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Agents are Welcoming New CLIA Card Requirements
Travel agents are welcoming CLIA’s stronger requirements for the official CLIA ID Card, including a new stipulation that a travel agent applicant must be enrolled in, or have completed, CLIA Cruise Counsellor Certification.

“We are really excited about this new enhancement of the CLIA ID card,” said Rusty Pickett, Shellback Cruises, Charleston, SC, who is a member of the CLIA Travel Agent Advisory Board.
“This initiative by CLIA is in response to discussion and recommendation by the CLIA Travel Agent Advisory Board. Our purpose in recommending this change was to upgrade the CLIA ID card to recognize professional agents committed to enhancing their professional skills through continuing education, leading to advanced certification, and those agents who have already achieved that status.”
Picket said one result will be that both clients and cruise lines will recognize agents who present the CLIA ID card as having taken the extra time to be the top consultants and sellers of cruises.
CLIA announced that in 2009, the following ID Card requirements will be implemented:
¿ The individual agent or agency management must be affiliated with an active CLIA travel agency holding 2009 membership;
¿ ID Card applicants will be required to complete and pass the exam for at least one annual recurrent CLIA live training seminar or CLIA online training program not previously submitted prior to applying for their 2009 cards;
¿ 2009 ID Card applicants are required to be enrolled in, or to have achieved a designation (ACC, MCC, ECC, ECCS) in CLIA’s Cruise Counsellor Certification Program - Attainment of an ACC designation requires a program of mandatory and elective training options, as well as personal cruise experience, shipboard inspections and 25 cabin sales within the two-year enrollment period;
¿ Effective with new CLIA Certification enrollments/re-enrollments occurring after Jan. 1, 2009, if ACC designation is not attained within the two-year CLIA Certification enrollment period, CLIA ID Card privileges will be suspended for a minimum of one year with reinstatement contingent upon achieving ACC, or Certification re-enrollment and the pursuit of CLIA Cruise Counsellor Certification;
¿ Recognizing that owners and managers of CLIA member travel agencies who manage the agency business are not necessarily front-line sellers of travel, each CLIA agency is entitled to a management allocation of no more than four CLIA ID Cards for which the above Certification qualification is not required although annual CLIA recurrent training is necessary.
CLIA said that the latest qualification requirements reflect the growing sales power of CLIA-affiliated agents across the spectrum of travel and tourism, as well as CLIA’s obligation to the cruise and agency industries to ensure that its agents are both actively engaged in selling travel and are pursuing professional development in order to improve their businesses.
“CLIA has an obligation to provide member benefits including the option of obtaining a CLIA ID Card,” said Terry Dale, CLIA’s president and CEO.
“We also have an obligation to provide member cruise lines and other industry partners assurance that our agent partners are actively engaged in the sale of travel and are committed to professional development.
“CLIA’s training programs are frequently acknowledged as the best in the travel industry and we strongly believe that this evolution of ID card requirements is a win/win/win situation for the CLIA agent, for the traveling consumer and for industry suppliers who recognize the value of CLIA agents.”
Peter Stilphen, president of the Host agency Coral Sands Travel and cruise-only Host World Cruising Society, said, “I feel good that, as one of the travel professionals who spoke out about CLIA’s ID requirements, that it finally found its way home. I’m proud of CLIA and Terry Dale for implementing these new requirements. Hats off to them. It’s important we continue the fight for increased agent standards.
“As for me, I plan to keep it going. CLIA’s move was a very important step in this direction. Now we just need the TRUE (OSSN) and TRAVEL SELLERS (NACTA) to follow with increased requirements to help prevent the pseudo agents from focusing on them.”
Stilphen and other Host agency executives wanted CLIA to implement tighter requirements for its card so that it could be obtained only by agents who are legitimate cruise and tour sellers, preventing members of card mills and multilevel marketing organizations from obtaining the cards in their quest to “travel like a travel agent.”
Since 2000, CLIA has been providing agents with the option of acquiring an official CLIA ID Card that signifies their affinity with an agency and that agency’s affiliation with CLIA. Active travel agency membership in CLIA and successfully completing a minimum of one annual CLIA live or online training seminars are currently a CLIA ID Card qualifying requirement.
Certification Increases Sales
CLIA’s decision to update the requirements is supported by travel agents’ own testimony, according to the organization.
Agents who achieve CLIA Certification claim that their annual sales productivity grew 261%. In addition, the 2008 CLIA Market Profile Study of American travelers found that 65% of the general population and 75% of cruise vacationers state that professional designations, such as CLIA Certification, is very or extremely important to them. And 61% of the general population indicated that they would more likely use the services of a travel agent with a professional designation.
“CLIA certification is proven to increase travel agent sales and enhances industry position and credibility. It also provides the traveling consumer a higher level of service and professionalism and demonstrates to the industry supplier that the CLIA agent is a dedicated professional. It makes perfect sense to enhance the value of the CLIA ID Card by making these new modifications,” Dale added.

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