The Saint Lucia Tourist Board (SLTB) announced the Piton Awards, an upgrade to its Preferred Agent Saint Lucia Specialist (PASS) program. The Piton Awards will offer travel agencies participating in PASS opportunities to earn incentives from participating hotels, monthly cash prizes of $500 for the most productive North American travel agent and agency, and the chance to win a grand prize of a Saint Lucia-branded car.

To be eligible, agents must complete the Saint Lucia Specialist Course, complete IATA/CLIA/ARC/CLAA certification, attend a Saint Lucia presentation at least once per year and regularly update their St. Lucia bookings online. A monthly award of $500 will go to the top booking agent of the month, with an additional $500 to the agency. The Saint Lucia-branded vehicle will be awarded to a top-producing travel agent chosen from among those who book a minimum of 500 room nights between June 2012 and May 2013. The Piton Awards program will run from now through May 31, 2013.

The PASS program offers several benefits for St. Lucia-selling travel professionals including personalized marketing tools, complimentary and discounted fam trips, listing on SLTB website, access to thousands of travelers via SLTB’s live online chats, complimentary site inspections, featured spots within the SLTB monthly e-newsletter, and a chance to win an all-inclusive trip for two.

“Our goal is to ensure that agents have the tools they need to be successful as well as giving them the opportunity to experience first-hand all Saint Lucia has to offer,” said Nerdin St. Rose, SLTB’s vice president of marketing and sales.