Travel Agents Training Programme
The Portuguese National Tourist Office has launched a new online training programme designed to transform agents into experts on the country and its tourist regions.
The organisation is responding to trends in the tourism market that suggest the travel trade needs to possess a deep understanding of each product it sells if it is to be capable of properly satisfying the changing needs of its client base.
The solution is the Portugal Specialist scheme, a training initiative designed to instill the UK travel trade with a thorough knowledge of Portugal's many tourist attractions.
The scheme comprises eight modules. The first is a general overview of the country, its tourist regions, its people and their way of life.
Each of the remaining seven modules are dedicated to one of Portugal's seven regional tourist brands: Porto e Norte, Centro, Lisboa Region, Alentejo, Algarve, Azores and Madeira.
The general Portugal module is compulsory for all agents wanting to participate. The remaining seven modules are voluntary - agents can chose to specialise in whichever regions match their aspirations or the immediate needs of their clients. However, the Portuguese National Tourist Office is both hopeful and confident that participating agents will chose to specialise in as many areas as possible.
Each module will equip participants with sufficient knowledge to enable them to answer any questions regarding Portugal and its regions, and to provide their clients with an experience that's tailored to their requirements.
All agents who complete the General Portugal module will receive a diploma and window sticker that they can use to advertise the fact they are Portugal Specialists to consumers.
The Portuguese Tourism Authorities will, when possible, include all of these agents in their promotional campaigns and will give preference to their core of specialists on educational trips or market leads.
The organisation will maintain constant communication with each of the Portugal Specialists and, as its tourism products change, the training modules will be updated.
Download the training programme guide [4.3 MB Adobe Acrobat Document].
Any agent wishing to take part in the programme should also visit the Portugal Specialists website for further details.