There’s a lot more to Puerto Rico than San Juan—and there’s a lot more to being a successful travel advisor than just sales skills. So when my Facebook friends Nina Sherman and Hema Khan suggested that I spend a week with them and 20 travel advisors on a CCRA fam trip on the Island of Enchantment, I was in.

CCRA Travel Commerce Network recently announced a series of significant updates aimed at advancing the company’s growth strategy and supporting independent travel advisors. Building on momentum from the past two years, CCRA is making strategic investments in its membership services division, updating its TRUE accreditation requirements, and introducing fresh initiatives to benefit advisors. Read the rest of this entry »

CCRA Travel Commerce Network is celebrating the success of its two recent PowerSolutions LIVE events that were met with rave reviews from both travel advisors and suppliers. As well, the company is thrilled to share that last month reigned as one of the company’s largest recruiting months ever for both CCRA’s host agency – Travel Advisors Global Network (TAGN) and for TRUE Accreditation Code membership.

“We certainly have much to celebrate with the immense turn-out at our in-person PowerSolutions LIVE events in Philadelphia and Tampa as well as the outstanding successes we are seeing in member growth for both of the two unique tracks our company offers to become either individually accredited via TRUE or to become a member of our Host Agency TAGN. Last month was one of the best recruiting months our company has seen in our nearly 50-year history,” said Dic Marxen, President and CEO of CCRA. “Further, we are thrilled to be able to gather once again sharing the unparalleled value of meeting live and in-person to make the connections that will help grow business for both travel advisors and suppliers as we move into a bright new era of travel.”

CCRA recently hosted two successful PowerSolutions LIVE events attracting more than 300 travel advisors ready to connect with the products and solutions they need to power up their travel agency business. The events that were held in Philadelphia and Tampa featured valuable education and training sessions by industry experts and business development specialists, empowering speakers, face-to-face round table meetings between advisors and suppliers, and an interactive trade show for building key supplier relationships and networking with industry colleagues.

Asked how PowerSolutions LIVE went, Johanna González, Leisure Sales Manager, Discover Puerto Rico said,”(It was a) great event with quality travel advisors from Philadelphia! During Philadelphia Power Solutions, I was able to interact with a significant number of travel advisors that were eager to learn about my destination. The Power Solutions team did a great job with the organization and agenda, and the roundtables were a fun way to engage with smaller groups, teach them about the Island, and receive their feedback in a comfortable setting.”

Yolanda Carneiro, Vice President, Travel Industry Partnerships and Inside Sales for Carey International, said, “It’s always exciting when you hear ‘I need to use your service’ or ‘I didn’t realize Carey was worldwide’ …Everyone was so attentive, positive about travel, and hopefully ready to book Carey and earn commission!”

Deanna Reilly, owner Deanna’s Travel said, “Power Solutions was a great way to reconnect and learn!  It was a powerful event filled with networking, learning about destinations, suppliers and some new trends coming our way.  I even learned about a fantastic new tool to use to capture data seamlessly.  The Legal update was a priceless seminar filled with so much useful information and updates.”

Company executives say CCRA is poised for continued success in 2023. “Our goal is to continue on our growth trajectory and to bring even greater opportunities for agencies and advisors that we support as TRUE and TAGN members as well as to new advisors we introduce to the travel industry via our new Travel Advisor StartUp program,” said Marxen.

The next two PowerSolutions LIVE events will be held the December 1, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia and December 7, 2022 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Travel Advisors can register for the events online at: CCRA PowerSolutions LIVE Events.