Are you an expert on every destination, every resort, every beach, and every cruise in the world? If the answer is no, then why is it so tempting for so many agents to try to sell mass-market travel products?
If your client wants to find a place to go horseback riding during the day and attend an opera at night, where would you send her? What if she wants to gamble at casinos but also wants some beach time, where would you send her?
These questions illustrate the need for you and other travel professionals to expand your knowledge of and experience with destinations and niche markets. But, with the whole world to sell, you must be proactive in finding a part of the world or a niche that you enjoy or that your customers gravitate towards. The Travel Institute’s Director of Training, Guida Botelho, recommends that you start on a niche or destination you are passionate about.
No one can be an expert on all destinations or niche markets. But you can master one or two destinations or niches through personal travel, general education, and formal travel courses.
There is no substitute for a personal visit to learn about a destination. Governments and suppliers — such as cruise lines and tour operators — sponsor familiarization trips. These FAM trips usually are short, concentrated learning trips in a business format. But travel professionals must go beyond these brief visits to learn about locations.
Almost anything that contributes to your general education also can build your knowledge about destinations. Talking to other travel professionals, reading books and magazines, and exploring websites can help you enrich your understanding of the world and keep you in touch with the latest trends and events.
Also, there are several forms of education you can pursue. Here are a few examples.
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Industry suppliers — like airlines, tour operators, and hotels — offer unique and enjoyable opportunities for learning.
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Tourist boards of many countries also provide special training programs.
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Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) offers extensive education that includes classroom training and ship inspections.
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Consortia offer supplier training and FAM opportunities.
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The Travel Institute has been offering specialization courses to travel professionals since 1964.
All of this is a great opportunity for agents to find new destinations and to promote unique products. Consumers have become savvy travel shoppers with a tremendous amount of information at their fingertips. Specializing and immersing yourself in one or two destinations will allow you to provide your clients something they can’t find elsewhere. Creating and selling specialized destination travel is an important option for agents looking to generate new and profitable business.
To increase your knowledge of the many destinations you can sell, visit thetravelinstitute.com for its broad range of Destination Specialist and Niche Markets programs.
