Visit California is remodelling its travel agent training scheme by creating a specialist level to run alongside its experts program.
Retailers will become California Specialists by completing a new, shorter version with those finishing the longer program labelled experts.
Tristan Freedman, Visit California account director and travel trade manager for Australia and New Zealand, said the introduction of a shorter program followed the realisation that agents face work pressures and are “time poor”.
Visit California online training has around 1000 agents but only around half have completed all the modules, Freedman told Travel Today at Pow Wow in Los Angeles.
Agents will still be encouraged to complete the full program with greater incentives for those who do so.
Freedman revealed that Visit California was also planning a global famil with top sellers from each market invited to attend.
While famils already operate to the Golden State, they are usually based on sales for a particular airline or wholesaler.
“This will be based on support for California,” Freedman said.
Also in the pipeline is a plan to enable wholesalers and agents to upload deals to a new travel trade site and through to a consumer site.
It should be up and running by August.
California revamps training scheme
