鼓励特工在东部旅行市场开放时将教育付诸实践
byKerry Tice/
Over 400 attendees gathered for the fifth consecutive year in Toronto today for the kickoff of Travel MarketPlace East, the premier professional development conference for Canadian agents co-hosted by Travel Market Report and the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA).
Scott Koepf, senior vice president of sales for Cruise Planners and emcee for the event, opened the general session with a call to action for the hundreds of agents in attendance to take their newfound knowledge and put it into practice.
“The education and the knowledge you are going to receive over the next few days are worthless, unless you do something with them,” said Koepf. “The only reason most of you are here is because you want to do something better. You want to be a better travel agent, salesperson, marketer, or whatever it might be. If you’re not quite hitting the goals you want to meet, you are here to take that next step. The only way to do that is to go back and do something different.”
Koepf’s challenge set the tone for an agenda that includes two days’ worth of educational panels and seminars featuring leading industry speakers on topics that include social media, mentoring, working with your business development manager, visual marketing and finding your niche, to name just a few.
TMR出版商Anne Marie Moebes表示,该活动还包括与75家参展公司的贸易展览。Moebes在整个会议期间花了时间来倡导许多出席的旅行社,以进一步提高自己的专业水平。
“We’re thrilled that so many Canadian travel agents want to continue to learn about their industry and want to sell more and be more profitable.”
Acta上台
As co-sponsor of Travel MarketPlace East, Association of Canadian Travel Agents president Wendy Paradis reminded attendees of all the ways in which the association is advocating for and promoting travel agents, including lobbying on their behalf to reduce the red tape that can sometimes hinder their business productivity.
ACTA正在为其成员解决的一些当前问题包括《安大略旅游行业法案》,《空中乘客法案》和促进健康竞争,帮助最大程度地减少欺诈行为,在全国范围内建立无缝流程的工具,以销售销售的许可要求保险,并与旅行供应商合作,与零售商合作进行不可委托的票价和尊重的商业惯例。
在整个行业的好消息中,Paradis自豪地宣布,在12月至1月之间,ACTA已有300多名旅行社成为经过认证的旅行顾问,称其为“非常了不起的壮举”。
品牌和忠诚的角色
作为在Travel Marketplace East提供的教育专业知识的一部分,加拿大Transat Distribution的运营和会员服务总监Rita Propegri向与会者致辞,以建立品牌个性以及如何忠诚度的重要性。
Porregri注意到麦当劳和迪斯尼等品牌偶像以及最近对Harley-Davidson品牌的多元化,以扩大其市场吸引力,他强调说:“他们如何描绘他们的品牌将使一切变化。”
Polegri告诉旅行社“重新评估和重新调整”,挑战旅行社,以确定什么使他们脱颖而出并让他们定义他们。“您不仅想成为最好的。您想被认为是唯一做自己做的事情的人。”
Polegri said loyalty comes from the little things a travel professional can do that makes them memorable, including writing handwritten Christmas cards, sending birthday wishes to a client or remembering to book them in an aisle seat if that is what they prefer.
“It’s not okay to just take the booking. You need to set yourself apart from other travel professionals through your brand and that will bring loyalty. What you do for your clients should stand out and be special and then the referrals will follow. Assert yourself as the travel professional you are.”