US confirms plans for megafam for UK and Ireland agents
Travel agents in the UK and Ireland are being invited to compete for places on next year’s mega fam trip to the US, which will cover a total of 18.
Organised by Brand USA, the destination marketing organisation for the US, the fam will include Alaska and Hawaii for the very first time.
There will be seven different itineraries, each of them visiting a National Park as next year celebrates the centennial of the US National Park Service. They will all end in California for a final event in Los Angeles where agents are expected to share their experiences.
To win a place on the fam, agents need to book American Airlines or British Airways flights to the US and earn a number of specialist badges on the agent training site USADiscoveryProgam.co.uk.
Details of how agents can qualify to win a place on the 2016 MegaFam will be released by the end of the year, as will the exact dates.
This is the fourth year that the USA MegaFam will take place, with entry numbers and bookings made increasing year-on-year.
In 2014, agents vying to win a place on the MegaFam booked over 12,000 flights to and within the USA, up from the previous year’s 5,500 flights; in 2015 that figure jumped to over 22,000 passengers booked to travel during the entry period of January to early April, significantly increasing the number of international tourists holidaying to the United States.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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