Kicking off this year with a new name and redesigned structure, the sold out ASTA Travel Advisor Conference brought more than 1400 travel advisors and suppliers to Dallas, TX this week. The revamped layout included three tracks for advisors to choose from: Cultivate, Accelerate and Innovate.
“We wanted to create an event that was clear both in terms of who it was for and what it would promise,” said Zane Kerby, ASTA president and CEO, at the event’s general session. “This conference is meant for everyone — no matter where you find yourself in the travel industry. You belong here.”
A Win for Travel Advisors
The timing of this week’s news regarding American Airlines’ decision to change course on its NDC and AAdvantage plans couldn’t have been better, as attendees were able to celebrate together and acknowledge the efforts of ASTA’s team and members. While all advisors benefit from this win, Kerby said it was the ASTA members who made it happen.
“It’s those of you who stood shoulder to shoulder with us, taking grassroots action when called upon,” Kerby said. “It’s those of you who believe in your trade association, who believe in the work we do, and the mission we stand for, to promote and defend the travel advisor community. That’s the power of ASTA. And that’s why every. Single. Travel. Advisor. Should be a member of this trade association because together, we can, and we DO effect change.”
Enhanced Verified Travel Advisor Certification Program
With the increase in scams and consumer complaints, ASTA aims to find ways to increase consumer trust in travel advisors. One way the organization is doing this is by enhancing its Verified Travel Advisor (VTA) certification program.
In order to be eligible for this certification, advisors must be current ASTA members and either have a minimum of two years of experience and annual sales of $500,000 or at least five years of experience and annual sales of $250,000.
“The barriers of entry in our industry have been far too low for far too long,” Kerby said. “That’s why we’re expanding and enhancing our VTA certification program. It's now four core courses on subjects where we are truly the subject matter experts — ethics, industry relationships, legal issues, and regulatory compliance.”
While this is an online program, it will also be available at some of ASTA’s events, and 76 advisors got their VTA this week at the Travel Advisor Conference. To remain competitive and meet the demands of an ever-changing market, VTAs need to recertify every two years. “People are looking for travel they can trust, and ASTA’s Verified Travel Advisors are the solution,” Kerby said.
The Place for Networking
Advisors heard from several impactful speakers this week, including tennis champion and entrepreneur, Venus Williams, and former lead FBI hostage negotiator, Chris Voss, among many other leaders within the travel industry. They also participated in a variety of educational workshops.
In addition to taking in the speakers and education, advisors and suppliers had plenty of opportunities to engage in conversation through one-on-one meetings and at the trade show and evening events.
“One of the things that is really amazing about the ASTA conference, because they are the representatives of our industry for everyone, is you just get such a broad range of attendees, from suppliers to advisors, also organizations that might otherwise be competitive in nature all come together here for collaboration,” said David Chait, CEO and founder of Travefy. “There are very few conferences like this that bring truly everyone.”
Being together in person brings a whole other level of collaboration that virtual meetings will never be able to match. Throughout the conference, advisors learn from one another, meet new people and grow their relationships with trusted supplier partners.
“It’s always great to be at ASTA because we see so many travel advisors who offer our products, and they give us great feedback on things they like, things they don’t like, things they wish that we offer, changes they’d like to see, and we’re able to tell them about things that we are doing,” said Daniel Durazo, director of external communications at Allianz Partners USA. “We’ve added a lot of new covered reasons for trip cancelation, based on feedback from consumers and travel advisors. So it’s great to have that conversation to hear what they’re hearing and how we can adjust to the market.”
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