5 Reasons You Should Become a Mentor –– Today!

Following is a guest column.

You’ve heard it said: Our industry is dying, and no one is joining our ranks. This may be because we have ignored a vital piece of professional growth that could help us attract and retain new blood. That vital piece is mentorship.

I grew up in the travel business, joining my grandparents when they escorted groups to Europe and spending Saturdays filing brochures. So I had built-in mentors. My mother and grandmother helped me understand this business and, when it was time, they introduced me to new mentors.

Not everyone is so fortunate. Others join our industry and feel lost; then they leave.

Kari C. Thomas

If we want new blood in the travel agency business, we need to reach out to and support newcomers by mentoring them.

In 2012, the ASTA Young Professionals Society started a mentoring program – MYASTA. (It stands for Mentoring Young ASTA). But unless agents participate in it and other mentoring programs, we might as well accept our dying fate.

Here are five reasons our industry must embrace mentoring.

1.    Lack of travel schools. There used to be plenty of programs that taught the ins and outs of being a travel agent to young students and those embarking on a second career. But now those schools are rare. Yet having a teacher who knows the travel agency business is important to one’s professional growth. This industry has many nuances that are best learned through experience. Those vital pieces are what a mentor can share with new agents.

2.    Creates career pathways. Even if someone does have a degree or certificate in travel, where do they go next? If you were seeking a lifetime career in travel today, where would you start? A mentor can walk young agents through a progression of steps, creating a pathway to a longtime profession in travel.

3.    Both sides learn. We all get stuck in ruts. Working with the next generation helps mentors to see things in a new way. For instance, your mentee might teach you about electronic marketing or selling to Gen Y. In a mentoring relationship, both sides learn. Most mentors find that the knowledge and sharing they put out comes back to them.

4.    Rekindles passions. The day-in-and-day-out routine of any job can give you the blues. A customer complaint or increases in NCFs can make you forget altogether the reasons you first chose a career in travel. Watching your mentee grow and learn is a great antidote. Like seeing Disney World through a child’s eyes, it will help you rediscover the magic that made you choose this career in the first place.

5.    Shapes the future of our profession. Who are the future leaders of travel? Who will run your agency when you retire? Mentors shape the future of the travel agency industry by helping a new generation of travel professionals take over when we are ready to become their clients, instead of their colleagues. There are individuals who are ready to make a long-term career in this business, they just need someone to show them the way.

Staying alive
Here’s the hard truth, if we don’t embrace younger agents and offer them the support of a mentor, then the media and all the hype will be right – ours will be a dying industry.

But if we consider the five reasons above and take the time to encourage our next generation, we can prove all those doubters wrong and be around for a long, long time.

I urge you to reach out to a young agent at the next trade show you attend. Invite a young agent to join you for lunch at your next conference.

And join a mentoring program. In the end, you’ll benefit as much as your mentees!

Kari C. Thomas, CTC, is president of Will Travel, Inc., in Langhorne, Penn. She was the founding chairperson of ASTA’s Young Professionals Society, which last year celebrated the 10th anniversary of its launch. You can reach Kari at kari@will.travel.