The reoccurring topic of conversation at Travel Impressions’ “Best of the Best 2018” event, held in Cancun in November, centered around the operator’s rapid growth in inventory as a result of the Apple Leisure Group (ALG) and The Mark Travel Corporation merger back in April.

We chatted with Travel Impressions’ President Scott Wiseman about its expansion into new destinations, including Cuba and Colombia’s Cartagena.

Cuba was a major announcement at this year's show. Can you give more details behind that?

Cuba is an exciting announcement for us, and we have two programs that are currently being loaded into our systems. I can confirm that this destination will be available for travel beginning May 2019 and that both packages will operate under the Support to the Cuban People program as regulated by the U.S. Department of Treasury, and so these will not be FIT programs.

However, they will feature the inclusion of a local guide and driver for the duration of the itinerary, roundtrip transfers in and out of Cuba, plus meals and exciting activities. Havana, Camaguey and Cienfuegos will be our primary destination focuses.

Cartagena was added to the portfolio during the 2017 event. Can you give us an update on how it has been faring?

Cartagena has been performing extremely well for Travel Impressions. It’s truly a multi-faceted destination that offers something for every type of traveler.

We’ve got quite a robust collection of hotels in our Cartagena portfolio, as well as a growing selection of commissionable half- and full-day tours that agents can book on behalf of their clients. The success of our Colombia program has encouraged us to look at other potential destinations in South America, so agents can expect some new product growth in this region in the not-too-distant future.

What was one of the highlights of the 2018 'Best of the Best'?

Many [agents] participated in our VAX Hacks pop-up workshop, which was actually the first time we offered on-site technology training at “Best of the Best.” We designed the live training to help them take advantage—more so than our typical training sessions do—of the efficiencies in our new portal. I’m thrilled to report that it was extremely well received.

What else has Travel Impressions add/improved/expanded in the past year from a destinations/products standpoint?

Quite literally everything. Our product portfolio has grown exponentially over the past year.

We went from just over 200 destinations worldwide to 1,300 practically overnight as a result of product integration with other Apple Leisure Group brands. While we felt we had a comprehensive portfolio when we enjoyed relationships with 2,000 hotels and resorts, our agent partners now have access to a quarter of a million.

The past year has been, without argument, the single-greatest product growth period for Travel Impressions.