Week in Review: Recruiting Travel Advisors, Canada’s Wildfires

Two major themes of the travel industry can be discovered when looking at The Travel Institute’s recent study, “The Changing Face of Travel Agents 2023;” they are that the industry continues to operate as a gig economy and that there is a collective need to recruit and retain advisors in the industry.

According to the report, 71 percent of advisors identified themselves as independent contractors (ICs), while only 29 percent are employees. This is an increase from just five years ago when 62 percent of advisors were ICs and 38 percent were employees; 10 years before that the numbers were flipped entirely: 29 percent were ICs and 71 percent were employees.

Nearly half (44 percent) of ICs joined the industry following a career change, while 31 percent of employees advisors said the same.

That said, despite 74 percent of all advisors saying they “love what they do,” there has been a significant exodus of experienced advisors from the industry in recent years and there is further potential for today’s seasoned advisor population to “age out." More than one-third of agencies lost staff during the COVID-19 pandemic and more than half of those have not rehired anyone to fill their shoes. This, combined with travel demand, could signal a shortage of skilled available travel advisors in the next decade.

To help with some of the hiring problems its member agencies have been facing lately, Virtuoso this week launched its “Virtuoso Advisor Recruitment Program,” which targets both those who are newer to the industry and those who are outside of the Virtuoso network. The program also helps smaller agencies find a new host agency to affiliate itself with.

The “Virtuoso Advisor Recruitment Program” was soft-launched in the U.S. in February; since then, 37 member agencies have enrolled in the program, with 16 advisor placements successfully executed.

The Latest in Air Travel

In other news for advisors, a bipartisan bill—the "Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee (ACPAC) Modernization Act" (H.R. 3780)—would expand the ACPAC’s membership by adding a dedicated travel agency seat on this key advisory body within the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

Capitol Building
Giving advisors a voice in the DOT regulatory process will help the Department meet its consumer protection mission. (Photo by Tanarch/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images)

Said American Society of Travel Advisors President and CEO Zane Kerby on the introduction of the bill: “Advocating for airline consumers is what travel advisors do every day, and roughly half of all airline tickets in the U.S. are sold through the agency channel. Giving these small business owners, 70 percent of whom are women, an elevated voice in the DOT regulatory process will help the Department meet its consumer protection mission.”

Good to know: Along the lines of air travel, OAG’s latest survey, "Loyalty & Disruption: The New Age of Travel," dove into what the different generations value when selecting and airline. The survey, which includes insights from 2,000 travelers, suggests that while older travelers largely remain loyal to their preferred airline, younger generations are more likely to choose brands based on costs and on-time performance.

And, lastly on the aviation front, smoke from the ongoing wildfires in Canada have (temporarily) cleared up enough to resume air travel. The Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.) this week on Wednesday and Thursday halted flights in the Northeast due to low visibility. As of Friday morning, there are no delays at airports as a result of the fires.

Cruise Safely Evacuated

Wilderness Discoverer
After an engine fire on Monday, Wilderness Discoverer is expected to sail again this season. (Photo by UnCruise Adventures)

Following UnCruise AdventuresWilderness Discoverer catching fire on Monday, 68 of the passengers—including all 51 guests and 17 of the 27 crew—were safely disembarked. The remaining 10 crew stayed onboard. The cruise line said it will be providing full refunds to all passengers affected by the incident as well as hotels and flights home for those affected.

In an update on Wednesday, the small-ship adventure company said Wilderness Discoverer guests, following the fire in the engine room, were transferred to the Sapphire Princess before again being transferred to the Baranof Wind and disembarked at Glacier Bay National Park headquarters where they were provided flights home and hotels in the interim.

The Wilderness Discoverer is repairable and pending more details on the extent of the areas affected by the fire is expected to still sail this season. That date is yet to be determined and more details are expected to come today.

News From “Down Under”

Champagne Pools
The Champagne Pools on K'gari are one of the top attractions on the island. (Tourism and Events Queensland)

File this under “Pretty Cool” (and “About Time”), the Queensland government in Australia is officially changing the name of what had been known as Fraser Island—one of the state’s most treasured and culturally significant destinations—to its traditional name, K’gari (pronounced with a silent “K”). The announcement formally recognizes the Butchulla People’s connection to the island.

Located just 186 miles north of the Queensland capital, Brisbane, K’gari is and will continue to be a popular destination for both domestic and international visitors. In 2022, more than 800,000 visitors traveled to the Fraser Coast. Part of the Great Sandy Biosphere designated by UNESCO in 2009, K’gari has no roads and visitors are guided by the sand tracks and the waterways. Top attractions include the crystal-clear freshwater of Boorangoora (Lake McKenzie); the world's largest perched lake, known to the Butchulla People as Lake Boomanjin; the bubbling Champagne Rock Pools; and 75 Mile Beach, located beside towering colored sand cliffs.

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