New Jersey ASTA

08/28/2026

08/28/2026

08/26/2026

ASTA concluded its 2026 Caribbean Showcase following four days of education, business development and destination immersion in St. Kitts and Nevis. Held August 22–25 at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort & The Royal Beach Casino, the event brought together more than 120 travel advisors, suppliers, tourism leaders and industry partners to build relationships and expand opportunities for Caribbean travel.

“ASTA’s Caribbean Showcase gives travel advisors the firsthand knowledge and relationships they need to sell the region with greater confidence and authenticity,” said Zane Kerby, ASTA President and CEO. “St. Kitts and Nevis offered an extraordinary setting for our community to connect with the people, culture and experiences that make the Caribbean so compelling to travelers.”

Presented in collaboration with and sponsored by the St. Kitts Tourism Authority (My St. Kitts), this year’s Showcase paired focused business programming with opportunities to experience the destination through the eyes of its people. Advisors connected face-to-face with Caribbean suppliers, tour operators and destination management companies during marketplace meetings and heard from tourism leaders and industry experts during an information-packed General Session.

“Hosting the ASTA Caribbean Showcase here in St. Kitts is more than an honor—it’s a homecoming for the kind of storytelling our island deserves,” said Kelly Fontenelle, Chief Executive Officer of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority. “Having travel advisors on the ground, walking our beaches, tasting our culture and meeting the people who make this destination unspoiled is exactly how we believe our story should be told: firsthand. The St. Kitts Tourism Authority and the St. Kitts Ministry of Tourism deeply appreciate partnerships like this one with ASTA, which put St. Kitts directly into the hands of the advisors who send travelers our way.”

🔗Read more: https://www.asta.org/content/About/press-releases/2026/asta-caribbean-showcase-culminates-in-st-kitts.aspx

08/13/2026

Signature Travel Network has expanded its investment in advisor education and professional development by bringing ASTA’s Verified Travel Advisor (VTA) Fast Track program to its network. More than 200 Signature advisors recently participated in ASTA’s first virtual VTA Fast Track training. The four-hour session covered the full curriculum from ASTA’s core VTA courses, along with two in-depth ethics case studies designed to apply the program’s principles to real-world situations.

A total of 122 Signature advisors earned the VTA credential, reflecting the network’s investment in professional development and its commitment to advancing high standards of expertise, ethics and client service.

“ASTA’s VTA credential sets the industry standard for professionalism, knowledge and ethical business practices,” said Zane Kerby, President and CEO of ASTA. “By investing in the VTA Fast Track program, Signature Travel Network is reinforcing that standard across its network and ensuring its advisors are equipped to earn the trust of today’s travelers. We applaud Signature’s leadership and congratulate every advisor who earned this important distinction.”

Signature’s investment reflects its broader commitment to creating meaningful pathways for advisors to strengthen their professional standing.

“The ASTA VTA Fast Track program offers the perfect combination of rigor and efficiency,” said Alex Sharpe, CEO of Signature Travel Network. “It gives advisors the opportunity to earn what I consider the pinnacle of credibility in our profession through an intensive, single-day seminar. I’m happy that we were able to bring this opportunity to our advisors.”

🔗 Read more from the press release: https://www.asta.org/content/About/press-releases/2026/signature-travel-network-invests-in-advisor-professionalism-through-astas-vta-fast-track-program.aspx

08/13/2026

We have launched a new member reporting tool designed to identify and address supplier policies and industry practices that unfairly burden travel advisors, restrict competition or undermine advisors’ ability to serve their clients.

The Report a Supplier Policy or Industry Practice Concern tool gives ASTA members a direct channel to report recurring or systemic issues involving one supplier, multiple suppliers within a sector or the industry more broadly. Concerns may include direct-to-consumer marketing, pricing discrepancies, inequitable commission or compensation policies, requirements that shift disproportionate risk or liability to agencies and restrictions on access to content or information.

“Travel advisors see firsthand where the system is falling short, and their experiences are critical to ASTA’s work on behalf of the industry,” said Zane Kerby, ASTA's President and CEO. “This new tool gives our members a clear way to put harmful practices on our radar so we can identify patterns, engage suppliers, inform the advisor community and determine where collective action is needed. When advisors speak up, ASTA can turn individual concerns into a stronger case for industrywide change.”

The initiative builds on the success of ASTA’s Report a Hotel Commission Issue program, which created a formal process for members to report unpaid hotel commissions. Through that effort, ASTA has recovered more than $53,000 in commissions owed to travel advisors while tracking properties repeatedly flagged for nonpayment.

The new reporting capability expands that model beyond individual hotel commission disputes, allowing ASTA to develop a broader picture of the policies and practices affecting its members across the travel marketplace.

Submitted reports will inform ASTA’s ongoing industry monitoring, supplier engagement, member guidance and advocacy priorities. By bringing individual concerns together, ASTA can identify emerging trends, engage suppliers and drive a coordinated response to practices affecting advisors across the industry.

🔗 Read more from the press release: https://www.asta.org/content/About/press-releases/2026/asta-launches-new-tool-to-turn-advisor-concerns-into-industry-action.aspx