THE roll-out of a Travel
Counsellors academy
in South Africa is
expected to significantly
grow the group’s presence in
the country.
Mladen Lukic, South Africa
gm of Travel Counsellors,
said 10 years after its
entry into the South
African market (the group
celebrated its 10th year last
year), Travel Counsellors
had reached about 50% of
its desired penetration. He
was speaking to TNW at the
group’s recent conference,
which took place aboard the
MSC Sinfonia.
During the first 10 years,
he said, the group had
slowly grown its presence
in South Africa by recruiting
senior consultants. He
explained that the current
criterion to become a
Travel Counsellor required
consultants to have a
minimum of five years’
experience at a senior level,
but that this requirement
was met by a small portion
of the industry. “There
are not enough senior
travel consultants in the
industry to get us to the
size that this market has an
opportunity for.”
For this reason, to expand
the group’s presence in
SA, Mladen said it needed
to widen its selection
process. To do this
without diminishing the
group’s value proposition,
candidates that do not
meet the selection criteria
will be fast-tracked through
the academy. He explained
that reaching five years’
experience at a senior level
was not only a function of
how capable a consultant
was, but also a matter of
progression, where some
consultants only advanced
when a senior consultant
leaves.
Michael Vincent, head
of Talent and Learning at
Travel Counsellors, will
lay the foundation for the
academy in the South
African market. Mladen said
the aim was that, by the end
of the financial year ending
October 31, the academy
would be defined and the
required processes would
be put in place.
Mladen emphasised that
the academy would be an
institute of learning, not a
collection of short courses,
which would fast track
intermediate consultants
and also generate new
talent through high-intensity
training. The academy will
be open to consultants as
well as members of parallel
sectors within the travel
industry.
As the group already had
academies in other markets,
it would not be starting this
initiative from scratch, said
Mladen.
