A US-based study on travel adviser training reveals that the current approaches to teaching may leave new recruits without critical skills.
American Marketing Group surveyed affiliated travel agencies to understand the qualities they want from new recruits and how they go about training them.
According to the survey, which ran between March 21 and April 24, while 95% of advisers said proper training was important or essential for new entrants, training methods varied across companies.
Some 54% of agencies said they offered job shadowing, 53% use supplier training programmes, and about 30% rely on industry webinars. Only 26% of travel advisers said their agency offered a specialised programme for new advisers. Although the importance of training was agreed upon, researchers said existing approaches might not empower new recruits to develop critical skills and that the survey results showed a need for a comprehensive and standardised curriculum.
“The industry has had a patchwork approach to training new advisers. Many agencies are still using one-off webinars or very focused supplier programmes,” said Kathryn Mazza-Burney, Chief Sales Officer of American Marketing Group.
Travel advisers concluded that the most critical training needed in the industry included programmes on booking travel, the different supplier types such as air, hotels and cruise lines, and customer service and sales.
