Club ABC Tours Appoints Bill Silvermintz Vice President of Product Development

Club ABC Tours, one of the largest private travel clubs in the country, announced the appointment of Bill Silvermintz to Vice President of Product Development. With more than 30 years of sales and marketing experience in the hospitality, travel and tourism industries, Silvermintz will oversee the development, negotiation and performance of all itineraries that make up the diverse portfolio of travel products for Club ABC Tours and ABC Destinations as well as serve as the Product Director for Mexico, Caribbean, Cruises and North America. In addition, he will be responsible for developing co-op marketing opportunities with suppliers and vendors.

Silvermintz brings a proven track record of success in identifying and developing marketing programs in top, customer-service driven enterprises that help them to dramatically increase their market shares. Most recently, he was Regional Director – the Americas at the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB). In this role, he helped formulate and direct the Board’s North and South American planning initiatives, by identifying and developing high-yield business opportunities and maintaining the Board’s strong trade-partner networks. Prior to the HKTB, he planned and managed North American regional marketing programs for the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA). During his tenure, visitor arrival metrics increased a significant 25%.

“Club ABC has celebrated more than 40 years of successful growth by providing our members outstanding vacation values with a diversity of air/hotel and cruise specials to destinations around the world,” said Robert Paris, Club ABC Tours’ Co-president. “We are pleased to welcome Bill Silvermintz onboard and look forward to leveraging his expertise in helping our organization to continue tapping into new business opportunities and realizing their maximum potentials. He will play an important role in our ongoing efforts to deliver outstanding customer service to meet our members’ highest expectations.”

New Programs, New Savings Opportunities
Silvermintz’s appointment comes as Club ABC Tours launches a series of innovative packages and membership savings programs. These include a wide range of discounts, such as savings of up to $500 per couple for select vacation packages booked before January 31. The travel club has also re-launched its Caribbean program to cover nearly every island in the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Mexico and Bermuda.

Paris noted that the Club ABC January brochure is loaded with savings on over 30 vacation packages and programs including escorted tours for destinations around the globe. Among these is an early booking discount of $200 per couple for its most popular program to Europe, the best-selling fully-escorted 10-day Italy vacation package to Rome, Florence and Venice called “Unbelievable Italy” which starts at just over $2,000 per person before the discount. Reservations must be booked by calling Club ABC directly at (866) TOURS-ABC.

“Club ABC Tours has many exciting new programs on tap for 2008, with bigger and better discounts for our members, and more destinations around the world than ever before,” said Paris. “This is the best time to join our travel club and take advantage of the unique travel services available exclusively to our members. For example, we are now offering for a limited time a quick getaway to the Caribbean for under $500 per person including air and hotel accommodations at a First Class hotel (excluding taxes and government imposed fees).”

Club ABC Tours has also negotiated many new member benefits that add value aside from the outstanding vacation offers. These include discounts with Hertz, BN.com, TravelSmith and The Luggage Club. There are also savings for airport parking, car service arrangements and international cell phone rental.

About Club ABC Tours
Club ABC Tours is a members-only travel club that has been providing outstanding vacation values since 1966. Most packages include airfare and feature either first class or deluxe accommodations (4- and 5-Star only). Members book directly with Club ABC by phone, online or by mail. Membership is available for only $30 per year, $45 for two years, or $60 for three years. Each membership covers a maximum of two adults per household and their dependent children. For more information, call toll-free 1-888-TOURS-ABC (868-7722) or log on to www.clubabc.com