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Should Travel Agents be given volunteer leave?

So we've come a long way as an industry, and we've finally reached the point where travelling responsibly and making a positive impact on the world are no longer the ideals of a few – it's now the many.

So we’ve come a long way as an industry, and we’ve finally reached the point where travelling responsibly and making a positive impact on the world are no longer the ideals of a few – it’s now the many.

Although sections of the industry have always been committed towards sustainable practices and travelling to make a difference, these noble values are slowly finding their way into the mainstream. And here at KarryOn we believe this trend will be one of the defining factors of 2017 – and we’re totally happy to be a part of it.

More so than at any other time in history, people are travelling specifically to make a difference in the world: from the twenty-somethings choosing to volunteer their time and energy through volunteer programs or schemes such as Workaway; to the fifty somethings choosing to stay in eco-resorts that funnel money back into communities that need a little help.

It’s a great moment for the industry, and we’re now powerfully positioned to show the naysayers that travel isn’t just some leisure activity, but a phenomenon capable of changing the world!

But if this is the way the industry is evolving, then perhaps we need to have a little chat about the role of the Travel Agent in all this, and, specifically, how it is that travel companies/agencies can help agents play their part in making the world a better place through travel.

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One possible way that travel agencies can help agents play their part is by giving them dedicated volunteer leave so that they can walk the walk, as it were, and experience first-hand volunteer programs or responsible travel initiatives that can then inform their travel consulting back home. Because, after all, travellers have the power to change the world, and Travel Agents have the power to influence traveller behaviour.

This extra week of leave would be in addition to their regular and educational leave, giving agents the chance to help make the world a better place one year at a time.

If the industry is serious about making a commitment to change the world through travel, then perhaps it needs to put its money where its mouths is…

Of course, this is just an idea, but imagine how big of a statement it would make if realised? Imagine how many lives could be helped if the big guys got onboard?

For the moment we all have plenty we can still do, and new attitudes take time to embed themselves deeply in our working culture. So I’m not holding my breath…

But perhaps there’ll come a day – hopefully soon – when volunteering and travelling responsibly will be part and parcel of being a Travel Agent.

I’ll be crossing my fingers in the meantime…

Do you think Travel Agents should get dedicated volunteer leave? Let us know in the comments below…