There is a great trend towards specialization in the industry. If you are new to the industry or are considering branching out, it is important to pick a specialty area—one that you are passionate about.
It’s a big world, and you don’t want to be a jack of all trades, master of none. When you try to generalize, the whole world is your potential market. Aiming to please the whole world is not reasonable or practical, or even very fun! Focusing on a specialty or two will give you a great foundation to build from, and it will allow for your clients to gain confidence in you.
And the good news is that special interest travel is on the upswing. There are people who enjoy all things wellness, exercise, or health focused. Others collect coins, hunt for haunted castles, or have an affluent mindset and enjoy luxury travel. More and more people are gravitating to the experts who have intimate knowledge, experience, and passion in those areas.
How will specializing set you apart from the competition and help you sell more travel? Patty Noonan, CTC will answer this question—and more!—in her upcoming webinar, Specialization–Finding Your Niche, presented on May 26 at 1:00 pm (EDT).
One of the hottest and most lucrative specialties today is Luxury Travel.
There are many benefits to choosing a specialty, including the following:
- Special interest travel creates identity in the marketplace. When you specialize, you give clients reason to pick your agency out of a crowd. For example, if you promote yourself and are known as THE Mediterranean Cruise Specialist, potential clients will have a reason to call you for this special interest.
- Special interest travel is a value-added product. The unique features or services you provide give you a competitive edge. This puts you in contrast to mass-market programs in which volume counts, and the competition is intense. Suddenly, you’re not competing on price but on service and product, and you can attract travelers willing to pay more for that added value. Note that most travel products are available anywhere, but you provide a unique service that makes you irreplaceable. Your value lies in offering what the customer lacks: expertise, support, your network, clout, and assistance if something goes wrong. It’s important to remember your value when promoting your luxury travel specialty.
- Clients will appreciate your specialized knowledge. Clients for special interest travel will be looking for a trip with features not found elsewhere and will count on you to know a destination or the special interest well. Clients see this special knowledge as worth paying for.
- Special interest travel generates client loyalty. Clients looking for the lowest price have little loyalty to agencies. But those looking for a special interest feature on their trips may be more likely to return because the agent possesses proven knowledge, service, and product in a niche that is not commonly served.
- Special interest travel may be easier to promote. Not only will it be easier to target clients with special interest travel, but it will be easier to get the attention of travel editors and the media with unique travel products not in the mainstream.
So, how do you select a specialty area? It all starts with finding your passion. You can get ideas by looking through your client database to see what kinds of trips you already have designed. Look at your own interests, your favorite destinations and activities. Or maybe you haven’t yet figured out what your passion is.
Let us help you! Put your pen to paper and fill out The Travel Institute’s Find Your Passion Worksheet.
Remember that the word “specialize” has the word “special” in it. So, be special! Be unique! Be YOU!
