New 2 Travel

We’re pleased to share some exciting first-quarter numbers and encouraging news related to the uptick in travelers beginning to plan and book future travel! Sales wise, 2019 was OTN’s best year ever, making it even more impressive to see sales in 2021 beginning to exceed those benchmarks. “Sales in March of 2021 were 20% above sales reported during March of 2019,” said Lee Smolinski, CEO of OASIS Travel Network, adding that on April 1, 2021, the agency doubled what was reported on that same day in 2019. “We’re also up 533% with one of our preferred river cruise partners from the first quarter of 2019 compared to 2021. We are seeing these types of increases across the board. People are excited to be planning vacations again!” According to the latest Longwoods International tracking study of American travelers, 88% of them now have travel plans in the next six months, the highest level in more than a year. In response to this increase in planning, some of our members have shared the trends they’re seeing when it comes to the types of trips their clients are seeking. “We are getting very serious inquires for bucket list type trips for 2022, including Mediterranean cruises, river cruises, and expedition type cruises,” said Nancy Scorby, Travel Advisor and Owner of Scorby Travel. “Clients are also interested in going back to Italy—always a popular destination with our clients!” Ultimately, travelers are looking to advisors to provide knowledge on where they can realistically venture to [...]

We’re proud to announce our 2021 Annual Conference will take place November 8-9, 2021 at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada! The event will be the first in-person OTN conference since the pandemic began in March 2020. In consideration of members travel needs and schedules, this event is purposefully co-located with Signature Travel Network’s Annual Conference, which is taking place at the same location immediately following. “We wanted to announce these dates early so our members could have ample time and flexibility to budget and plan accordingly,” explained Kelly Bergin, President of OASIS Travel Network. “Co-locating the event with Signature Travel Network’s conference was an easy way for us to ensure members could get the most training options possible. We’re thrilled be able to offer something to look forward to!” The event will include plenty of opportunities for our OTN members to not only network with each other and supplier representatives, but also discover new products as well as gain additional education through lightning rounds, breakout sessions, tradeshow and more. Response to the announcement of an in-person conference from you all has been positive, with 75.7% of surveyed members indicating they prefer an in-person conference for 2021, and only 13.6% saying they wouldn’t be attending. Training, networking and seeing other OTN friends rank among the highest reasons for planned attendance. More details and registration will be made available in the near future. We’re excited to see you there!

OASIS Strike Groundbreaking Membership Deal with ASTA Recently, OTN created a membership deal with the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA), resulting in all of OTN’s’ more than 800 members becoming members of ASTA. The partnership allows us to integrate ASTA memberships into the suite of benefits for our members, with all OTN agents becoming ASTA members as soon as they move over to the new OTN Build-A-Plan program. ASTA membership benefits are vast, including discounts on health care premiums, advocacy, training, lead generation, and more. Several OTN members have openly shared their positive experiences thus far. “My ASTA membership is important to me for three reasons,” said Nancy Scorby, Owner, Scorby Travel and Cruise Inc. “Educational opportunities like the ASTA Verified Program—which I completed this summer. Additionally, our representation on Capitol Hill is more important than ever for all travel advisors. Also, ASTA’s insurance program—I’ve saved more than 60% in premiums over the open market for my health care coverage.” Several other OTN members appreciated the variety of free-of-charge support they’ve received. “I particularly love the benefits of the complimentary services you get,” said Lauren Celli, Co-Owner, MoGo Travel Service, LLC, when speaking about her ASTA membership. “During this COVID time, we’ve had the chance to review our terms and conditions and had some incredible, very talented lawyers have a look at our services and give us some really great suggestions that we’ve implemented.” MoGo Travel Service LLC Founder, Maureen Celli, agreed, adding that she loves the direction [...]