The travel industry, specifically, the travel agency sector, has a “succession” problem. And not the HBO version with power plays and backstabbing. It’s almost the opposite: not too many people in the game, but too few players signing up.
“I think we do have a succession challenge across the entire industry,” Travellers Choice Managing Director Christian Hunter said in an interview with Karryon.
“There’s not that next generation ready and waiting that’s going to fill the gaps of those that retire in the next 10 years.”
That’s where Traveller Choice’s recently unveiled ProAdvance comes into play. ProAdvance is a six-month learning program for advisors who have already secured travel qualifications and want to progress their careers.
“It is designed for an experienced travel consultant and to give them expertise in business development and leadership that will hopefully cement their position within the industry,” Hunter told attendees at the Travellers Choice conference late last year.
“But importantly, for the group, to hopefully develop a natural succession pipeline that could be the pathway for the next generation of Travellers Choice members.”
The program builds on the group’s ProStart, launched in 2024, which provides free training for new staff.
“We got the feedback from members that ProStart was really good in supporting those new-to-industry people,” Hunter tells Karryon.
“But we’ve now got experienced consultants who are struggling for the right training. And it’s not necessarily travel consultant training.”
Enter ProAdvance.
“It’s more on the business side… [for] being more of a strategic thinker, being able to apply business development expertise, providing them with leadership coaching to allow them to elevate their position within the business,” Christian says.
“[It aims] to add more value to the owner, but also then to actually support those people who are interested in developing a pathway into their own ownership of a business.”
“We need to be generating [succession plans] internally, and this is a good platform to try and achieve that.”
During a plenary at the conference, one travel advisor flagged the importance of recognising “young talent and new talent coming through the agencies”.
“There are quite a number I’ve seen [who are] hugely talented and on the radar of many people trying to steal them out of those offices,” she said during the session.
“So, recognising that in the business and trying to keep them there by perhaps giving them buy-in to the store.”
If it ain’t broke
In the meantime, Hunter says the network’s main focus will be on supporting its members, an approach that has garnered the group five straight NTIA (National Travel Industry Awards) wins for Most Outstanding Travel Agency Network.
“I think we’ve got a great value proposition for any independent travel business out there, and I think it’s going to be a very attractive proposition for many, and I think we’ll see [our] growth continue,” Hunter remarks.
“I’ve often used the phrase that we provide members with the support they need at the time they need it. So it’s really understanding the challenges they have and trying to support them overcome those, and we’ve done that consistently over recent years.”
The Travellers Choice boss adds that having a board consisting of members is another contributor to its success.
“So, it’s being connected all the time to the front lines. We have very open and transparent relationships with our members. They feel very safe to be able to put suggestions forward. There’s never any criticism. It’s a very open church.”
Members and the industry more broadly just need to ensure they also have a succession plan in place.
