The 'destination' is one of the main reasons why the traveler is traveling in the first place.
CANADA – Steve Gillick‘s consultancy, Talking Travel, has launched a customized version of the Destination Master Class series.
Gillick notes that “destinations aren’t what they used to be”. He explained that travel advisors often concentrate on the list of skills they need in order to succeed: sales, customer service, technology, GDS etc., with knowledge of geography and destinations way down the list of priorities. “Yet when you think about it, the ‘destination’ is one of the main reasons why the traveler is traveling in the first place”.
Gillick stated that the conservative way of advising travel, that consisted of promoting attractions, selling accommodations and recommending restaurants, has been replaced with what he called a ‘dynamic positivity’ in the industry. “Travelers are looking for the ‘what else’ in travel and despite claims to the contrary by the commercial travel search engines, there is a renaissance of travelers who are seeking the advice of travel professionals to weed through the glut of information on the internet, to clarify travel hype from travel needs, and to showcase travel ‘value’.
“Talking Travel is pushing the destination boundaries that travel advisors have in the past embraced as the be all and end all of travel advice. With energy and enthusiasm, we educate industry professionals about the components of a destination: people, history, culture, mythology, traditions, culinary, drinks, attractions, demographics, psychographics, niche markets, language, fam trips, sales, suppliers, social media, marketing and more. Then the advisor can apply this information to any destination on the planet. Gillick added that the composition of the live training or conference sessions is fully customizable and can include any or all of the 16 + topics that best suit the client’s needs.
“Pushing the boundaries of destination knowledge means that your staff will not only appreciate the concept of ‘destination’, but that this knowledge translates into revenue generation and repeat business. Your success accrues to the success of the agency or host and the overall credibility of our industry”.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
