The Travel Institute has redesigned its course on luxury travel

From curriculum involvement by luxury legends like Larry Pimentel, CTC, to an all-new multimedia format, The Travel Institute’s redesigned Luxury Course puts students on the fast track to success in selling and marketing to the affluent traveller.

The revamped online learning platform is built around a new multi-layered approach to education delivery, which includes:

• A video teaching segment by Larry Pimentel, CTC, president and CEO, Azamara Club Cruises
• “Luxury Travel Insider” columns and insights written by luxury travel consultants and suppliers, including AccorHotels, Abercrombie & Kent, Ritz-Carlton, SeaDream Yacht Club, and Seabourn Cruise Line
• A collection of recorded webinars focused on topics such as specialization, luxury trends, and strategies for differentiation in the competitive marketplace
• Extensive and timely online content accessible on all mobile devices.

“The luxury market is on fire right now,” said Guida Botelho, CTA, director of training, “so it’s imperative that our revised course delivers exactly what today’s travel professional needs to succeed with this demanding yet highly profitable customer base. In addition to our staff expertise, we’ve tapped into some of the brightest minds in the luxury segment – both from a supplier and retail angle – to redesign our course. We’re thrilled with the end result, especially the high marks it’s received from the agency community during the pre-launch evaluation period.”

The five-lesson online course begins with an overview of luxury travel and then dives into specifics of the benefits and challenges of specializing; luxury trends, products, and client profile; marketing and sales skills; and creating a marketing plan for the luxury travel specialty. Each lesson is built around a multi-media format that includes interactive flashcard grids and stacks, informative recorded webinars, and eye-catching images. Brainstorming questions, key words, quick checks of the student’s understanding, and at-work exercises are also contained in each lesson.

In addition, course participants will learn from:

• Application activities to create a simple marketing plan and agency promotion strategy
• Course summary and glossary of terms
• Resources tab, containing links to websites, magazines, and books
• Supplemental reading material

The cost of the online course and exam is $54USD. Premium Members of The Travel Institute enjoy the course free of charge as part of their unlimited learning experience and Basic Members save 10 per cent on the enrollment.