From the Experts: Top Tips for New Travel Advisors in Canada

Canada’s travel advisor sector is growing.  According to the latest numbers from ACTA, the industry is approaching the pre-pandemic peak of 25,000 across the country. 

That growth is driven by more independent advisors joining the business, both full and part time.

The Canadian travel industry is commended for being supportive; there is a slew of Facebook groups dedicated to helping agents with questions ranging from everything from supplier booking policies to finding the best restaurant in destination.

Therefore, it seemed only logical for Travel Market Report Canada to reach out to a few more experienced advisors to find out their top tips for new agents.

Our expert advisors for this article are Arlene Gibbons, a Newfoundland based Independent TTAND agent, Brenda Slater of Beyond the Beach Travel in Ontario and Co-Founder of ACITA and Calgary-based Tannis Dyrland, who nearly two years ago launched Tisson Travel Group after years of working with a host agency.

Arlene Gibbons is an industry veteran who started her career in the late 1980’s, working at Conquest Tours and later as travel consultant and branch manager at Sears Travel. A graduate of Travel and Tourism, she joined TTAND at its inception in 2015.

Brenda Slater has worked in the industry for over twenty years and is recognized for her endless work helping agents during COVID by co-founding ACITA (Association of Canadian Independent Travel Advisors). She is currently an advisor with Travel Only.

Tannis Dyrland is Founder of the Tisson Travel Group based in Calgary and well-known in the industry for her expert insights and her passion for collaborating to help others succeed.

Here are their top tips:

Connect with the right agency.

“There’s something for everybody, but you need to find what works for you. What works for somebody else isn’t necessarily going to work for you,” says Slater. “That’s my biggest point; you have to interview them, they are working for you. Make sure you’re going to get what you need to be able to be a successful Travel Advisor.”

Know your supplier contacts and know them well.

“Relationships are everything, it’s all about the connections that you have and the people that you know, and the people you know you can rely on for your suppliers as well,” explains Slater. “As much as you need to learn about your suppliers, you need to also figure out your target clients that you’re going to concentrate on and then pick those suppliers you’re going to focus on and develop those relationships.”

“Our business is all about building relationships, both with clients and our suppliers and for new agents, it’s important to get to know your suppliers,” says Gibbons. “Being based in Newfoundland, we don’t get a lot of opportunities to meet in person, the way other larger markets might for example, but everytime a supplier comes, I make sure I’m there.”

Learn how to be a business.

“I think where the industry fails new agents is understanding that, yes, you’re coming in as an advisor in the most brilliant industry in the world,” said Dyrland. “However, you own your own business; you can learn all the platforms in the world, but you have to learn how to run your own business.

I think where the struggle lies, is understanding you’re running a business, and you are solely responsible for that business. People could be successful agents, but are you a successful businessperson?”

Network. And then network some more.

“I think there’s that disconnect of understanding when we’re bringing agents in,” says Dyrland. “We need to provide them with business tools and tactics, business seminars and then point them in the direction of things within their city. I love using Eventbrite for this. You can go in and search “business” and you can tailor it to free events or paid ones to attend, but you’ll find the business events going on in your city.

If there’s something there that’s going to teach you a tool about business, attend, it. Go. There might be six people or sixty, but you’re going to network and learn something new. You’re going to hand out your cards, you’re going to have conversations, but you’re also going to walk away with a nugget, just like some tiny little nugget of business sense that’s going to help and that’s what matters.”

Be proactive.

“I’m all about service and I take good care of my clients,” says Gibbons. “I know where they are and I want to be available for them should they need me while they’re in destination. So, I keep on top of all their travel itineraries; for example, once they’ve landed in Punta Cana, I’ll check in with them a couple of days later – just to ask how everything’s going.  I really think it’s the little things that make a difference.

Clients can go anywhere and book their own trips. They’re savvy these days, but at the same time, I think as travel professionals we have a lot to give. People don’t realize it sometimes until they book with you for the first time, just how much service we provide. And then it’s “Ok, I’m going to come back to you again to book.”