Avoya Travel concluded its third annual Avoya Mastermind Land Forum, which took place virtually from May 4-7, 2021.
The event highlighted Avoya's accelerated land vacation sales growth and offered educational and networking opportunities.
"The Avoya Mastermind Virtual Land Forum was an exciting opportunity to connect hundreds of Independent Agencies in the Avoya Network and Avoya's preferred land partners to celebrate our incredible growth in recent months," said Jeff Anderson, co-president of Avoya Travel. "While we remain dedicated to continuing to grow cruising, Avoya recognized the huge opportunity for hotel and resort vacations as North Americans focus on vacations they can take now. The result has been happy travelers and happy travel advisors, both of whom deserve more hopefulness now than ever."
Hundreds of the network's independent agents attended the event, which included Avoya's preferred land partners, networking opportunities and an array of educational and professional development options.
"We were thrilled to take part in the third annual Avoya Mastermind Land Forum and were very impressed with the high level of engagement from the Independent Agencies in attendance as well as the many networking opportunities available to connect with the Avoya Network and continue building collaborative relationships for the future," said Robyn Basso, senior director, travel industry partnerships at Hawai'i Visitors & Convention Bureau. "We're encouraged by the enthusiasm we saw from the Avoya Network to learn more about the incredible destinations like Hawaii that are currently open for travel and Avoya's continued momentum in selling even more land vacations."
Keynote addresses came from Paula Hayes, vice president of sales at the Globus family of brands; Jim Tedesco, vice president of sales at Apple Leisure Group Vacations; Jim Marini, vice president of Strategic Partnerships at Amtrak Vacations and Railbookers; and more.
Agents in attendance appreciated the opportunity to connect with various destinations and products highlighted at the event.
"I am so grateful that Avoya hosted the Avoya Mastermind Land Forum again this year. It's wonderful that Avoya is continuing to expand its land vacation portfolio and helping the Avoya Network do the same so that we can be successful," said Tanya James, owner of Nations' Doorways, LLC, a member of the Avoya Network. "The Avoya staff has been phenomenal in answering any questions I've had and providing additional support when I needed some extra help. I chose to affiliate my business with Avoya because of the high level of support they offer, even during the affiliation process. The educational opportunities that are available far exceed any expectation I could have had."
Agents were also able to take "virtual fam trips," a unique look at a supplier's product experience where attendees explored products firsthand via recorded videos created specifically for Avoya that were aimed at providing experiential learning about the products through virtual tours, explanations of the product and even conversations with key staff members.
Avoya celebrated the success of its land offerings, sharing numbers that showed an unprecedented increase in interest.
Avoya reported a nearly 50 percent increase in overall resort sales in the previous 60 days compared to 2019 figures as well as a 70 percent increase in its patented Live Leads for resort products during the same period.
The network also announced that it had made cutting-edge enhancements to the resorts section of the Avoya Travel consumer website and expanded the brands and properties on display. Avoya also revealed further improvements to the integration of hotels and resorts within Avoya's proprietary SaaS technology, Agent Power, and unveiled the launch of the latest phase in its 'Vacations to Take Now' marketing campaign featuring a 'Top 15 Vacations to Take Now' deals hub and marketing blitz showcasing 15 hand-selected vacation packages, enhanced by exclusive promotions. The new marketing campaign runs through May 24, 2021.
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