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ACE new name for PSARA
About 1,000 UK travel agents can now officially call themselves “cruise experts” following the long-awaited name change for PSARA, the obscurely-titled training arm of the Passenger Shipping Association (PSA) – PSARA (PSA Retail Agents scheme).
Now called ACE (the Association of Cruise Experts), its director of business development Andy Harmer told 350 delegates at the first-ever UK Cruise Convention in Dover that the new name was designed to give members genuine credibility with the public as experts in the cruise sector.
Members are being sent ACE-branded point of sale to underline their status and, to help ensure that this credibility is justified, the association has also revamped its training programme to include more varied and advanced courses.
The recently-revamped PSARA website is also having an ACE makeover.
ACE membership has increased 40% in eight months and Harmer predicted a similar increase over the next year.
About 250 of the two-day UK convention delegates were travel agents – ahead of expectations and prompting ACE to schedule a second conference in 2008. This will be in Southampton and there will be an optional extra training day.
In Dover, agents were taken on ship visits to Costa Cruises’ Costa Magica, Peter Deilmann’s Deutschland and Princess Cruises’ Star Princess but the visit to Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Dream was cancelled due to a gastric illness outbreak on board.
Using the ACE Elite Training Programme, agents now have the flexibility of training at their own pace and in their home environment. This training complements ACE’s existing classroom-based training that is available across the UK and Ireland.
Harmer said: “The name ACE marks a new era of the PSA’s agent training.
“PSARA has achieved a great deal over the past year and has a high profile with travel agents but we hope that ACE will become just as familiar to the general public moving forward.
“We wanted a name that consumers could identify with, and Association of Cruise Experts succinctly expressed everything that we stand for. We are delighted with our new name and hope that agents are equally as pleased.”
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