Travel Weekly today brings you a little insight into the world of agents and everything you need to know to stay on top of your A-game.

Amadeus rings in Year of the Rooster

Amadeus hosted its seventh annual Chinese New Year dinner in Sydney on Wednesday night, with over 230 Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai travel agents and suppliers in attendance.  An event for more than 30 customers was held in Melbourne on 31 January and for the first time the Amadeus team will celebrate with customers in Perth over dinner this Friday.

Sydney guests enjoyed a traditional Chinese New Year banquet at East Ocean restaurant, with some lucky agents taking home door prizes including a Microsoft Surface Pro and a PlayStation 4. Amadeus partners Nexus Holidays and Consolidated Travel also generously donated prizes.

Amadeus Managing Director Tony Carter commented, “We look forward to hosting our Chinese New Year events each year. They are always lots of fun and we enjoy celebrating this vibrant festival with our valued Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai customer community. On behalf of all the Amadeus team we’d like to wish all our customers and partners good luck, good fortune and good health for the year ahead.”

Memphis comes down under

Chris Ingram, formerly of Tourism Australia, will lead the sales and marketing efforts in Australia and New Zealand on behalf of the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Australia and New Zealand were identified as emerging feeder markets to Memphis several years ago and now rank as the third strongest international countries visiting Memphis today.

Visitors appreciate the authentic experience that only Memphis can provide. Based on research and feedback from CVB clients, international visitors are in search of “REAL” American experiences. Memphis is a one-of-a-kind vacation destination that offers visitors from around the world the experience they are looking for.

“Representation and partnerships have existed for Memphis tourism in Europe for 25 years resulting in Memphis as one of the premier and most visited destinations is the Southern US,” Kevin Kane, president & CEO for the CVB.

Marketing efforts supported by MCVB also exist in Japan and China which represent smaller visitation for now but are important as new demand generators in the future. The top international markets to Memphis for leisure travel are: Canada, UK, Australia/New Zealand and Germany.

Free Kimberley info evening

Expedition cruising experts Aurora Expeditions are inviting travellers to find out more about cruising along the Kimberley’s remote coast through a series of information evenings next month. The events will be hosted by the company’s Kimberley Expedition Leader, adventurer Mike Cusack.

Attendees will have the opportunity to hear about Mike and Susan’s inspiring story, how they set up camp at Kunmunya’s abandoned Presbyterian mission and the challenges and triumphs they faced during their year in the Kimberley outback.

Mike will also talk through a typical day on a Kimberley cruise and the exhilarating experiences and amazing places you could discover on one of Aurora Expeditions’ small ship voyages There will also be plenty of opportunities  to ask questions and speak with Mike throughout the evening.

Event details are listed below:

Sydney
When: Monday, 27 Feburary 2017
Time: 6:15pm – 7:30pm
Where: Surry Hills Community Centre, 405 Crown St, Surry Hills, Sydney

Brisbane
When: Wednesday, 8 March 2017
Time: 6:15pm – 7:30pm
Where: George Williams Hotel, 317-325 George St, Brisbane City

Melbourne
When: Thursday, 16 March 2017
Time: 6:15pm – 7:30pm
Where: Telstra Conference Centre, Room 1, 1/242 Exhibition St, Melbourne  

The Kimberley Information Evenings are free, however spaces are limited and registrations required. To secure your place, visit www.auroraexpeditions.com.au/events to register or call 1300 061 490.

Get a taste of Korea on Channel Nine

Tune in to the award-winning travel TV series, Explore TV this Saturday, 11 February, 2017 at 4.30pm on Channel Nine to see the show’s host, Trevor Cochrane and co-host, restaurateur Scott Taylor travel around South Korea on an amazing culinary adventure.

Their food adventure takes them to Seoul’s famous Gwangjang Market where Trevor and Scott try the delicious street food before they take part in Seoul’s annual Kimchi festival where they get to taste the addictive, spicy kimchi.  Kimchi is Korea’s most iconic side dish served at every meal, something Koreans cannot live without.

Another feature of the program is a meeting with Julia Mellor, a Seoul-based Australian makgeolli expert who introduces Trevor and Scott to this delicious Korean alcoholic beverage.  Makgeolli is a type of rice wine enjoyed by the local population.

Korea Tourism Organization have a free Korea Food guide for anyone interested in learning more about Korean food.  Order online at www.visitkorea.org.au or request a copy by email.

WWT Launches ‘Wuniversity’

ASIA specialists Wendy Wu Tours have launched their latest online training program, ‘Wuniversity’ for agents across Australia.

The training program consists of 10 courses and modules for agents to complete. These cover Wendy Wu Tours’ extensive product range, through revamped content, collateral and videos.

Wuniversity aims to support agents through the sales process with access to such collateral and destination knowledge.

General Manager Andrew Mulholland said, “WWT is always exploring ways by which agents can increase their income by selling Wendy Wu products. Increased product knowledge and a clear understanding of our itineraries, product features and key selling benefits will certainly go a long way in assisting agents to sell Asia confidently.”

The Asia experts’ new trade concept reinforces Wendy Wu Tours’ commitment to agents, strengthened by the ability to secure commission on every segment of a Wendy Wu Tours booking.

For a limited time, the leading Asia operator is offering agents an incentive in conjunction with the launch of Wuniversity. The first 30 agents to make five bookings through Wendy Wu Tours between January 1 and March 31 and complete Wuniversity will receive a great opportunity to experience the Great Wall and Terracotta Warriors of China first-hand – in China!

Agents need to register at https://www.wendywutours.com.au/agents/ to enroll at Wuniversity.

LATAM celebrates the flavours of South America

(from left to right): Greg Carter, Director – Chimu Adventures, Meg Hall, Marketing Manager, Chimu Adventures; Rachel Williams, Managing Director of Viva Expeditions, Patricio Aylwin, Managing Director Asia Pacific, LATAM Airlines.

(from left to right): Juan Paulo Alcalde, Tourism Segment Owner, LATAM Airlines; Shannon Tyler, Consultant, Forward Travel, Rose Toohey, Director, Forward Travel.

The who’s who of the travel industry gathered at Vive Cooking School in Sydney and the Prahan Hotel in Melbourne last week, for two exclusive South American cooking classes hosted by LATAM Airlines Group (‘LATAM’).

At the Sydney event, guests swapped their travel hats for chef hats and joined Brazilian chef Julian Vasseur and guest chef Bruno Da Motta on a culinary journey to Latin America, whilst those in Melbourne whipped up gastronomic delights under the instructions of chef Danny Parreno. Guests learnt how to cook a variety of traditional dishes including empanadas and ceviche. The classes ended on a sweet note with fresh picarones (a Peruvian dessert, similar to doughnuts).

The events were hosted by Patricio Aylwin, LATAM’s Managing Director, Asia Pacific, to celebrate all things Latin American, as well as LATAM’s new non-stop service between Melbourne and Santiago, Chile. Commencing 5 October 2017, the Melbourne-Santiago service will be the first ever non-stop service between the two cities.

TravelManagers PTM’s Have A Hoot of A Time in West Hollywood

Experiencing the West Hollywood region just like a client would, was the highlight for TravelManagers’ personal travel managers who recently experienced a seven-night exclusive educational hosted by TravelManagers’ sister-company Hoot Holidays and Visit West Hollywood.

Stephanie Jones, Product Manager from Hoot Holidays and Sarah Thornton, Gate 7’s Account Manager for WeHo – Visit West Hollywood hosted famil participants Christine Ashton, Jane Fowler, Debra Deane, Lisa Metzl and Jason Smith from New South Wales, Nicole Ginger and Amy Poupos from Victoria with Simon Tinkler from Queensland.

Check out the snaps below:

From left Hoot Holidays’ Stephanie Jones, personal travel managers Nicole Ginger, Sarah Thornton – Visit West Hollywood, William Karpiak – General Manager Ramada Plaza Hotel , Jamie du Bois – Visit West Hollywood, Jason Smith, Jane Fowler, Lisa Metzl, Simon Tinkler, Debra Deane

from left Christine Ashton, Jason Smith, Stephanie Jones – Hoot Holidays, Lisa Metzl, Nicole Ginger, Jane Fowler, Simon Tinkler, left front – Amy Poupos and Debra Deane

From front left to back Jane Fowler, Lisa Metzl, Stephanie Jones – Hoot Holidays, Nicole Ginger, Christine Ashton,, right back to front Debra Deane, Jamie du Bois – Visit West Hollywood, Jason Smith, Sarah Thornton – Visit West Hollywood, Amy Poupos, Simon Tinkler

From left Simon Tinkler, Sarah Thornton – Visit West Hollywood, Christine Ashton, Nicole Ginger, Debra Deane, Jane Fowler, Lisa Metzl, Front left- Amy Poupos, Tracy our guide from WeHo Walking tours

from left Sarah Thornton – Visit West Hollywood, Lisa Metzl, Jane Fowler, Jason Smith, Simon Tinkler, Nicole Ginger, front left, Christine Ashton, Amy Poupos, Debra Deane)

Front left Stephanie Jones – Hoot Holidays and Jason Smith, Middle left Amy Poupos and Jane Fowler and back left Nicole Ginger and Christine Ashton

TravelManagers’ personal travel managers (from left) front: Jason Smith, Stephanie Jones – Hoot Holidays, Amy Poupos, Christine Ashton, Debra Deane, From left back : Sarah Thornton – Visit West Hollywood, Jane Fowler, Lisa Metzl, Simon Tinkler, Nicole Ginger enjoy a day at Universal Studios.