ICTA AND USTOA ENHANCE PARTNERSHIP:
Additional Joint Programs and Bonus Commission Incentives Planned

(Wellesley, MA) The United States Tour Operators Association (USTOA) and the Institute of Certified Travel Agents (ICTA) have just launched several programs to further promote industry education.

USTOA is sponsoring ICTA’s Certified Travel Consultant (CTC) scholarships that will be awarded in December and February to select individuals that correctly complete a quiz published in ICTA’s E-telligence e-newsletter. Each scholarship is valued at $730 and the winners are chosen by lottery.

Other joint USTOA and ICTA incentive plans include rewarding new CTCs with a bonus commission booklet containing bonus commission coupons from participating USTOA members. This program, which will begin in early 2003, will give all new CTCs the opportunity to recoup all or part of their tuition when they redeem the coupons.

USTOA is also supporting ICTA’s new unbundled curriculum by sponsoring a weekly quiz in Travel Agent Magazine. ICTA’s individual modules allow travel agents to choose educational modules that they want to study in the order they want to study them. This "just-in-time" educational approach supports individual educational needs and helps travel agents still work
toward the goal of CTA or CTC certification. The weekly quiz questions are drawn from a featured ICTA education module and the module is then given away to a randomly drawn, correctly answered entry.
"We look forward to working more closely with USTOA and greatly appreciate both their commitment to education and their support of ICTA," said Connie Walsh, CTC, ICTA’s director of sales.

"ICTA has done an outstanding job in professional development, and, as part of our commitment to the travel agency distribution system, we are pleased to support their educational initiatives," says Bob Whitley, USTOA president.

ICTA’s Web site continues to include the USTOA created Vacation Personality Quiz for travel counselors to use to help qualify traveler preferences. The fun and informative multiple-choice quiz is available online at the USTOA site and in a printable PDF format on the ICTA site.

About ICTA

The Institute of Certified Travel Agents (ICTA) is an international organization that educates and certifies travel industry professionals at all career stages. Since its inception in 1964, ICTA's mission has been to increase professionalism within the travel industry and to create a national standard of excellence for travel professionals through its educational programs. For more information about ICTA visit www.icta.com or call 800-542-4282.

About USTOA

Founded in 1972, USTOA today represents more than 135 of the top brands in vacation packages and tours. The association’s members move more than 10 million travelers annually, and are responsible for the majority of vacation packages and tours sold by travel agents in the U.S. For a copy of USTOA’s Travel Agent Guide, visit the USTOA web site: www.ustoa.com, or phone 1-800-GO-USTOA (800-468-7862).

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