I know you’ve heard the whispers among the ranks.

Somewhere out there are free trips for travel agents; on new ships, to tropical destinations.   In fact anywhere a travel agent wants to go, they can go for free.

Those trips actually have a name in the industry: Familiarization trips (FAMs) and Inaugurals.  And it’s true –once upon a time (in the good old days) travel agents did receive a lot of perks, including free travel.  But times, they are a-changing, so let me give you the skinny on how FAMs and inaugurals are allotted by the vendors and how TPI disperses them.

The Renaissance – Setting Popular Travel in Motion

The Renaissance spanned roughly through the 14^th to 17^th centuries and it was a re-birth of the ancient classical era after the Dark Ages. The renaissance first started in the Italian city of Florence through the works of artists and writers spurred by political and cultural changes of the day.  Due to the artistic dependency of patronage, the classical theme was set in motion much due to the rich and powerful Medici family. The Medici’s sought to commission art outside the religious themes that dominated the time period. Besides a revival of the romanticized mythological themes of the classical era, a renewed interest was spurred in classical architecture, mathematics and natural philosophy (predecessor to modern science.)

As the renaissance spread through-out Europe, bringing with it a new artistic and academic focus, it became fashionable for young aristocrats to visit the great master pieces of the classical era as part of their classical education, (mainly Roman art and architecture.) This became known as the Grand Tour.