Harnessing the Power of Lifelong Learning

In the last few years, travel advisors have been forced to navigate uncharted waters. From keeping up with complicated health protocols across hundreds of cities to learning about RV rentals, travel professionals had to figure out how to pivot — and fast.

Suddenly, the job of a travel advisor encompassed the roles of consultant, therapist and risk navigator — and managing those new identities requires continued learning.

That’s where Diane Petras and The Travel Institute come in. As a Certified Travel Industry Executive, Petras knows firsthand the importance of keeping knowledge fresh amid an evolving industry.

Over its nearly 60 years in existence, Petras estimates that The Travel Institute has trained more than a million people. She’s led the company for the past two decades, joining as president after her own experience as an independent travel advisor. She credits her mentors for helping her understand the industry, the distribution chain, the role of the frontline advisor and the efficiency of travel software. Eventually, she parlayed that expertise into education. Even for longtime travel professionals, she said, there’s always something new to learn.

Knowing how to pivot to create opportunity

“Trip planning has become extremely complex,” says Petras. “The industry changes so dramatically that your skills can’t stagnate. You need to keep up on what is happening as it’s happening.”

For example, amid the pandemic, some agencies partnered with local concierge health facilities to secure COVID-19 testing before travel, Petras said. Others shifted from booking airline tickets to securing Vrbo accommodations. “Keeping up with change,” she adds, “means knowing how to pivot to create opportunity.”

The Travel Institute makes it easy to do that with flexible courses for every level of professional. The library of courses includes introductory training, certification, webinars, white papers and micro-learning pieces. The flexibility of the programming allows learners to fit the courses into their lives among other responsibilities. The Certified Travel Associate certification (the Institute’s most popular certification) also offers access to a private Facebook group with 1,500 members who provide peer-to-peer support, along with formal coaching.

The learning opportunities encompass a wide swath of topics. Weekly webinars cover everything from sales skills to social media tips. Lifestyle courses concentrate on specific destinations, as well as niche topics such as wellness tourism, destination weddings and luxury travel.

Selling luxury

The luxury travel market, in particular, is noteworthy because it never stopped amid the pandemic, says Petras. Luxury RV rentals and RV parks popped up seemingly overnight. For some advisors, these were completely new offerings. But The Travel Institute was ready, after quickly producing webinars to respond to the immediate needs of their students.

The luxury course helps advisors identify current trends in the luxury travel marketplace, define the scope of the market, determine strategies to find luxury consumers and craft meaningful sales messaging.

It’s critical to define what luxury means to your clients, especially in an ever-changing marketplace. To one person, luxury might mean being spoiled with the best, most exclusive amenities in a country club atmosphere. To another, it could equate to an adventure full of authentic experiences, eschewing glitz and glamour.

Doubling bookings and building confidence

While many travel professionals were drawn to the industry by their love of travel, Petras says, they continue to succeed due to their love of learning.

Amid the pandemic, Linda Ann Luizza devoted time to her studies. She became a certified travel associate through The Travel Institute’s certification course. “I wish I would have taken the class when I first started,” she admits. “This course has helped increase my awareness in all areas of the travel industry and has given me so much confidence when selling that I doubled my bookings.”

For Petras, success stories like this fuel her work. Mentorship helped her as an independent travel advisor, and now she gives back through The Travel Institute’s vast programming.

“My years in this industry have shown me that quality training is necessary to achieve and maintain success because so many advisors are on their own, working from home and without someone immediately available to help them find the resources they need to thrive in today’s highly competitive and complex environment. Thankfully, our work has helped change that.”

Originally appeared in the summer 2022 issue of The Compass magazine.

About the Author

Rossilynne Skena Culgan is a journalist and author whose writing can be found in Saveur Magazine, Atlas Obscura, Thrillist, Google Arts & Culture, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. She's the author of the travel guidebook "100 Things to Do in Pittsburgh Before You Die" and is currently writing a Pittsburgh history book. A Pittsburgh native, she now lives in New York City. No matter where she travels, she's always keeping her eyes peeled for vintage signage.