Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has announced that it has partnered with the Professional Travel Agents of North America (PTANA) organization and aligned with a coalition to stop wildlife trafficking.
First, CLIA's alliance with PTANA and its around 150 agencies and 600 agents makes it a 2017 Premier Member as it commits to making all of its professionals members. This will let PTANA agents access CLIA's professional development and certification program.
"PTANA has proven themselves to be a valuable member of the cruise industry and I look forward to seeing them thrive as a new Premier Member of CLIA," said Cindy D'Aoust, president and CEO, CLIA in a statement. "This alliance further underscores CLIA's commitment to the travel professional community and our mission to be the unified voice for the industry."
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PTANA provides travel professionals networking opportunities, educational forums and monthly seminars to better their sales techniques and present them with updated product and destination details.
"It's all about the relationship, with our partners, our members, our clients, and now with CLIA," added Lila Nicholas, National Chairperson, PTANA in the statement. "This unprecedented alliance will ensure PTANA agencies and agents are empowered with professional development tools and resources that are the gold standard for the cruise industry and will help PTANA members increase their cruise sales while creating more satisfied and loyal cruise clients."
Meanwhile, CLIA has also joined with Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) and American Society for Travel Agents (ASTA) to support U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance's mission to make people and, in this case, travelers aware of wildlife trafficking dangers and to bring an end to consumer demand for endangered species products.
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It is meant to help protect animals like elephants, rhinos and tortoises as the alliance distributes its "Know Before You Go / Ask Before You Buy" digital toolkit to travelers and the travel industry. As part of the endeavors, CLIA will release educational materials to its members as well.
"CLIA has been actively engaged in efforts to reduce or eliminate trade in illegal wildlife, and we are excited to continue those efforts by joining the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance," said D'Aoust in another statement. "CLIA is proud to increase awareness among crew and the more than 25 million passengers that will sail this year. In the coming months, we will be sharing the cruise industry's perspective on reaching and educating the public, and we look forward to working with other leaders in the travel and tourism industry on this important global issue."
These efforts come at a high time of threats against wildlife populations as the climate changes and habitats are lost. Illegal poaching in the last 10 years has been pushing endangered animals closer to extinction. By protecting these animals, travelers will continue to enjoy seeing them in their natural environments.
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