Travel advisor working at a laptop. (photo via JLco – Julia Amaral /iStock / Getty Images Plus)
Travel Advisor Appreciation Month is a time to reflect on all the many ways these people guide us through one of the most important experiences of our lives—vacation time.
Travelers save their money and their vacation days for these coveted trips, and using an advisor to help plan for these precious moments is one of the best ways to get the most value for your vacation time but also the most for your money.
There is so much information and so many trips to choose from, using a travel advisor ensures travelers book the right one.
“Living in a world where endless information is at our fingertips, planning a vacation has gone from being independent and booking it online yourself, to ‘I am so overwhelmed with all of the options out there,’” said JoAnne Weeks, vacation division director at Acendas Travel.
Travel advisors are constantly heralded for their efforts extracting people from flight delays or cancelations, but singing their praises for efforts to plan those seemingly effortless itineraries also deserves equal recognition.
They also deserve praise for helping in this new pandemic world of travel.
“I can’t tell you how many times in the past year VIP Vacations has helped our clients with getting their passports or having to walk them off the ledge when they were confused with online forms that needed to be completed before arrival in a destination,” VIP Vacations President Jennifer Doncsecz told TravelPulse. “Having a travel advisor on speed dial is the best travel hack out there!”
In honor of Travel Advisor Appreciation Month (May) and Global Travel Advisor Day (May 4), many companies have chosen to honor advisors with incentives. These include cash and vacation giveaways, rewards points, gift cards, cruises, bonus commissions, swag, live events and more.
Travel advisors are also recognized for their efforts, especially over the last two years, in AgentatHome’s newest supplement, “Travel Advisor Appreciation Guide.” This issue includes information on selling strategies, COVID-19 safety and protocols, news on the state of the travel industry and a hopeful message on summer cruising.