Carnival Cruise Line has appointed 23 new members, including three Candians, to its 2015 Travel Partner Advisory Committee (TPAC), a group of travel partners spanning an array of agency models selected each year to offer guidance related to various trade programs, tools and initiatives introduced by Carnival. This year, for the first time, Carnival selected front line travel agents for the committee in addition to agency owners and executives. This change was implemented to enable Carnival to gain more feedback from agents who engage with the brand on a day-to-day basis in various sales and marketing-related functions. “We’re looking forward to gaining valuable insight from this new and dynamic group of TPAC members, which will allow us to enhance the way we work with agents each and every day,” said Mike Julius, Carnival’s senior managing director of U.S. trade sales. “This new committee will give a fresh perspective to the many exciting trade initiatives we plan on introducing in the year ahead.”

Members of TPAC are nominated by Julius in consultation with Justin French, Carnival’s managing director of international sales, and Janet Wygert, the cruise line’s managing director of strategic accounts, who receive nominee suggestions from their respective teams. Nominees are selected with the goal of creating a panel that reflects an array of business models to provide balanced and objective feedback through an open exchange of ideas. Past initiatives TPAC members have helped shape include the development of the line’s award-winning social learning game Carnival Adventures, the design of FunECollateral marketing tools and input on overall e-marketing strategy. Travel professionals participate in the committee for a one-year period. Canadian members are: Elliot Finkelman, Selling Owner, Kanata CruiseShipCenters, Kanata, ON; Michele Martel, Group Cruise Agent, L’Univers du Voyage, Mercier, QC and Pat Probert, Senior Travel Consultant, Travel Only, Toronto.