TRAVEL LEADERS' Prestigious "Associate of the Year" Awarded to East Greenwich-based Travel Agency for the Third Time

ChampionsGate, FL (October 31, 2015) — Today, East Greenwich-based Travel Leaders Associate Judy Clappin was honored as the best among hundreds of Travel Leaders travel agency locations nationally. This is the third time Clappin has been honored with the prestigious Travel Leaders “Associate of the Year” award, which is bestowed upon the one Travel Leaders Associate (franchisee) who most epitomizes excellence in service to clients and effectively representing the Travel Leaders brand (www.travelleaders.com) over the course of the past year. Clappin – president and owner of the Travel Leaders locations in Cranston, East Greenwich and Woonsocket – received her award at the 2015 Travel Leaders National Meeting held just outside of Orlando in ChampionsGate, Florida, at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate.

“What’s truly impressive is that Judy has the foresight to change and adapt her agency model in order to make certain she’s at the forefront of delivering the very best for her clients. While a large segment of her clientele is comprised of business travel clients, Judy’s business has evolved to also specialize in luxury travel,” stated Roger E. Block, CTC, President of Travel Leaders Franchise Group. “With her leadership, and by embracing the programs within Travel Leaders’ Luxury Center of Excellence, luxury sales for her travel agencies have increased over 500% in past three years. In addition, her overall business has consistently grown on average $1 million each year since 2012. That growth is a testament to the planning, consultation and overall level of service Judy and her team provide to their clients in Rhode Island and throughout New England. I am extremely proud to honor Judy with our Associate of the Year award.”

Since the early 1970s Clappin’s agencies have assisted travelers in Rhode Island and New England with their corporate and leisure travel needs. Today, approximately 70% of her business is dedicated to assisting business travel clients with their travel planning, as well as consultation and analysis of the return on investment (ROI) on their travel spending.

With regard to leisure travel, Clappin has placed an emphasis on continued training, education and a high-level of specialization for her leisure travel agents. Clappin, herself, has accepted an exclusive and highly sought after invitation to attend the International Luxury Travel Marketing (ILTM) in Cannes, France – her second such invitation. Participation in this exclusive global event provides access to meet with suppliers and travel companies from around the world that focus on every aspect of luxury travel – and will ultimately benefit her luxury travel clients.

“Judy and her team have also embraced Travel Leaders’ ‘Agent Profiler,’ which highlights travel agents’ expertise and specializations on www.Travelleaders.com, as well as her agency’s website. This unique feature allows consumers to self-select the Travel Leaders travel agent professional who best meets their needs — chosen by criteria, such as destination specialty or type of travel experience,” added Block. “Because of the expertise her travel agents are able to display online, clients have requested travel planning guidance on as luxury cruises, an around-the-world journey and a 3-week Australia vacation, just to name a few. It’s a testament to their dedicated training and use of this award-winning technology.”

Clappin has solely been at the helm of the business for the past 10 years and steered it on a path of growth. She and her late husband, Gil Clappin, were honored with the Associate of the Year award in 2002 and again in 2005, though that second honor was awarded posthumously shortly after her husband’s death.

In order to be considered for the Associate of the Year award, Clappin first had to earn Travel Leaders’ “Agency of Excellence” award. Only 24 franchisees nationally were honored with that distinction in 2015. To earn the “Agency of Excellence” award, Travel Leaders agencies are scored in several categories that reflect business growth; utilization of marketing programs to effectively reach local consumers; participation in key training programs to enhance service to their clients, as well as in local and national business networking meetings, and their overall promotion of the Travel Leaders brand.

Through a nearly 30-year partnership with Travel Leaders, Clappin now owns three Rhode Island travel agencies assisting both corporate and leisure travelers throughout the state and New England – East Greenwich (508 Main Street), Cranston (150 Midway Road, Suite 168) and Woonsocket (2168 Diamond Hill Road). To learn more, call 401-885-3500 or visit www.travelleaders.com/eastgreenwichri. “Travel Better” with Travel Leaders.

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