Irish Ferries’ fleet,” he added.
O’Reilly said the programme had been taken by both multiples and independents and the target is to get 15,000 agents signed up by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Stena Line has taken a different tack and teamed up with hotels and tour operators to raise awareness.
The ferry operator is launching its first major self-study training pack at the end of this month, to run alongside the training roadshows it is taking part in as a member of Truly Independent Professional Travel Organisation.
Nine training sessions will also be run around the UK in October with Forte, Cresta, Bales and British Airways Holidays.
Head of sales UK Heli Salmons said: “On our own, it is difficult to get a commitment from agents to attend training sessions, so instead we have developed this programme.”
Its eight pages contain information about Stena’s ships, its routes to Ireland and Holland, and the company.
There are 20 questions to complete and agents who send in the right answers get the chance to win a car.
“We want to get the core product in front of agents so they understand the concept of ferry travel and the different craft and know where to get more information,” said Salmons.
FERRY operators are investing thousands of pounds in agent training to raise trade awareness of their services as fares start to rise following the abolition of duty-free in June.
Brittany Ferries agency sales manager Richard Price said: “Before, agents felt that selling ferry travel was not worth their while, but as ticket values have gone up to compensate for the loss of duty-free, ferry sales have become more interesting and I think they are aware they need to learn more.
“We have 1,300 enrolled on our self-study course this year – that’s a 25% increase on 1998,” he added.
A new pack will be available in December, following launch of the 2000 brochures.
The self-study pack is the ferry company’s main vehicle for training agents about Brittany’s routes, the destinations served, how to make a booking and its holiday programmes.
Price said the information is presented concisely so that the pack can be completed in about 30mins.
Agents who send in the questionnaire at the end are awarded a certificate and £200 voucher that can be used for a crossing or towards a holiday from the brochures.
“We want agents to get on board and sample the product as that really is the best form of training,” said Price.
To encourage travel, agents who make at least one booking also qualify for a trade discount on travel. Price said 3,500 agents have taken advantage of the concession in the past year.
Brittany also runs port visits which combine a ship tour with formal training about the product.
These will be held in Portsmouth in the next two months for local agents.
Irish Ferries launched its first self-study programme in mid-July.
This is broken down into four modules, with the first out now and the second to be mailed this week. The last two will be out by around spring 2000.
General sales manager Daragh O’Reilly said:”This programme has been designed with agents in mind, to be relevant to their day to day selling.
“Our research told us they wanted something that would help them to sell Ireland, and use Irish Ferries as a way to get there, so that is what we have given them.
“If we had focused on the ferry operation alone it would have been boring so we have tried to give agents hooks to enthral their customers about Ireland and in that way we also raise their awareness about the Irish Ferries’ fleet,” he added.
O’Reilly said the programme had been taken by both multiples and independents and the target is to get 15,000 agents signed up by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Stena Line has taken a different tack and teamed up with hotels and tour operators to raise awareness.
The ferry operator is launching its first major self-study training pack at the end of this month, to run alongside the training roadshows it is taking part in as a member of Truly Independent Professional Travel Organisation.
Nine training sessions will also be run around the UK in October with Forte, Cresta, Bales and British Airways Holidays.
Head of sales UK Heli Salmons said: “On our own, it is difficult to get a commitment from agents to attend training sessions, so instead we have developed this programme.”
Its eight pages contain information about Stena’s ships, its routes to Ireland and Holland, and the company.
There are 20 questions to complete and agents who send in the right answers get the chance to win a car.
“We want to get the core product in front of agents so they understand the concept of ferry travel and the different craft and know where to get more information,” said Salmons.