Tourism Fiji Offers Online Training Events

(Dive Travel Business News - September 9, 2010) -- Following the success of its initial virtual travel agent training event last year, a technology-savvy Tourism Fiji US regional office will repeat the online exercise again in October. Attracting travel agents from the U.S. and Canada and as far afield as Hong Kong and Europe last year, the national tourist office is looking to increase the number of agents trained online in 2009, a total of 754, to over 1,000 when it stages the two-day Virtual Trade Show event on Oct. 4 and 5. Agents interested in joining attending the online show, can register at events.unisfair.com/rt/virtualfijime~2010.

Regional Director (The Americas) Ili Matatolu said it was imperative for Tourism Fiji to employ technology platforms to provide cost effective solutions to its current marketing challenges. “Research shows that travel agents remain the number one booking channel for the U.S. market with an estimated 44 percent using a travel agent for 2010,” she said. “So it is important for us to continue to reach out to travel agents and educate them on Fiji. In a traditional roadshow setting, we would be able to train 800 agents over 10 days. This innovative and highly cost-effective platform allows us to not only achieve but exceed the same goal in just eight hours.

“Fiji’s competition is the global marketplace, it’s no longer an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. world and we must continue to embrace Web 2.0 platforms if we are to engage and educate our partners precisely on what our destination offers to their clients,” she said. “For our industry partners the beauty of participating in a virtual show means they don’t have to be in the U.S. to ‘train’ agents -- they can do it 9,000 miles away from Fiji at a significantly reduced cost.”

The virtual event will be divided into two programs -- the live event planned for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on both Oct. 4 and 5, which will switch over to “on demand” mode for 120 days from 1 p.m. on Oct 5. Fiji industry partners taking part in Fiji’s virtual show include Intercontinental Fiji Golf Resort and Spa, Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort, Captain Cook Cruises, Sigatoka River Safari, Tui Tai Expeditions, Mana Island Resort, Plantation Island Resort, Toberua Island Resort, Vatulele Island Resort, Matangi Island Resort and Sonaisali Island Resort. Wholesaler partners include Islands in the Sun, All About Travel and PacificIslands.com. For more information, visit www.fijime.com  or www.fijime.tv.

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