Recommend June 2016 - (Page 10)

Romance Travel Forum "Where Education Prospers Travel advisors have a responsibility to their clients to stay current on every aspect that impacts a vacation experience. Specific to destination weddings, couples want to have confidence that their special day is being handled by a credible travel seller. Travel advisors have a number of events and opportunities to choose from to help them build their brand, but every event isn't created equal. The Romance Travel Forum offers a unique value proposition in collaborating with established travel sellers in the romance vacation field to achieve these goals, and we are committed to providing these sellers a 360-degree event experience. " Jennifer Fernandez, Vice President, Events & Content, Specialty Travel Forums 10 june 2016 As a romance travel seller, you know all the facts on destination weddings: It's one of the fastest growing niche markets in the vacation experience; Mexico and the Caribbean are the most popular international destinations for destination weddings; a 4-day destination wedding experience can be more budgetfriendly than a 4-hour ceremony back home; many destination weddings take place at allinclusives; and a destination wedding affords ample time for couples to spend true quality time with their loved ones. But attending the Romance Travel Forum, a 4-day event jam-packed with an array of business opportunities, top-notch networking, and superb education opportunities, gets you access to more than just the facts. Recommend attended last month's Forum, which took place at the Moon Palace Jamaica Grande, and we walked away energized. Why? Because the quality of the travel advisors is high-caliber; the suppliers that attend sell the very best in destination wedding vacations; and the amount of peerto-peer networking is first-rate. The 160+ travel advisors who "attended this year's show have been vetted," says Marilyn Cairo, the managing partner/co-founder of Ask Me, which plays an integral role at the Romance Travel Forum. "It's one of the best things about the show." Adds travel consultant Kim Goldstein, one of the show's attendees and a certified destination wedding & honeymoon specialist, "The biggest benefit of the event is to meet and mingle with some of the travel industry's suppliers and the best agents out there. Most of the agents are willing to share information so there's lots of learning, whether it be in the classroom or out socially. You really get a lot from the conference in terms of learning how to manage your business." Travel advisor and attendee Shelli Nornes, owner/CEO of Shelli's Travel, concurs, adding that, "what I like about this Forum is that everybody is here. You get the top agents and vendors. All the key people are here, so you can meet everyone under one roof, which is priceless." Melissa Varela, a travel advisor who owns Modern Romance Travel and who sits on the Forum's advisory board, points out, too, that in addition to invaluable networking opportunities, the Forum also provides the opportunity to "visit partner resort sites, develop partnerships with preferred suppliers, and provides continuing education [via sponsored sessions]." This year, the Forum, which launched in 2014, kicked off a brand-new concept: Peer-to-peer sessions. The objective of these sessions was to create an intimate recommend.com http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend June 2016

Editor’s Notes
Romance Travel Forum: Where Education Prospers
Out-of-the-Box Weddings
Travel Advisor Corner: Weddings Away From Home
Honeymoon Adventures
Onsite Review: Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa: Weddings & Romance By the Sea
New Ways to Get Married
Moon Palace Jamaica Grande Delivers on Destination Weddings
4 Very Different Honeymoons
Onsite Review: CHIC Punta Cana & Club Med Zen Oasis
Wedded Bliss in Paradise
A Honeymoon for Every Taste
Adventure-Filled Honeymoons
Wildest Dreams
“I Do”– Today and Tomorrow
Iconic Islands = Idyllic Honeymoons
Eco-Friendly Honeymoons

Recommend June 2016