How One Travel Advisor Gives Back to the Industry through ASTA Chapter Advocacy

“That’s just my love language, giving back and helping,” said Tracy Schatz, president of Elite Travel Journeys and president of the Central PA chapter of the American Society of Travel Advisors.  

Schatz, a military veteran, joined the travel industry in 2004 after raising her kids as a stay-at-home mom. Being able to assist clients with planning their vacations hit on her desire to help others, as well as her own love for travel, which she’d developed over her 10 years in the Air Force.  

Like many others before her, Schatz started as an agency employee, before branching out on her own in 2014 and starting her own business, Elite Travel Journeys, which today has 10 independent contractors (ICs) affiliated with it.

For Schatz though, helping her only clients is not enough. She feels just as strongly about giving back to the industry that has sustained her since 2004.

Enter the work she does as president of the Central PA chapter of ASTA, one of the most active chapters in the Association.

“My chapter is about trying to teach people how to be travel agency business owners,” she said, adding it irks her when she sees unprofessional behavior.

“People say, do I really need to have a checking account for my business? Good God, you have no business having a business if you don’t know that you should have a checking account… We focus on providing some of the knowledge on how to really run this business, as well as supplier training and trying to educate people on what ASTA is and what it does for you.”

The Central PA chapter holds dinner meetings at least once a month, as well as a yearly symposium, which ASTA CEO Zane Kerby has attended every year but one. The event is open to all travel advisors from around the U.S. In 2024, the two-day event drew advisors from nine states. (The 2025 symposium will be Oct. 20-22 at the Camelback Ski Resort in Tannersville, Penn.)

Getting Value Out of ASTA

While Schatz clearly takes a lot of pleasure in helping others through her efforts with ASTA, we asked what she, herself, gets out of it as an agency owner.

As an unhosted agency (she does belong to a consortium), she told us having access to other agency owners is helpful. And while she said Host and consortium regional meetings can fill that need for owners and ICs, they’re not always geographically handy.

Oftentimes, the meetings are just too far away. ASTA chapter meetings can fill that void.

Whether it’s talking to other advisors about how they do things or sharing her own experiences with figuring out how to market without the resources from a Host agency or franchise parent, or learning about new suppliers, she gets as much out of her chapter’s meetings as the rest of the attendees.

“You don’t know what you don’t know. Part of the networking is learning through each other.”

Equally as important to her is the community the chapter provides.

“I think everybody can be successful, but you’ve got to keep going and keep trying different things,” she said. “You have to help yourself out to an extent, but I also believe it takes a village. That’s where my ASTA Chapter comes in. I like to think that’s your village and we’re here to help you grow your business and network and find the people who you can talk to.”

Coming Late to ASTA

Sixteen years elapsed from when Schatz joined the travel industry as an advisor in 2004 and when she joined ASTA in 2020. We asked: why the wait?

“I didn’t know what ASTA was,” she said. “When I was working at the brick-and-mortar agency, they didn’t discuss ASTA at all. When I worked for the online Disney-only agency, they didn’t talk about ASTA.”

It wasn’t until sometime in the mid-2010s that Schatz first began hearing about ASTA, and even then, she didn’t quite understand what the group did or why she should join.

It wouldn’t be until 2019 that she would join the Association. She’d previously considered it in 2018 at a time when she felt there were too many MLMs breaking into the industry – and hurting its reputation.

“I wanted to join in 2018 to help the industry,” she said. “I was seeing a lot of crap with the MLMs and I thought maybe ASTA could do something about that, although I guess they can’t because it’s a legit business.”

At the time, however, she balked at the distance she would have to travel to her nearest ASTA chapter, located two hours away in Philadelphia.

“Their meetings seemed hit and miss,” she added, which for a self-proclaimed go-getter wasn’t overly appealing either.

In 2019, she got serious about joining again.

“I think what made me join was seeing how they stepped in to help the ICs in California.  I felt that it was important for me to align with an organization that was about supporting travel advisors.”

With the nearest chapter still a distance away, Schatz reached out to ASTA to find out if she could start her own chapter.

“I approached ASTA and said I would like to start a chapter. I wanted something near me because nobody from where I am in Central PA wants to drive to Philly.”

They told her she had to get involved in ASTA first, so she reached out to the existing chapter to find out about joining their Board to learn the ropes.

“I spent some time as the communications person and then moved over to the chapter secretary. I helped plan a few meetings and helped organize a FAM for the chapter and then the president and I decided it was time for the Central PA chapter to be born.”

The chapter launched with a two-day event that is today known as the “Grow Your Travel Business Symposium.”

This May marks four years for the Central PA ASTA chapter.

On a Mission to Spread the ASTA Gospel

Schatz told TMR there are still plenty of advisors who haven’t heard of ASTA or don’t understand what ASTA does.

“I met a guy who has a TRUE number, and he thought that ASTA was IATA or IATAN.”

This lack of understanding of the value ASTA can bring to an agency drives Schatz crazy.

“I feel this need to find all the travel agents in Pennsylvania and bring them together. That’s where our symposium comes in. It really is to help people grow their business.”

She added that if advisors have been – or are – ASTA members and don’t feel they got anything out of it, they need to be more communicative.

“You are paying for ASTA, don’t waste your money. Go get something out of it. Be that person who can help direct. Tell us what you want and need so that we can bring it to you, whether that’s a FAM trip or certain suppliers you want to see.”

She also recommended that people go to the annual conference and to Legislative Day in Washington, D.C.

“I wish we could take more people to Ledge Day. Having a maximum of so many people for each state drives me crazy,” she told TMR. “They need to know what’s in it for them, because we do live in a ‘what’s in it for me’ time. If I could get them down to Ledge Day, they could see exactly.”