TORONTO — ACTA hosted a lucky group of 25 member travel advisors for a fun-filled trip to Portugal earlier this month.
In partnership with Visit Portugal, Visit Alentejo and Air Canada, the ACTA Immersive Destination Experience took place in Alentejo, Portugal from Nov. 13-19, providing advisors with an in-depth understanding of the destination and all its offerings.
During their trip, advisors stayed in world-famous pousadas, historic castles, convents and monasteries, and explored many UNESCO World Heritage Sites. One of the unique highlights of the trip was the integration of a social media coach who presented daily challenges and shared tips and tricks to promote the region by harnessing the power of social media.
“By intertwining destination education with contemporary social media strategies, we’ve pioneered a new standard in travel advisor education,” said ACTA president Wendy Paradis. “Our partnerships with Visit Portugal, Visit Alentejo, and Air Canada has not only enriched the knowledge base of our members who attended but also empowered them to craft compelling narratives that resonate with today’s travellers.”
Paradis also noted that ACTA’s Immersive Destination Experience are aimed at “revolutionizing the travel industry’s approach to experiential and social media marketing,” and that by collaborating with destination partners and suppliers, “ACTA intends to elevate and enrich the traditional fam experience.”
Ines Almeida Garret, Director for Visit Portugal in Canada, added: “It was a privilege to be able to travel with the ACTA group to Portugal and be able to show them the meaning of a word often used to describe Alentejo: ‘vagar’. This means being able to slowly enjoy every minute of the day, no rush, just relax and have time to appreciate the good things in life, including wine and food, of course!“
Travel advisor Judith Coates of Wired for Travel, who attended the trip, said that visiting Portugal gave her immense insight into what experiences and locations would best suit her clients.
“ACTA is vastly increasing its membership value by adding these Immersive Destination Experiences to the calendar, and travel advisors who are not yet ACTA members should seriously consider the benefits of ACTA membership,” said Coates.
The ACTA Immersive Destination Experience in Portugal follows a similar trip to the Dominican Republic in August 2023. ACTA also recently hosted its inaugural European River Cruise Summit in October, with 125 travel advisors sailing aboard the Avalon Vista.
