“Travel agent” consistently rates as one of the most desirable professions in consumer polls (sorry, rock/movie star is even better!), yet attracting new personnel to the retail industry is clearly not as easy as it would seem.

Across the board, agencies and organizations are urgently prioritizing finding new blood (and poaching existing advisors from elsewhere) to meet the needs of an industry that, from a business perspective, is booming and that has returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to ACTA.

At the same time, association president Wendy Paradis acknowledges, “We lost a lot of travel advisors throughout the pandemic – many who were close to retirement retired, and some had to leave so that they could put food on the table and did not return to the industry.”

To that end, she says a key ACTA initiative continues to be “promoting our industry as a career” through consumer engagement.

“We’re really focussed on new-to-industry (recruitment)… We are in the colleges, talking about becoming a travel advisor as a career – which they don’t know about, they all want to work in the hotel industry it seems,” she laments.

“So, we need to attract new travel advisors… (and) It’s really important that we as a group really be ambassadors promoting our professionalism…”

At the same time ACTA offers a host of online opportunities to help agencies find and recruit that personal and professional development to ensure that those who do come to the industry succeed.

Paradis notes that what growth there is in travel advisors and travel agencies is in sole proprietor area (independent contractors).

TDC

Karine Gagnon, general manager of Transat Distribution Canada (TDC) agrees that while business is largely back to normal after the pandemic – a period she says was “very difficult to get staff these past couple of years” – there is still a challenge to find new recruits – especially ones with experience.

“I think COVID hurt us, and the travel industry immensely in general and the travel agent profession. And that will likely continue to take some years to really change that perception and that perspective,” she told Travel Industry Today.

Indeed, Gagnon acknowledges that attracting new agents often means “having to bring in agents to the network that don’t necessarily have experience.”

To compensate, she says some TDC agencies are being “creative,” using strategies such as hiring staff to fill administrative support roles, as opposed to “full-on agents who sell,” thus enabling their sellers to maximize their business development and achieve their sales.

“So, I think its brought everybody to think differently and be a little more creative in their structures,” she says.

Overall, she believes hiring agents has been a little easier this year than in 2023, but adds “I think it will really take a little bit of time to get those youngsters coming out of school and injecting more staff.”

Further, she says, the challenge of attracting new staff is double – “because let’s not kid ourselves, the population in travel agencies is not getting any younger.”

Agencies

Gagnon notes that labour issues go beyond simply finding new agents, but also must take into account agency owners who may be considering retirement and selling their business within a few years.

As such, TDC is crafting a succession planning program that not only offers support to owners who want to transition out, but also matching them with others who are in acquisition mode and looking to grow.

“We want to make sure that we’re supporting those members who eventually want to sell their business, and hopefully that’s to another member or somebody in their agency: how to prep, how to really enhance and increase the value of their company on one hand, and also support those who comes in as new entrepreneurs. So, there are different angles to this plan.”

Virtuoso

At Virtuoso, labour and staffing shortages ranked among the top three factors that are influencing luxury travel this year, according to a survey of agency owners and managers conducted at forums across the network’s global regions.

The good news is that according to new research from BeamJobs, being a travel advisor is the second most desired job in the US over the past 12 months.

Nevertheless, Virtuoso announced last week that it is expanding its Virtuoso Advisor Recruitment Program to Canada, following its introduction last year in the US, Australia and New Zealand, to help fulfil their staffing needs, and which thus far, has matched over 80 qualified luxury travel advisors with positions at Virtuoso member agencies.

The Advisor Recruitment Program welcomes advisors in all stages of their careers to apply, including those who are outside of the Virtuoso network, newer to the industry and small agencies looking for a host. Advisors can begin the matching process by submitting an application, which is added to a database that uses proprietary Virtuoso technology to connect participating member agencies with a pool of advisor candidates based on respective needs, niches, location, and available job openings.

To date, over 20 advisor applications have made in Canada.

Kemi Wells-Conrad, founder and president of Vancouver-based Wells Luxury Travel, said he was excited about the program coming to Canada.

“With our growing demand in luxury travel and many new-to-advisor clients, combined with the number of retiring advisors, so many are desperately looking for staff. There is a need for new advisors, along with some experienced advisors who may be looking for a better suited affiliation or host agency, but don’t know where to begin. Either way, this tool has tremendous potential in connecting agency owners and managers with prospects based on their certain needs and criteria.”

If you enjoyed or found this story useful, we’d appreciate if you would forward it to a colleague or friend who may also enjoy it. If, on the other hand, a friend shared it with you, welcome! You can get all the latest travel news and reviews from Travel Industry by simply clicking HERE.