representative of the marketing department, please remember that we are always looking to get more Facebook “likers” so if you haven’t already done so, please make sure that both you and your colleagues and friends airline travel vacation “like” our Amadeus North America Facebook page !
We also showcased products serving the leisure travel community such as Amadeus Vacation Link (featuring Amadeus Cruise ) and our programs for independent and home-based travel agents airline travel vacation such as Amadeus Agenta (US en Español).