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Local Voices

CERTIFIED TAHITI SPECIALIST™: REAL EXPERTISE

If you were planning the trip of a lifetime or perhaps your honeymoon, and you wanted to go to an exotic island destination – wouldn’t you want your travel agent to have been there first? Wouldn’t you feel more confident with a travel agent who knew what the hotels are like? How to get around? Where to get a really great meal? What not to miss and what not to waste your time on?

Of course you would! Especially if you had your heart set on the Islands of Tahiti.

That’s why travel agent Sara Batchelor of First Choice Travel and Cruise in Waukesha Wisconsin took the time and effort to become a Certified Tahiti Specialist™—a trained expert in Tahiti.

“The Tahiti Tiare program is tough, but when you finish you really know the destination,” says Sara. “A lot of people have a life-long dream of going to Tahiti. So they do a lot of research. But then when they go to book their trip, they discover that their travel agent doesn’t know the first thing about it.” The Tahiti Tiare program is an intensive training program that Tahiti’s national tourist office offers to travel agents. Agents don’t get certified until they attend a half-day workshop to learn about the destination and vacation options. Then they have to go to another seminar, put on by a Tahiti partner. They must also take a trip to the Islands of Tahiti and experience the country first-hand. And there’s more. They have to sell four trips, demonstrating that they can successfully put together and sell Tahiti vacations…annually.

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Sara says that being a Certified Tahiti Specialist has given her the ability to make people’s dreams come true. But it has also shown her how to identify clients for whom Tahiti might not be the ideal vacation spot. Says Sara, “Tahiti is not for everybody. If somebody’s looking fornight-life or non-stop extreme sports, I gently recommend some place else.”

But for travelers seeking a unique getaway to a place of heart-stopping beauty, the Islands of Tahiti are the place. “There is no more romantic place for a honeymoon or anniversary. But that’s not all. There are wonderful cruises throughout the islands. There’s also world-class scuba diving and yachting. And no matter what you do on your trip, you get to experience the genuine warmth of the Polynesian people. I’d say that’s one of the most remarkable things about the destination.”

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To contact Sara Batchelor, call First Choice Travel and Cruise at 262-542-5955 or e-mail Sara@firstchoicetravelandcruise.com


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