Travel plan idea blog

How are travel agents doing in the internet age?

This article talks about something that has become kind of a recurring theme on this blog - the role of travel agents. Here, they argue that travel agents are more relevant than ever and that the internet has helped travel agents by allowing them to work from home (although they do acknowledge that some agencies have gone out of business due to the internet).

So, if it’s not airline bookings, what’s generating sales in this market? According to the experts, a shift into niche and specialty markets has proved very profitable for travel agents. There are certain kinds of travel excursions that people aren’t going to plan without consulting someone with experience, said Mike Pina, director of public relations at AAA. Some of these specialty travel areas include adoption travel, health travel, volunteer travel and grandparent travel -- all of which require detailed itinerary planning and instruction, he said.

Now if grandparent travel just means traveling with grandparents I don't see why you need any special instruction. I went on a cruise with my grandparents years ago and it was pretty much the same as going on a cruise without them in terms of planning. I suppose if it were climbing a mountain or something you would need to be extra careful...

Anyway, not too long ago we had an example of a successful travel agent. And as many of you know I found that I needed one to figure out how to use my travel rewards from NCL (turns out they gave me the upgrade without charging me any points so I still have lots of points left).

Still I wonder if kids in high school and college now or adults looking for a new career should consider becoming a travel agent considering the challenges and change facing the industry. What do you think?

School got it right for this woman

The woman featured in this story got something unusual - good advice in high school about a future career: "I always wanted to travel and the careers adviser at school suggested I become a travel agent - since then it's been in my blood."

When I was in high school we had guidance counselors instead of careers advisers. After looking over the results of a motivation / aptitude / interest test, my guidance counselor and I talked about my future career.

Linguist didn't come up. Neither did travel blogger. I remember something about park rangers and lumber jacks. I guess I answered that I like nature and didn't want to sit at a desk all day.

I never did consider lumberjack but I did look into the park ranger thing. In the end I couldn't major in law enforcement because some of the cops in my town were horrible people and I resented law enforcement for a while (now many of my closest friends are cops and I'm no longer a long-haired teen guy so cops pretty much leave me alone I guess).

Anyway, she says that as a travel agent she gets to take about 4 trips a year. I bet she gets some good deals or freebies (even I got one from Royal Caribbean) whereas if I want 4 trips a year I can probably find the time but also need to find the money...

What do you say travel agents? Do you recommend your industry to high school and college students pondering their future career paths?

Travel & tourism classes in the UK

This article is an interesting look at Worcester college's travel & tourism major. It sounds like a program that offers students a lot of practical experience since the college runs its own travel agency and has an airline cabin for flight attendant training.

I don't remember my university offering travel & tourism classes. I wonder what my life would be like today if I had majored in a travel related field instead of in English.

So, you want to be a tour guide?

Hi everyone. Please welcome Mike Richardson to the blog. Mike is a tour guide based in Munich and my wife and I were lucky enough to meet him when we went to Salzburg. He has kindly agreed to share some of his travel knowledge and experience with us! Here is his first article:

So, you want to be a tour guide?

Well, tour guiding can be a great job and I completely understand why you would want to do it. I’ve been a tour guide for four years now and sort of fell into it myself.

Quite often I am asked by people on my tours how they could go about being a tour guide. Nearly every time they want to do it as a student job or just for one summer. Don’t get me wrong, there are tour companies that do hire for one summer and there are also tour companies who hire students; however I would not recommend working for them.

In major cities in Europe you have many options as far as tour companies. In most cases these companies range from:
1.) a couple of guys working under the radar of the law trying to make money and pay no taxes.
2.) Companies where their average clients are staying at the Hilton and they need to be air conditioned at all times.

Usually the companies that hire seasonal employees or students are at the very low end of the spectrum and aim at backpackers. Typically they will offer tours far under market value and pay their employees either (literally) nothing or very little, requiring the tour guides to beg for tips to somehow earn a living.

The majority of non-backpackers are not willing to take those tours, so go with a more reputable tour company, possibly one recommended by the local tourist information office. These companies are the ones you had in mind when you thought to yourself that you’d like to be a tour guide. If you want to be a tour guide for one of these companies, typically you should have at least a bachelor’s degree, have lived in that area for at least a year, and know a good amount of the history of the area before you go in for an interview.

If neither of those options seems to fit what you had in mind, one option might be to work in promotion for a tour company. Most of the companies hire at least one or two people (sometimes a lot more) to distribute their brochures and promote their tours around town while the office employees and the actual guides are too busy. Although this isn’t as glamorous an idea and doesn’t pay that well, it can still be a lot of fun and better pay than being a guide for “free tours” as an example.

-Mike Richardson, the professional tourist

Travel agents and the service they do or do not provide

This article talks about two things. One is the risk of Malaria in Punta Cana and elsewhere in the Dominican Republic. I didn't know that when I went...

The other thing is the role of the travel agent, something we have discussed here on this blog. Travel agents just aren't telling their customers about the Malaria risk. Whenever a travel agent comments on this blog about how necessary they are, they always imply that they would give their customers this kind of information.

I'm sure that some travel agents are good enough to give people all the relevant information, but are most travel agents good? The influx of "travel agents" from YTB and other card mills certainly isn't helping but even traditional travel agents don't always do that much for their customers.

I used a travel agent in New Jersey when I went to Cancun. I never went back to her because the service she offered was nothing special. In Seoul we have 2 travel agents that we use often because they really take care of us.

What will travel agents do differently in 2020?

This article talks about the IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI) annual convention with the theme, 'The travel agent by 2020 - Goals and challenges.'

One of the more interesting comments was this one, which makes it sound like travel agents will rely almost exclusively on wealthy customers (those who are willing to pay a travel consultant to help them plan a vacation):

Later, Raghavan offered travel agents a way by which they can resurrect their fate, considering the impending danger of zero per cent commissions by airlines. "With their major source of revenue being usurped by the online medium, now travel agents should no longer be agents; they should become consultants. They should start a system, wherein they charge a fee for every service that they offer. This will ensure a regular source of income for the travel agents," he said.

Would you pay for a travel consultant to help you with your vacation plans and reservations?

Becoming a flight attendant for Korean Air or Asiana

I wanted to share a story I heard recently. I heard it from a friend who I trust but he heard it from someone I've never met so it may not be true.

Anyway, the story goes like this: becoming a flight attendant is a big competition in Korea (I believe this part since many English majors I know personally want to become flight attendants) and they attend a special school affiliated with a university and one of the two major Korean airlines where only a certain percentage of them can graduate to become flight attendants.

The main part of the story though is that to get into this school they have an interview in which they are required to scrub all makeup off their faces in front of the interviewers (presumably so they can make sure they hire beautiful young women as flight attendants).

Again, I don't know that this is true but it is believable as many people who have flown Korean Air and Asiana have commented on how attractive the flight attendants are (especially compared to western airlines).

If you've never flown Korean Air or Asiana, here is a little demonstration of the type of flight attendants they choose. I didn't watch the whole thing as it's pretty long:

I just want to confirm that these women are probably not just models in the airline uniform. The women you see on the plane are equally attractive.

The fact that they are pretty much all young reminds me of another story a former student told me a long time ago. She said that she would only work for Korean Air (assuming she passed the interview and graduated from the competitive school) until she was 26 because after that the airline would want to move her to ticketing or something to make room for a younger woman on the plane.

Now I don't know if this is true and on each flight you see at least one woman who is clearly over 26, but it is easy to believe that most of the flight attendants are 26 or less.

It would be easy to say that this is unfair and something should be done. I'm sure some people would suggest not flying an airline until it became clear that hiring practices were fair. However there is a reason my wife and I like flying Korean Air, Asiana, JAL (which seems to hire attractive women as well though more of them seem over 26 if I had to guess). The service is much much better than we get on American Airlines, Continental, Northwest, etc.

So fair or unfair, we're flying with one of the Asian airlines whenever we get the chance.

Join a card mill / travel agency MLM?

I noticed a few more articles on those travel agent / "card mill" programs. This one says that you can get travel disocunts but that they might not be worth $500 + $50/month.

Then again if you're going to Europe for a month like I am, and you could get half price hotel rooms throughout your stay, you would end up saving a lot of money. I already have my reservations so I guess it's too late for me to consider this though.

This article looks at the business side of things. It's really a general criticism of the MLM industry that seems to have been written by someone with no actual network marketing experience (MLM and network marketing being the same thing).

The criticism starts and ends with the money you have to invest (they also mention how netowrk maketers will sometimes pressure frieds and family into wasting a lot of money but starting an MLM is not supposed to be expensive). In reality, if you enter an MLM the money you invest should be minimal. These travel agencies charging $500 and $50/month are much more expensive than regular MLMs like Amway and NuSkin/Pharmanex (which I've seen up close and personal).

Now I'm not here to defend the MLM industry either. I just want to point out that the financial investment isn't extreme (even the relatively high $500 is fairly cheap for starting your own business) as the strength of the MLM industry is that most anyone can join since it's so easy (cheap) to sign up.

Of course, that's also the weakness - anyone can join. I've met both great people and true scumbags who do network marketing. You can be arrogant, stupid, mean, whatever; someone will still sign you up. That's why I don't criticize Royal Caribbean for shunning business with these "card mills". If a company like YTB has zero quality control why would Royal Caribbean want to do business with those agents? Sure some will be fine, but some will be absolute scum.

Is it too easy to become a travel agent?

Apparently Royal Caribbean thinks so. According to Travel Weekly, the cruise line has ended sales partnerships with travel agents that could be viewed as "card mills", places where anyone can pay $500 plus $50 a month to get a website and a travel agent ID card.

Becoming a travel agent gets them a chance to earn commissions for referring travelers and a chance to get industry discounts.

Royal Caribbean did not identify the card mills, but two have identified themselves: YTB Travel Network and Joystar. Naturally they both argue that the Royal Caribbean decision makes no sense since they aren't card mills...

And I know I sometimes get comments on this blog that go something like "My wife and I just started our own online travel agency - go visit our site www.spammy-link-here.com/1234/" (obviously not a real link). Sometimes those commenters actually include some useful information on the blog, but often there is no 'real comment' so I end up deleting those comments because they look like spam.

So what do you think about Royal Caribbean's decision or becoming a travel agent in general?

Is it time to travel to Europe, become a travel agent, both, or neither?

I'm back with a few articles for you. The speech went well and seemed to impress my boss if you were wondering.

First, now that it's fall, traveling to Europe is becoming more affordable (but it's still expensive). Just not as bad as it was this summer when this article says prices could be $10 for a Pepsi! Now I guess it depends on where you shop for Pepsi too. In this article they give examples of declining hotel prices:

The Four Seasons Hotel in Prague, for example, is offering a Bed and Breakfast package from Oct. 17 to Dec. 27, with rates starting at 245 euros a night, or about $345 at $1.42 to the euro, down from 355 euros in high season. The Ritz-Carlton, Berlin is offering rates from 225 euros a night in November, including breakfast and two glasses of Champagne. Prices normally begin at 355 euros a night.

Not the first hotels I look at... The article does list some tour packages that are somewhat affordable.

No matter where you're going, you have to decide if you'll be using a travel agent or not. Apparently business isn't as bad as young people think it is because the ASTA feels that they need to do something to convince more people to become travel agents.

And speaking of travel agents, here's the story of how one business succeeded.

I suppose one of the things a travel agent might do is help you answer the questions found in this article:

1. HELP! My husband wants a romantic second honeymoon, but we're taking along our toddler. Where can we go and what can we do?

2. We want a big family vacation, but we're on a budget. What should we do?

3. I always wind up overpacking - and yet I still forget things. Any advice?

4. Our flight is nearly six hours long and we have two kids with us! What can we do to make the long trip less stressful?

5. Is there a way to make everyone happy on a vacation — two adults, a teenage son, an 8-year-old daughter and our 2-year-old?

6. What are some resources for family deals, trips, advice, etc.?

Position Announcement: Tourism Studies Specialization in tourism geography with an emphasis on tourism planning and development

This is a position announcement I heard about for California University of Pennsylvania, "A proud member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education"

College of Science and Technology

Position

Tourism Studies Specialization in tourism geography with an emphasis on tourism planning and development. Online teaching experience is an asset.

Rank and Salary

This is a tenure track faculty appointment. Salary is competitive and commensurate with academic preparation and experience. An excellent fringe benefits package is included.

Application

To be considered, applicants must submit in hard copy all of the following:

Letter of application highlighting the applicants' qualifications in teaching, research, and service;
A full curriculum vita;
Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended (unofficial transcripts are acceptable for review purposes);
Names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of three professional references that have current knowledge of the applicants' abilities in teaching, research, and service.

Please submit via regular mail (please no email or faxed applications). Veterans should forward a copy of form DD214 to the Office of Social Equity, 250 University Ave, Box 9, California, Pennsylvania 15419.

Application Deadline October 19, 2007. Electronic submissions are permitted.

Send complete application except DD214 (if veteran) to:

Dr. Susan Ryan, Chair, Search Committee
Department of Earth Sciences
250 University Avenue, Box 55
California University of Pennsylvania
California, PA 15419

Phone: 724-938-4531
Fax: 724-938-5780
Email: ryan@cup.edu

Integrity, Civility, and Responsibility are the official core values of California University of Pennsylvania, an affirmative action/ equal opportunity employer. Women, minorities, veterans and the physically challenged are encouraged to apply.

Starting a travel business

I thought this article was interesting because really, what could be better than traveling for a living. Sure you might have to manage your business while you travel but still...

This article is about a business person who noticed the luxury travel niche was underserved in Scotland. She filled the niche with luxury yachts and business is good. Plus I guess she gets to enjoy luxury yachts more often than the rest of us.

Has anyone here ever seen an empty travel niche and thought of opening a business?

Presentations on how to be a travel agent who works at home

Thetradeshow is coming to Las Vegas in September and there's a definite focus on home-based travel agents. I get spammy comments from home travel agents sometimes where they say "visit my website for the best vacation deals" or something along those lines.

I delete them, but I'm still curious about how one becomes a travel agent, wherever you work. And I'm not saying that we don't have travel agents who leave valuable comments because we do.

Anyway, here are some abstracts for presentations at Thetradeshow in Vegas:

Should I Go Solo or Work Through A Host Agency? (Panel). Moderated by Gary Fee. Six panelists—three host agencies and three independent agencies—will discuss the pros and cons of working with a host agency, being an independent agency and working both ways. This panel will prove to be a lively debate that will help the audience with travel business decisions.

The Home-Based "Agency"-Taking Your Business to the Next Level. Presented by Gary Fee. This seminar is targeted to agents who are already selling travel from home, but want to learn more business options that will help their home-based business grow. Among the topics to be discussed are legal issues for home-based agents, use of Web sites, e-commerce, database systems, supplier recognition and the future for home-based sellers of travel.

How to Write and Execute an Effective Business Plan That Can Grow Your Sales 20% per Year! Presented by Mark McMullen, CTC. Attendees will learn the importance of having a written marketing and business plan, the steps involved in developing a solid promotional plan, and be given a real-world example that works.

What Are the Technology Needs for the Home-Based Agent? (Panel). Successful home-based agents will discuss which technologies have helped them become more efficient and profitable. Attendees will hear first-hand about their daily routine and the products these thriving home-based agents use – from phone systems, PDAs, printers, software and much more.

Home Alone? Legal Guidance for the Home-Based Agent. This seminar is designed to help home-based agents with both elementary and more complex legal issues. Advice will be given on topics such as: accounting issues, federal standards, registering with the state, new laws, accepting cash and checks in your own name and disclaimers.

Home-Based Travel Agents - Your Tool Chest for Success. Presented by Joanie Ogg, CTC, MCC. Marketing a home-based travel business requires a unique set of tools and a focused direction. In this seminar attendees will discuss such hot issues as which technology tools are key to a home-based business, how to create a business identity and how to take advantage of modern communication trends and a home-based agent’s mobility to create a successful business.

There Really Is No Place Like Home! Presented by Joanie Ogg, CTC, MCC. (Offered on Sunday, Sept. 9) Owning and operating a home-based travel business in the 21st century is a gold-mine of opportunity. Any agent thinking about becoming a home-based agent cannot afford to miss this presentation. Topics that will be covered include: being a hosted agent or going it alone; setting up a home office; and finding your travel passion and what you need to succeed in order to sell travel from the comfort of your home. Monday’s general session is also specifically designed for home-based agents. Among the scheduled speakers is Bob Abrams, best-selling author of Seizing Your Success, who will address the importance of focus and systems as it relates to running a successful business.

So if you might want to be a work-from-home travel agent, this could be the convention for you.

Lecturer in Tourism and Event Management at University of Central Lancashire

There is a university teaching position available for a Lecturer in Tourism and Event Management (One year limited term contract) at the University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK in the Lancashire Business School - Department of Tourism & Leisure Management - Division of Tourism and Hospitality.

The blockquote areas come from a current faculty member who was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.

Lecturer :£25,570 to £31,881 per annum (new Framework Agreement scales pending)

A suitably qualified person is required to fulfil an additional role of Lecturer in Tourism and Event Management, initially as cover for a member of staff on secondment. However, the role will provide an excellent development opportunity for the right candidate to establish an academic profile in Higher Education.

We are looking for candidates who can contribute and add value to our existing teaching provision, especially within the subject areas of tourism and event management. Thus, some experience of teaching these subject areas at Higher Education level is essential. Additionally, operational experience of tourism and/or event management is desirable. A good first degree within tourism, hospitality management or event management is also essential, as is a Masters degree in a related field of study. A research degree (e.g. PhD) is desirable, as is research potential and/or publications within a related field.

The role will involve teaching aspects of the subject/s of Tourism and Event Management on a range of modules and in particular teaching an introductory tourism module to tourism students. Desirable would be the ability to teach service operations management to students on events, tourism, and hospitality programmes. The role will also involve visiting students on Placement throughout the UK and, if appropriate, internationally.

The introductory tourism module is at Level One (1st year undergraduate), and examines contemporary issues of the tourism sector, either from socio-cultural, political and/or environmental perspectives. The module is already designed, although the successful candidate will have the flexibility to adapt the content, within the confines of set learning outcomes.

Tourism and Event Management is a growing area within the Department on many fronts. There is an increasing research culture and the Department will make a major contribution to the RAE profile of the Faculty. Already the Institute of Transport and Tourism, headed by Prof Les Lumsdon, is at the cutting edge of this contribution to new knowledge in the area. In the medium term there will be a step change in research capacity and the recent appointment of an additional Professor of Tourism will help to achieve this aim.

Reference Number: 248E-08-06
Closing Date: 22nd June 2007 at 4pm

For further information, job specification and an application form, please visit http://www.uclan.ac.uk/other/hr/jobs/external.htm#248

Interview: the life of a travel agent

This is a good interview with a travel agent who has about 15 years experience.

She talks about education and certification (not always necessary to become a travel agent). She mentions CTA, certified travel agent, and CTC, certified travel counselor. In future blog entries I'll try to post how you get those certifications.