Travel agents are getting some help in travel promotion these days from President Obama. Those seeking encouragement for clients hesitant about overseas travel this year need look no further than the White House. The First Family scheduled time during President Obama’s recent foreign diplomatic schedule to enjoy personal, family sightseeing. President and Mrs. Obama visited Prague and Istanbul in April, with Michelle Obama touring Prague’s Jewish Quarter and Castle district, and the President visiting the Hagia Sophia Museum and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. On a recent visit to the Middle East, the President took time with his staff to tour the Pyramids, the Sphinx and other Cairo area attractions.

This month, after celebrating the 65th anniversary of D-Day during his June 6th speech and tour of the Normandy beaches, President Obama spent the weekend with his family in Paris. After the President returned home, Michelle Obama stayed for another week with her daughters to visit both Paris and London, where the Obamas celebrated daughter Sasha’s 8th Birthday by visiting Parliament, Big Ben and the Tower of London, where King Henry the VIII’s 500th anniversary of coronation is commemorated this year. You can advise clients that the Obamas, like other working families, are comfortable combining personal family travel with the father’s business trip. The First Family even extended the family vacation trip after the President returned home to work, and kept their touring schedule private in Paris and London, allowing them to drop into restaurants without advance public fanfare.

Obama travel photos are readily available online, and might be useful to share with your clients. Remind clients that, although the First Family need not add travel insurance to their international trips, most U.S. health care plans and Medicare, as noted on the U.S. State Department web site (http://travel.state.gov ), do not provide coverage when Americans travel outside the U.S. Encourage your clients to follow the First Family’s travel example, but remind them to add a comprehensive Worldwide Trip Protector or WTP Gold plan, the latter designed for protecting luxury trips, when they do!