There has been and will continue to be extraordinary change in the travel sector and agents need to continuously adapt to stay ahead of the game.
That was the key message to the travel industry as the 2024 Travellers Choice conference kicked off in Sydney today.
“As we move into 2025, the industry landscape is delicately poised,” said Christian Hunter, Managing Director of Travellers Choice.
“Consumer confidence in travel remains strong and there is definitely a broad appetite to travel, which is supported by the latest Government forecasts.
“However, this is tempered with concerns over economic factors such as cost of living, global political issues and international conflicts.”
Mr Hunter was speaking as Travellers Choice announced its best profit results in the company’s 48-year history and record distribution to members. The company also celebrated being named Australia’s Most Outstanding Travel Agency Network for the fourth consecutive year at last week’s National Travel Industry Awards.
“So, while there are definite headwinds, demand remains strong and there will be good opportunity for members to capture business – but it’s not going to be easy,” continued Mr Hunter.
“I don’t believe that we can simply rely on business walking through the door and there will be a need for members to ‘hustle’ to win business.
“Think about your value proposition and how might this need to be tweaked to better position yourself against your competitors? How can you remain ‘sticky’ with your existing client base, but also attract the new business that you might be chasing?
“Competition will be fierce and I think it’s going to be a jungle out there, so it’s critically important to not give away any free kicks!”
Outlining the areas agents should focus on, Mr Hunter called on members to stay ahead of advancements in technology and to capitalise on consumers’ growing interest in sustainable and responsible travel.
“The global response to sustainability is driving some of the biggest changes we’ve seen in a long time. The movement towards a more sustainable future is everywhere. You cannot avoid it. Everyone has a role to play.
“This area is only going to grow and there is a great opportunity for members to position themselves strategically and capitalise on this shift in consumer mindset by better understanding the customer.
“Having those deep insights that allow you to tailor your offering to meet the customer’s needs from not just a product, but from a sustainability perspective.”
Mr Hunter also touched on the pressing issue of staff shortages and expanded on the reason for the launch of the company’s new initiative known as TC ProStart.
It has been introduced with TC members continuing to struggle with recruitment, with the total number of employees across members’ businesses still 20% down on pre-COVID numbers.
The three-month, free-of-charge training program is specifically targeted at new-to-industry consultants
“The challenge for members is that they are flat-chat busy and struggling to keep up with demand.
“Every minute they spend training a novice, is a minute that they aren’t working through their backlog of enquiries and meeting their customers’ expectations – which is a lose-lose situation.
“We see this as the greatest opportunity to support members with their biggest single pain point, but also support development of the next generation of Travellers Choice members.
“Whilst travel has recovered extraordinarily from the depths of the pandemic, it feels as though the waves of change are continuing to reshape the industry and rolling through with greater frequency.
“To me, it feels like we are on the experiencing transformational change, almost like we are witnessing the start of a revolution for the travel industry – or a Travelution as we’ve called it.
“Made up words are always interesting, but I think this really encapsulates where the industry finds itself today.”
# Traveltalk is the official media sponsor of the 2024 Travellers Choice conference
