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4 5 APRIL / MAY 2017 Opening Lines ANTIGUA-BARBUDA LAUNCHES NEW EDUCATION COURSE ON TRAVEL AGENT UNIVERSITY A ntigua and Barbuda has announced the launch of its new agent specialist course on the premiere e-learning plat- form,Travel Agent University (TAU).TAU, with 45,000 plus active members, is the industry’s largest online travel agent community, having graduated more specialists than any other indus- try education program, awarding over one million diplomas since inception. The new course is an asset to the travel agent community, as graduates will see an increase in their bookings and be eligible to participate in various reward opportunities with the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (ABTA). “We are very excited to partner with Travel Agent University, the travel agent’s preferred e-learning platform.The TAU specialist program is the ideal platform to showcase the many activ- ities and special features that our destination has to offer.Antigua and Barbuda is the perfect desti- nation for romantic getaways including destina- tion weddings, honeymoons, and vow renewals as well as multi-gen groups, girls and guys getaways and adventure seekers. By becoming a specialist, agents can become eligible for FAM trips and experience firsthand whyAnti- gua and Barbuda is the best destination in the Caribbean,” said ABTA, director of tourism,US, Kim Jack Riley. Kimberly Newbury, Questex Travel Group Managing Director of e-learning and Loyalty, said TAU is thrilled to partner with a brand that truly sees the value of agent training and specialization. “The Questex Travel Group has been deeply invested in travel agent education for more than 23 years, and has proved time and again that agents who specialize are seven times more likely to sell a supplier’s products, than a non-specialist.” Launched in 1993,Travel Agent University is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The e-learning site’s resource center provides access to valuable sales tools, webinars, vid- eos, itineraries, and other assets designed to help agents increase sales after they graduate. Agents also can utilize a central dashboard to review their course activity, track the status of their progress and access rewards, including gift cards, bonus commissions, familiarization trips and monthly giveaways. FEASIBILITY STUDY CONFIRMS GEOTHERMAL POTENTIAL OF ST. KITTS A feasibility study done by Teranov, a French engineering and services company for new and renewable energy based in Guadeloupe, has confirmed that there is potential in St. Kitts to develop at least 18 to 36 megawatts of geothermal power. Speaking at the conclusion of a two-day meeting of geothermal stakeholders in St. Kitts fromMarch 21-22,Minister of Public Infrastructure, Ian ‘Patches’ Liburd, hailed the findings as “heartening”but that the govern- ment has to consider the way forward. Liburd said that the meeting was con- vened with other stakeholder representa- tives including Dr. Vince Henderson, Am- bassador of Dominica to the United States; Jacques Chouraki, President of Teranov; Dr. Devon Gardner, Program Manager for Ener- gy at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat; Joseph Williams, Sustainable Energy Advisor at the Caribbean Devel- opment Bank (CDB); representatives from