Clia’s conferences are a must for cruise sellers
as possible, and to work differently to accommodate these agents, which make up a growing sector of the industry. “Donna will do her best to suit the agent,
whether that’s face-to-face, a dog walk or a Zoom call. A TTC tour customer is highly likely to be a returning customer. Home-based agents are generally self-employed and therefore retaining customers is imperative for them.”
FACE TIME
There are many more networking opportunities to harness outside formal training, with agent roadshows, conferences and events designed to foster relationships between frontline sellers and suppliers in a more relaxed environment. For cruise specialists, the flagship
conferences and themed agent events from Clia (Cruise Lines International Association) are a must, while those looking to focus on the touring, adventure and expedition sector will find the annual conference and regional roadshows from Atas (Association of Touring & Adventure Suppliers) are a chance to get to know a host of new brands. Atas director Claire Brighton says: “We
see great attendance from homeworkers at all of our events. This gives them a great
travelweekly.co.uk
The homeworkers attending our
evening events do so
with other colleagues, using it as an
opportunity to catch up and network
opportunity to get in front of tour operators because it is more challenging for suppliers to see homeworkers individually compared with store visits. We move our agent events around the country each year so different people can engage with us.” Also bringing together a range of
suppliers, membership group Tipto (Truly Independent Professional Travel Organisation) holds regular ‘Face 2 Face’ events featuring 12 suppliers, plus ‘SuperShows’ with 25 in attendance. Since the organisation’s 25th anniversary year began in September, it has hosted 20
events and training days, drawing nearly 1,100 agents – 47% of whom have been homeworkers, which is nearly double the 24% seen in the previous year. Chairman Richard Forde says many of
these homeworkers are new to Tipto. “We are seeing a strong split across all of the major groups including Hays Personal Travel Consultants, Travel Counsellors, Not Just Travel and InteleTravel, along with some of the smaller groups. “While our events and activities are
open to all, we find that our daytime training days are particularly popular with homeworking agents,” he says. “These days are typically held in the autumn and winter, and are tailored to operate inside school hours (10am-2pm), so they are more accessible to homeworkers with children.” But it’s not just suppliers that home-based
agents can connect with at these events. “We find that homeworkers attending our
evening events do so with other colleagues, using it as an opportunity to catch up and network,” says Forde. “We always try to seat agents with their colleagues and friends, particularly if they’re new, and we find that this experience leads to recommendations and agents bringing new colleagues along to try our events first-hand.”
JULY 2024 25
PICTURE: Steve Dunlop
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
