Leading three Travel Trends For Today's Travel ... - Travel and Leisure

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?You have to be the alter you wish to view on the planet.?

~~Mahatma Gandhi~~

1869-1948, Preeminent leader of Indian nationalism

Trend #1 ? The net

Everyone knows that the online world has altered practically anything? particularly the Travel Business. On the internet giants like Hotels.com, Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz have revolutionized travel. Even Travel Agents & Agencies are booking on-line while the general public searches and buys their own vacations on the internet. In fact, it?s estimated that 82% of all travel is now being booked on-line. Travel is one of the most researched topics on the world wide web? and also the most profitable.

The world wide web is simple, seamless and the perfect medium for the travel market. We just point, click, and pack our bags. Before the world wide web, however, an agent?s bread & butter was commissions earned with business travelers? predominantly flights. American Airlines was the first to pull the plug on paying commissions on flight purchases as the web started coming into its own and more business travelers were finding better deals on the internet.

Since 1997 well over 200,000 agencies went out of business. Over 1 million travel agents lost their jobs to the world wide web. That number grew after 9/11. The days of brick & mortar very quickly got taken over by click & order, making for a far more efficient system. However, those very few agents & agencies that could foresee the positive impact the world wide web could have for them, jumped right into the explosive opportunity that the online world introduced, to maintain as much of their client base as possible. Very few, a decade ago, opted to go with the flow of adjust. Today, everyone understands that the net is here to stay. When we are adaptable to transform, we flourish? and profit.

Because of the web, the on the internet travel agent is also home-based. Because of the tremendous opportunity, continuous market growth, and #1 market training, today?s travel agent is your mother, cousin, aunt, neighbour, best friend, etc. and earning 60-100% of the vendors commission. It?s for everyone.

Trend #2 ? Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Word-of-mouth marketing has been and always will be the best way to market anything. Statistics prove that 80% of all vacations (most anything really) are taken because of a recommendation from a friend, family member or co-worker. Think about the last time you came home from a vacation. Did you keep it a secret? No way! We talk about it for 2 months before leaving and talk about it for 2 months after we get back! And we show everyone pictures and videos! And we recommend the destination and hotel to everyone (or not) and tell them where we bought our terrific deal!

Familiarization trips (FAMs) play a huge part in word-of-mouth marketing. The only way for agents to really learn about what they sell is to experience it first hand. FAMs are put together by cruise lines, hotel chains and destinations worldwide. They usually include accommodation, tours, meals, shows, transportation, etc. Prices are slashed making it affordable for agents to travel multiple times a year? VIP!. The vendors roll out the proverbial red carpet for agents when they arrive. They?re given the most exclusive experience possible because vendors know that when agents return home? they?re going to talk about it!

The average person will purchase his vacation on line at retail, once a year.

Agents will travel multiple times a year, all over the globe as far and wide as they want to go, for pennies on the dollar. For this, FAMs continue to be one of the major perks today for agents within the market.

Which takes us to?

Trend #3 ? Home Based Business

Travel students, Baby Boomers and everyone in between are bringing travel home!

Leading agencies smart enough to follow the net trend, have gone on the web and now offer just about anyone the opportunity to be professionally trained to operate and sell travel from home!! Woohoo!! That?s right! YOU can sell travel from the comfort of your own home and get paid!

Doesn?t it make sense that if you?re going to travel anyway (specially as much as the Boomers), that you buy it from yourself and get paid? Or get paid commissions on the trips your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers are taking already? Of course! Most people will do business with someone they know & trust. You may as well be that person, right?

Agencies quickly caught on to the franchise phenomena on line and have opened up the opportunity to just about anyone with a valuable work ethic who is willing to learn. Coupled with word-of-mouth marketing? you?ve got a winning combination! The more knowledgeable you become, the more perks, FAMs, FREE trips, upgrades, etc, become available to you? cha-ching!

I?ve been selling travel for years. Everyone who knows me knows that I?m a travel market professional. For more than two decades I?ve been asked ?How did you come by this work??

But I also get asked, ?What?s the best place to go for our honeymoon?? or ?Can you recommend a Caribbean cruise itinerary?? or ?What hotel should we stay at inside the Mayan Riviera??

Hey, it?s not rocket science!! If I have the answers and I can get paid for the sale? Hello??

The online world made it possible for me to have my own on the net agency and benefit even more from the extraordinary perks available to travel professionals! Being on the web means I don?t really even have to be home. Because my business is on line, I am accessible to the globe, 365 days of the year, 24/7! Friends and family can book all by themselves while I?m hiking with my dog! I can even book flights or all-inclusive vacations right from my BlackBerry!! WOW! So my home-based travel business is really my mobile travel services!! Super cool!!

We should not forget the amazing benefits that come with owning a business from home as well!

Aside from the obvious travel perks, just about every family vacation now becomes a FAM. As professionals, when we take a few minutes to inspect and ask questions about the accommodations, tours, restaurants that we ourselves are experiencing while on vacation, we?re really educating ourselves for our customers. So our personal vacation now becomes classified as a business trip? and an expense that we can write off! Super cool, again!

On a personal note, I?m only 45 seconds from my bedroom to my office!

It?s a beautiful thing to be able to work from home, anywhere on the planet, to have your own business and to qualify for such incredible travel-insider perks. Retirees, at-home-moms, students on the run? it?s available to just about anyone with a can-do attitude, has a strong work ethic, loves to learn, and is highly self-motivated. A few hours a day can earn hundreds to thousands of dollars! No bosses, no limits!

Source: http://www.flyoakisland.com/leading-three-travel-trends-for-todays-travel-agent/

andrew bogut robert hegyes mary louise parker mary louise parker jim irsay jan brewer cher