Recommend November 2011 - (Page 10)

agent speak editor’s notes renew your certificates I do not like the digital book. I need to renew my Visit Florida Specialist certiﬁcate since last year and I still can not ﬁnd where to take the quizzes at the end of each section, neither can any of my co-workers. So I feel it is a really poor way to recertify any of the certiﬁcates I already have and I guess I’ll just have to let them expire. I have emailed your people to help me ﬁnd this place to take the quizzes and I can’t wait two or three days for a reply. I was to recertify last year and I still can’t do it. Mari Wilson Auto Club South Follow these steps to renew your Visit Florida Specialist certificate (or to enroll for the ﬁrst time): ■ Click “Account Login” at edu. recommend.com (if you don’t remember your user name or password, e-mail us at support@recommend.com or call (305) 828-0123. ■ Enter your e-mail address and password and click “login” ■ Select “Visit Florida Specialist Program” from the course book ■ Select “Start Learning” (a pink button on the right side of the screen) ■ On the bottom of the screen, select the appropriate option for you, whether you want to review course materials or take a quiz. For instance, if you want to take the quiz for Part 3, select “Take Quiz–Part 3” from the bottom of the screen For support, please e-mail support@recommend.com. T This is probably one of our favorite issues when everyone on our editorial staff—including yours truly—gets the opportunity to sit down and reﬂect on all the destination coverage we’ve done in the previous year and pick out what we think is going to be the hot destinations for 2012. The amazing thing is, there’s always a surprise for all of us, particularly in terms of the niche markets when we analyze what we’ve heard from tour operators, cruise lines and resort properties. What hasn’t been a surprise— because we saw the trend occurring last year—was Latin America. Still, the growth in product there is amazing, as you’ll see in our feature on page 52, “The Lowdown on South America’s Capital Highs,” with sales to Colombia, Peru and Ecuador going through the roof as compared to previous years. Even the cruise components to Latin America are offering more itineraries to meet demand. River cruising continues to grow at an incredible rate with more and more ships adding inventory to not only traditional destinations in Europe, but also to Asia, where demand is exploding on the Mekong with sales to Vietnam and Cambodia spilling out of traveler’s bucket lists like the proverbial cornucopia. New entries into that market like Uniworld have already ordered a new ship for 2013 because its sales for 2012—whose ﬁrst cruise won’t even happen until January—are so strong, they need a second ship to meet demand. That product seems to leap frog in terms of destination appeal. Travelers take one or two river cruises in Europe and enjoy it so much, they look for more exotic destinations in Asia and try out China or the Mekong in Vietnam and Cambodia. Because of that, we selected Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, as the hot new destination for Asia in 2012. With a new government and an emphasis on cleaning up their negative reputation on human rights abuses, we’re conﬁdent travelers will be tempted to take advantage of the exotic experience of cruising the Irrawaddy River and visiting remote villages and ancient palaces, pagodas and shrines—literally thousands of them throughout the country—in what up until now, has been one of the least traveled destinations in the world. You can read up on this destination and its myriad products on page 49. And here’s another new river cruise product that’s out there in the marketplace that no one has seen before, AMAWaterway’s new Chobe River cruise in Africa, packed between three incredible packages that include South Africa, Botswana, Victoria Falls and Tanzania that no true traveler will be able to resist. Check out our river cruise feature on page 16 and prepare yourself for a healthy year of river cruise sales. But the best thing about this issue—at least for us as travel journalists—is coming face-to-face with the reality that despite all the doom and gloom we’re all faced with on a daily basis relative to the global ﬁnancial problems, the travel industry we’re all dependent on for our own livelihoods, has still got a lot of sunshine glimmering through the clouds and 2012 is looking better and better. next month The December issue is dedicated to you, our readers, where we highlight the results of our Recommend Readers’ Choice Awards, the products and suppliers you choose as the best in industry for 2011. You’re going to have to wait until next month to see who they are, but for now, thanks to all of you who took the time to participate in the Readers’ Choice Awards survey. Additionally, the Aruba Certiﬁed Expert Specialist Program, which was originally scheduled for this issue, has been moved to the December issue. Look for it next month, as it’s full of comprehensive information on this island-nation. Until next month, and as always, have a good read.—Rick Shively Responses, opinions and comments are welcome at agentspeak@recommend.com. Recommend reserves the right to edit letters submitted to Agent Speak. 10 november 2011 recommend.com http://www.recommend.com http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend November 2011

Editor's Notes/Agent Speak
Hotel Desk: RockResorts
Tour Talk: International Expeditions
River Cruise Product Expands Even More for 2012
Hot (or Cool) Toronto is Staid No More
Timeless Boston
South Africa Always Steals the Limelight
BVI: Beauty on the Water
Private Islands Sizzle
Barcelona Will Leave You Beaming
Unspoiled Myanmar is Open for Business
The Lowdown on South America's Capital Highs
Riviera Nayarit in the Pink
The Three Faces of Baja Sur

Recommend November 2011