Travel agents, competitors; yet on the same team | Travel Research Online

Image
Image

Travel agents, competitors; yet on the same team

With Europe (notably the UK) in a bit of turmoil lately with terror attacks and a surprising election, it was a welcome respite to notice some good news last week.

I belong to several travel agent groups on Facebook. If you don’t belong to any, search them out; they are a great resource. But I digress. I was checking posts and I came across one that made me smile.

helpwanted

Help! I am too darned busy to handle all the work and I need some help.

Now isn’t that a refreshing problem to have?

And that is exactly where the TRO Community and the Facebook groups are so handy. Often at home, there is no person immediately available to bounce a question or help with a problem. In the old days, you needed to take an ad out in a paper for additional help. Today—not so much. And I hope this agent was able to find some ICs that could help him or her out.

One thing I noticed about the post was the destinations. I am not sure if they are reflective of the business model, or their customer wishes; but, the European destinations seemed to be very muted, which should not come as such a big surprise.

With the political rhetoric flying about, many travelers feel more comfort in staying close to home. It may be misguided, but it is a fact. And with that in mind, it only makes sense for your own business survival to review your specialties and perhaps add a few more.

Of course if you are a UK specialist, you will always have business; but it might dip. What attracts your clients to the UK? Is it the ease of language? Culture? History? Arts? Are there other destinations that are not on the news that fit that bill?

If you are a generalist, you can expect that the interest in international travel may wane a bit so it makes sense to brush up on destinations that are typically considered more “safe” than others. Iceland (bonus, it is a lot more affordable to fly there), Denmark, Austria, and New Zealand are all very “safe” destinations. Canada and Japan also rank up there in terms of safety. And of course, most of the Caribbean basin nations are still considered safe, however, petty crime can still be an issue.

 

Perhaps I am wrong this time. There may not be a dip in European interest; but if there is—be prepared.

And like that agent in the Facebook Group, lean on your colleagues for help. Despite all being competitors, we are all on the same team in the end.

 

 

Share your thoughts on “Travel agents, competitors; yet on the same team”

You must be a registered user and be logged in to post a comment.