It’s Showtime!

It’s once again that time of the year.  BDM's, event planners, tourist boards, hoteliers, attractions, and of course, tour operators, all gear up for the travel industry’s very own version of The Amazing Race. Sunwing, WestJet, TravelBrands, and Air Canada Vacations, not to mention tourist boards from Australia to Ireland, Thailand to Texas, have been leaving their mark, showcasing their product across the country. The end result?  Happy, educated, and well fed, travel agents.

I have been in this business for over 25 years now and must say this year’s "show season" was a clear indication of where agents are in terms of their desire to remain relevant. Attendance for the shows thus far was reportedly in the thousands, and it wasn't just for the shrimp, goodies, and prizes. Agents want to learn. It was never more prevalent than what we saw over the last month or so.

TravelPulse Canada attended and reported on several of the shows, not just to show you the glam shots of who was there and who was not, but to report on (as best as we could) what we believe agents want to know.  We are happy to report that agents were hustling from booth to booth discussing how they can get their hands on images, share in social media strategies with hoteliers, work together in local joint marketing initiatives with airlines, and asking questions in packed seminars. It was remarkable.

For the thousands of travel agents who attended the various shows, congratulations and well done! Your drive to remain relevant has never been so evident. The tools that the industry is making available to help you sell their products and remain relevant are incredible. While you need to ensure you are relevant to your clients, you also need to ensure you remain relevant as an effective channel of distribution for your suppliers.  Suffice to say after speaking with many of them, they were all so very pleased at agents’ enthusiasm, and it reinforced their belief in the travel agency channel and how important the travel agent is to their long term strategy.

So we’d like to take a moment and congratulate those unsung road warriors, who dedicate an incredible amount of time and energy, both business and personal, to making these shows a success. Unless you have participated in one of these events as a vendor, you'll never know what it's like until you live it. If anything went wrong nobody noticed. Job well done. 

To agents, you are now well armed with the knowledge you need to be relevant. So go forth, prosper and sell, sell, SELL!!... (And of course, contact your BDM for more details).  :)

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