Maria Lenhart

Express Travel, a travel agency serving a largely Hispanic customer base, has built an extensive clientele over the past 30 years. Relationships, community involvement, and intimate awareness of how its clients like to travel have a lot to do with its success.

The announced closures of the Mexico Tourism Board offices make little sense to travel advisors who sell the destination. Already challenged to convince some clients about the destination's safety, they say the timing couldn't be worse.

Running a home-based travel agency is not without its challenges, including isolation, getting motivated, and keeping work and personal life from colliding. Fortunately, there is plenty of support, including from industry peers, to help the process.

The dissolution of the Mexico Tourism Board means that travel advisors and others involved in the selling and marketing of Mexico have lost a major resource. With safety perception issues still dogging Mexico, the timing couldn’t be worse — for the destination and advisors alike.

Virgin Voyage's decision to charge high fares that include gratuities, premium dining, and other onboard features means higher earning potential for travel advisors. That's because advisors often lose out when cruise lines offer cheap fares, and then make up for it with onboard, non-commissionable charges.

Consumer research indicates that Baby Boomers are not only the highest-spending travel demographic, but the one most likely to place trust in a travel advisor. This is illustrated by the success of The Roaming Boomers, an agency that derives almost all of its business from the Woodstock generation.

Despite all the marketing interest in reaching millennials, it may be the baby boomer generation that is the most likely business source for travel advisors. It’s a high-spending demographic that values interaction with those they can trust.

Following up with clients after a trip is a critical part of the travel-planning process. However, getting clients to truly open up about their experiences takes finesse.

A growing number of travel advisors are offering mystery vacations, created by keeping trip details a secret from clients until the departure date. It puts the surprise element back in travel, which is something often lost these days, but the challenges for advisors are many.

ASTA's new Myanmar chapter and plans for training projects with Myanmar tourism should benefit travel advisors seeking more education about an intriguing destination once off-limits for travel. However, the fact that the country engages in ethnic cleansing is raising ethical questions about visiting there at this time.