TravelResearchOnline.com Blog

Getting back at work on January 5th for many of us will have that first day of school ambiance – a new year, new opportunities – promise.  It’s a good feeling and one that we would all do well to learn how to extend for more than a few days - even throughout the year.  It’s [...]

When you view travel agent message boards, one question seems to be on a lot of minds: will 2009 “be worse than” 2008? Ok, here’s the good news - for many of you, 2009 will be a better year than was 2008.  However, there is a caveat to this prediction.  Next year will almost certainly [...]

The four words above are found on the advertisements of numerous travel suppliers. There is, of course, a problem. Without a standard definition of “travel professional” who is the consumer going to call? Is it not highly likely that the consumer is going to call the best marketer they have encountered calling themselves a travel [...]

Thomas Phillip “Tip” O’Neill, Jr. once said that all politics are local. The aphorism is particularly true in the travel industry since our localities are worldwide.  A fluctuation in a European currency or a bomb in Mumbai can affect travelers and business prospects for months on end. There is little that happens in the world [...]

If you Google “YTB”, as any potential YTB recruit might, here is the entry that the search engine will serve up to you as the top search result:
YTB International, Inc. was recognized as the 26th largest seller of travel in the US in Travel Weekly’s 2008 Power List, based on 2007 annual retail value …
That is some [...]

A travel  agent I respect once told me: “We are all owners of our ambition, we are all employees of our dreams.” OK, maybe I dressed it up a bit, but that is what she meant. Too often, I am sure, the marketing advice TRO writes for agents each day seems all too much addressed only to [...]

In every business environment, it pays to have good partners.  But good partners are not easy to come by.  On ocassion you have to work your way through a lot of business development opportunities before one pans out. That is as true in publishing as it is in travel planning.
One agent I know works with [...]

Two days ago I wrote that we were “virtually” ready to launch the first online travel show powered by TRO’s technology. Today, that first show rolls out. The Baltimore Home Based Travel Agent Show held at the first of this week is history. The virtual counterpart to that show, however, is the future.
The promoter of [...]

Lately it seems as though virtual trade shows are like opinions…everybody has one.  A version of TRO’s Virtual Travel Expo will roll out Thursday, October 30 with over 50 supplier booths. With two other travel media  outlets boasting virtual trade shows, is there room for another?  Yes, and maybe no.  Let me explain.
Firstly, there is no [...]

There are a lot of eco-friendly trends in travel. Although far from perfect, many organizations are “going green.” ASTA’s Green Program is certainly a major step it the right direction as the association endeavors to better educate travel agents and suppliers to increase  awareness of travel’s impact on the environment. Many tour operators and hotel [...]