How Does a Travel Agent See Belize? A Look at a Recent “FAM Trip”

I LOVE to research a trip on the internet…to thumb through travel guides…it has never once occurred to me to visit a travel agent.   And while the industry has consolidated considerably since people have been so easily able to buy airline tickets and hotel rooms on the world wide web, it still remains the primary way to book cruises and package tours.  I also imagine that agents are used heavily by high end clients and for business travel.

All that said, I have always been very curious about how they are used to book vacations in Belize.  SO…when Luigi of Magnum Belize Travel asked me if he could send me photos and a summary about his most recent FAM trip (a familiarization trip to get a look at a region) with a bunch of travel agents, I said sure.

Though I have never met him or worked with his company (and no…I did not get anything free for this post) – here is a look at the trip.  Maybe if I’m interested, others are too?  How does your agent see Belize?

Please let me know in the comments if you use a travel agent and why?

AUG 10

Magnum Belize Tours hosted their 3rd travel agent FAM for 9 premier agents.

welcome-to-belize

They were welcomed by Magnum staff upon arrival to Belize City where they started their 6-day adventure.

We started in Western Belize – in the Cayo District.

We were greeted with warm welcomes from our 1st hosts – the owners and staff of beautiful Chaa Creek Lodge.

butterfly-farm-at-chaa-creek

The Butterfly farm at Chaa Creek

Presentations were made by the owners Mick & Lucy Fleming and the staff along with cocktails and snacks.  We felt right at home.

Following a wonderful dinner some of the agents took part in Creatures of the Night tour wearing head lamps. We spotted a lot of different wildlife onsite at Chaa Creek Lodge.

AUG 11

Site inspection at Cahal Pech Resort and stopping at Cahal Pech ruins for a climb up the historic ruins site.

agents-at-cahal-pech-resort

exploring-cahal-pech-ruins

Enjoying lunch at Mystic River Resort where home-made goat cheese delicacies were part of this wonderful meal.  Coconut cheesecake dipped in chocolate!

lunch-at-mystic-river-resort

Stopping at Mariposa Jungle Lodge- where owner Sharyn Brinker was awarded our 2016 “Outstanding Service award”

sharyn-mariposa-lodge-award

Our 2nd host Sleeping Giant Rainforest Lodge – greeted us with warm smiles and a beautiful view.

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Norma Perez was also presented with our 2016 Outstanding Service award. Dinner was amazing.

AUG 12

charter-tropic-air-flightOff to Placencia we flew Tropic Air from Belmopan to Placencia and were greeted by Chabil Mar Villas.

welcome-to-chabil-marA nice lunch on the beach overlooking the sea was a time to sit back and take in the beauty of the area.

chabil-marlunch-at-chabil-mar

Monkey River tour – we saw wildlife of all sorts – Howler monkeys, Iguana, crocodile, birds and a manatee.

monkey-river-tour

We took advantage of the free shuttle into Placencia Village provided by Chabil Mar Villas and went to a local eatery “The Tipsy Tuna” Great food and service!

tipsy-tuna

AUG 13

Once again flying with Tropic Air to Belize City for our connection over to San Pedro, Ambergris Caye where we were greeted by Ramon’s Village staff.

Lunch at a local eatery El Fogon and then off for snorkel trip to Hol Chan Marine Reserve & Shark Ray Alley.

Dinner at Blue Water Grill & dancing to live music at Fido’s, a local hot spot

AUG 14

Full day of site inspections with our caravan of 4 golf carts starting south of town – at Pelican Reef Villas and Victoria House.

Lunch at The Phoenix Resort where they were presented with Outstanding Service Award in the Resort category

the-phoenix-award

Finishing the day with site inspections at Grand Caribe & Mata Chica Beach Resort & Spa.

Dinner at Ramon’s Village “On a Stone” which was wonderful experience cooking your own food on a hot stone while wearing a bright orange bib.

hot-stone-cooking-at-ramon%27s-village-1

Presenting again our “Outstanding Award to Dedra Hill reservations manager in the US office.

dedra-at-ramon%27s-village-award

AUG 15

Time to go home. A great time was enjoyed by all!

Outstanding Service Awards were given to:

Sharyn Brinker – Owner of Mariposa Jungle Lodge

Norma Perez – Reservation Manager at Viva Belize Group

Dedra Hill – Reservation Manager at Ramon’s Village US office

The Phoenix Resort – all resort is awarded

Agent Testimonials

The last day we had the agents to fill out a survey to get a feedback about this FAM and Belize in general. All the surveys showed they really enjoyed the country, the people they met, the service, the food. They also learned a lot about the diversity of each area and the things you can do. Below are some of the best testimonials:

“Priceless, very informative, great attention to details. Loved Belize & Magnum Tours. Really learned so much about the country and how to explain it better to my clients”

“It was a great way to learn about Belize. Now I feel more confident with selling this destination. I liked that we got to explore several different areas and experiences in one destination. You never know what you are getting into or how you feel about it until you are there… Everything totally exceeded my expectations and I can’t wait to be back!”

And there you go.  A bit about how your travel agent sees Belize.  Interesting to me 🙂  And for more about the resorts and restaurants mentioned, please check out my posts about the ones I’ve visited.

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