ALG Vacations Hosts “Advisors in Action: Come Back to Give Back” in Jamaica

ALG Vacations (ALGV) “Advisors in Action: Come Back to Give Back” in Jamaica took place January 31 through February 4, with RIU Hotels & Resorts serving as the host for accommodations.

It was more than just a standard FAM trip – it was a strategic voluntourism mission designed to give back to local communities in Jamaica after the hurricane, and to help showcase that Jamaica was ready for tourism business.

Advisors visited all 7 RIU properties in Jamaica, along with several other resorts, plus a stop at the famous Rick’s Café, all for the advisors to see and share with their clients that Jamaica is open and ready for tourists to visit.

I caught up with Jacki Marks, Global Head of Trade Brands for ALG Vacations, to discuss putting the event together, the impact the advisors and ALGV made, and the value of a Jamaica vacation right now.

Watch the video above to see highlights of the event and to hear from a few advisors on what it meant to them to be here and the importance of voluntourism.

Below is a transcript of the video:

Eric Bowman: Hey everyone. I'm Eric Bowman, editor-in-chief for travelpulse.com, here with the lovely one and only Jacki Marks of ALG Vacations. We're here at RIU Palace in Montego Bay as part of the Advisors Back in Action, Come Back to Give Back here in Jamaica. First off, Jackie, thank you so much for having us here, and could you give our viewers at home who wish they were certainly here, a little bit of an overview of what this advisor's back in action come back to give back is all about?

Jacki Marks: Yeah, absolutely. So this trip is about three things. It's about supporting, serving, and sharing. We set those three guiding pillars when we created this trip because we wanted to make sure everybody understood that the recovery of Jamaica takes multiple layers to be able to do what we want to do. So let's talk about first why we're here to support. Support for the advisors meant that they went out and they used their networks and their people in their lives to help us collect donations, both physical and monetary, to be able to bring here in Jamaica because, the people of Jamaica need it.

As much as tourism back, as much as this beautiful hotel is welcoming and open, the community still needed help. So all of those suitcases, which were well over 300 suitcases, which was amazing. I never thought in a million years I would see that many suitcases, equating to about 18,000 pounds of things from tarps to, batteries, to bottles, to diaper wipes, to deodorant. You name it, they brought it down here. So that was the first thing that we wanted to do is get supplies into the local communities.

The second thing was serve and serving meant to get into the communities now and what kind of help did they need? Repairs. Painting cleanup, spending time at the animal shelter, you name it, we were out there doing it, and so that was really important.

And then the third thing was to share. And what does share mean? It means that in order for the tourism industry to recover here in Jamaica, every advisor that couldn't be here has to be able to see through eye our eyes what it means to be at a hotel and to know that your customer's going to have a great experience here.

And I think that's one of the things that has had some advisors not necessarily selling as fast as we'd like. So we're going to share that content and make sure that every advisor, whether you were here or not, knows that they can sell Jamaica with confidence.

EB: Yeah. And there were certainly a lot of advisors who did want to be here as you earlier said there are only about 90 plus here right now and over a thousand applied to be here. So there's a lot of interest, a lot of ways to help Jamaica. So, what really stood out to you in this overall event so far?

JM: There's a couple of things. One was, I think the need of the local communities was even bigger than I expected.I knew that the, the help was needed, but until you get actually physically on the ground and you see the schools and the damage that was done by this hurricane, it was a category five. And so to think that, you know, they were going to wake up after two months and that you were going to see these schools better than they were.

Maybe it wasn't a false expectation that any of us maybe had. So seeing it made me realize we needed to do more than maybe we even thought. And so we're collecting a list of all the things, the places we visited need that we couldn't supply this time around. So one of the examples is we went into the Bright Horizons School. And, we had an intention to clean up, bring supplies, paint the thing, and we found they have no playground. Their playground was destroyed, and the kids in the backyard have a small space of just dirt. And so immediately I said, I don't care what it takes, we're building a playground. And so we committed to finding a way to get that playground done for that school.

So that was one of the first moments I realized is that we have a long journey to go and we're going to make this a commitment all year. And then the second thing was the overwhelming gratitude and appreciation the community had for us, and again, I knew that they were going to be welcoming and I knew that they were going to be excited to see us.

But we had a moment when we walked into Rio Ocho Rios, where over 300 employees were clapping for us. And I was trying to be happy and dance and be excited, but the reality was I was so overwhelmed with emotion that the community was so excited to see us. And so, I think that was realizing just how special our travel family is in that moment.

And then the last thing is just these advisors blew me away, from, you know, what they brought to be being up till late at night, early in the morning, not complaining, just doing what they needed to do to chip in.

We had one advisor that actually did a Facebook live and raised $600 on the spot at one of our schools.

So they're all so amazing to be here and to do what they're doing.

EB: Yeah, it's absolutely incredible. The power of travel advisors is very strong. As the tourism minister of Jamaica, Edmond Bartlett, recently said that travel advisors since Jamaica reopened, they've secured over 23,000 room nights at approximately $8 million.

So, travel advisors never underestimate the power that you have and the way you can change lives out here for sure. So as we talk about that in Jamaica and coming back. , coming back, could you just talk a little more about the value of coming to Jamaica this year and the importance of that and thinking Jamaica first?

JM: Yeah, just like I said, I think ultimately that until you get on the ground and you're here, I think there's a level of disconnect between understanding what's going on in the destination and so being here really brings it full circle and brings everything that we need to know. Now we understand that not every one of you advisors can get here, so that's why our content sharing is going to be huge for you.

But having the confidence through what we're telling you to support the destination is how we get a destination like Jamaica back to its resilient state that it should be in. So, the values are better than ever it is right now, if you buy a Jamaica package on average, it is going to be cheaper for similar hotels here in Jamaica than it will be in Cancun or in Punt Cana.

So now is the time your client will get a great deal. You'll be supporting a destination that desperately needs the tourism to be here, and you're really going to help this place get back to a really amazing state, and do all of our part. That's what we are, we're a family and we come together in the good times and the bad times.

So please travel advisors. Make sure you're checking out and know that Jamaica's ready for you, ready for your customers, and we're going to give you the information you need to be able to sell it.

EB: Excellent. Well, thank you so much, Jacki, for having us

JM: and thank you for being here and getting your hands dirty.

EB: Yes, indeed. Painting, helping out with animals. It was, it was a wonderful experience and I highly recommend that everyone sprinkle some voluntourism throughout their travel plans this year.

JM: Thank you so much.

EB: So that's it from us. Let's go hear from some of the advisors on what they thought of this Advisors in Action: Come Back to Give Back.

Carri Kersten, owner of Carri Kersten Travel Design: This event has far exceeded my expectations. I've done several events like this, but never have been as hands-on and feeling as helpful as I have right now. It feels like genuine giving, genuine giving back. The main thing that I'm taking back, and it surprised me as well, is that I'm going to go back and really promote Jamaica.

I think a lot of my clients have a little bit of vacation guilt sometimes. , going to a destination where they see poverty and then they feel guilty being in this lush resort. , but doing something like this, you can come in, you can bring donations, , you, you're giving back, and these, it's important to get everyone back to work here.

So it's important to come to the resorts and lay around and drink your pina coladas. You're still helping. I don't think people realize that. So the best thing we can do is come back to Jamaica, put these people back to work, and it's a win-win for everyone.

Desmond Barnes, owner of Get Up 2 Go: I thought the entire event has been, very well planned. Being an agency owner stateside and making sure that we're consulting our clients and doing the right thing and traveling the right places, this is very eye opening to kind of put boots on the ground or sandals on the beach to, really get a sense of what's going on here in Jamaica. They've done a really great job of getting everything back together, in place for the tourists, but I think.

What's most important is that we've been able to come back and get back to the local community that really, needs us to support them, not only through tourism, but through some of the philanthropy that we've, that we've been able to do here as well. I think volunteerism is, is really big. It's very important for us to not only just come and patronize like some of those larger brands or larger businesses with our dollars, but to come out into the community to make sure that we're supporting a broader ecosystem that may not always see us, when we go to the resort. So it's always important to get off, and I know there may be, some uneasiness about leaving some of those places that feel safer, but with the help of the Jamaican Tourism Board and your agency, they should be able to direct you in the right places to make sure that we're giving back to the countries that we're visiting.

McKenzie Kellogg, IC and Marketing Manager with 417 Travel: Being a part of several give backs prior, both with ALGV and not, to see so many dedicated advisors sometimes on their first give back for these trips, it's been really incredible to see so far. I think a lot of people don't realize how accessible [voluntourism] is nowadays. My agency in particular, we do pack for a purpose where if you just bring in an additional suitcase to your destination of travel, we will coordinate pickup and get it to where it needs to go.

Outside of that, supporting the industry that you are in all the time is so absolutely important. And to just take a moment out of our days, even though it's busy season for us, and give to a place that really needs it right now so that we can succeed at the end of this year, that's really great.

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