The Travel Industry News - Editorial Archives

June / July, 2006

NEEDED ... YOUNGER TAs !

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” So stated the famous Zen Master .. Shunnya Suzuki.

During my recent visits to, talks with and meetings attended by retail travel agents, it suddenly dawned on me, “Where are the young travel agents, where are the people who represent the future, the ones that are needed to ensure the continuation of our beleaguered profession?”.

I know that in this day and age many young people .. spoiled young people I might add .. seek high wages from the very beginning of their careers, want to see the possibilities of ‘moving up’, not to mention the perceived glamour of their jobs.

When I first came to this country and attended gatherings in LA, I quickly found that when asked what I did I said vaguely .. :oh I’m in advertising” .. bingo - I was accepted by their perception. I did not elaborate that my current position was selling ‘Billboards”!

Well you have the distinct advantage of being in what is seen by many as a ‘glamorous’ business - everyone ( well almost ) wants to travel. Travel Agencies have to push this button with the young, because .. like it or not .. you need them, just like you need new clients. Yes, I understand that it’s easier to take on an ‘old pro’, in so far as you don’t have to teach them the ABCs of travel, but the fact is the new generation were raised on computers, raised to ask questions ... and certainly initially ... to have ambition.

There was a time when ‘Travel Schools’ abounded, but fact is that just as the number of agencies has reduced, so have the number of travel schools .. and so .. if young people are going to carry on your legacy, you will have to teach them !

I know one travel agency owner who recently both lost experienced agents because of ‘greener pastures’, and agents because they did not want to work from home. That’s fine ... it’s their prerogative. However, since the changes apparently the work atmosphere has improved ( and that’s according to the staff ... not the owner ) and the younger ‘learning’ agents have filled in very well. Let’s face it , today you probably have to run your business in a ‘lean ‘ manner, and that’s OK!

Look around your agency, how many agents .. or potential agents .. do you have that are under 30 years of age? AND ... if you do have young ‘Wanabees’ ... what plans do you have for their future/ what are you teaching them? What responsibilities do you give them?

I totally understand that travel agents AND travel agency owners, get bogged down in their day-to-day work. The details kill you, who has time to think about these things? Well, you had better step back for a few precious moments and gauge your companies future, or their may be nothing left to pass on, to sell ... or simply survive upon.

Travel is a wondrous thing, an experience that sometimes transcends book knowledge, an opportunity to see the world as it really is ... warts and all. Some people may tell you it isn't so, but there is no substitute for experience ... and that is what you have to teach the ‘new’ generation of not only travel agents .. but young Americans. Share your knowledge with the young so that they may share their learning's with the children of the future.

You may not be ready for ‘Space Travel’, but they will surely see it in their time, you may not be willing to believe that the Internet ‘Knows all’, but it probably will .. down the road .. and your ‘apprentices’ will accept it in stride. Technology is bound for who knows where, and you and I have a problem with that ... but your trainees expect it to happen.

Grab the future by the ‘whatever’ and look at your agency .. be honest with yourself .. are you ready to meet ‘tomorrow’? If you have no young people within your agency perhaps in your mind you see a limited future for your business, if you are making excuses that you don’t have time to teach them, ask yourself ... who taught you? Yes it takes time and a lot of patience to teach a ‘beginner’ .. but first they do not come at a premium ( yet! ) .. and secondly they may well teach you a thing or two, not to mention, supplying enthusiasm.

The ’ Winds of Change’ continue to rustle the travel industry’s domain and who knows what the future holds, but what we do know for an absolute fact is that ’the future’ belongs to the young and it was ever thus. I still see a promising future for the ’ retail travel agencies ’ , in fact there are definite signs that the ‘ Big Bad Wolf ’ airlines are beginning to realize that travel agencies can possibly contribute positively to their bottom line.

FINALLY ... if you think all of this isn’t so and some people are indispensable .. it was Charles de Gaulle who said: “ The graveyards are full of indispensable men.”

David ( Non - Indispensable Man ) Bond

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