Becoming a travel advisor requires no certification or standardized training in the U.S. — and while some in the industry see that as a positive factor that encourages new career entrants, others express very real concerns that unprepared newcomers who don’t know what they’re doing may poorly represent the advisor profession to the public.
“When I speak to travel advisors in other countries, they say there is a high threshold to becoming a professional travel advisor,” said Debra H. Brown, CEO and luxury travel designer for SmartBird World Travel. “[But here], there’s pretty much zero barrier to entry to becoming a travel agent. And I have found that advisor growth has significantly outpaced training infrastructure across the industry.”
I have found that advisor growth has significantly outpaced training infrastructure across the industry.
Brown noticed an “absence of structured, in-person training; mentorship; and professional grounding for individuals entering or repositioning within the profession,” and saw an opportunity. To help fill this gap, she came up with the idea of developing and hosting an in-person training event for new advisors, and the Atlanta Travel Excellence Forum was born.
About the Atlanta Travel Excellence Forum
The first-ever Atlanta Travel Excellence Forum will take place at Ponce City Market July 23-25.
Two learning paths will be available to forum participants, meeting advisors where they are on their professional journeys. The New to Travel Track is designed for individuals who have entered the industry within the last 24 months, while the Pro Track will be tailored to more established advisors who have been in the industry for two to three years, and are looking to refine, scale and specialize their existing businesses.
Outside of travel agents, suppliers will be in attendance (serving as “educators and strategic partners rather than exhibitors,” according to Brown), along with event and wedding planners who want to cross over into leisure sales or build fruitful relationships with travel planners.
“This is not a tradeshow,” Brown emphasized. “It’s a professional development platform, and it’s designed to build stronger advisor and supplier relationships across the board … as well as sustained, long-term career development.”
Participants will engage in practical learning sessions on topics such as CRM usage, workflow efficiencies, client management, compliance and scalable business systems. Plans call for supplier-led education segments, small-group roundtables and one-on-one mentorship opportunities.
What I want to instill in attendees is that they become trusted advisors.
Brown hopes to also facilitate conversations around what it means to be an advisor versus an agent, charging fees, risk management, ethical practices (such as not quoting against another advisor) and more. She is also looking to bring representatives from the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) to the event to discuss crossover pathways between leisure and incentive travel.
Debra H. Brown, CEO and luxury travel designer for SmartBird World Travel
Credit: 2026 Debra H. Brown“The intent is to create a structured environment where advisors — particularly those operating in or aspiring to the luxury and experiential space — can engage directly with key supplier partners; participate in working sessions; and gain practical, real-world insights that strengthen their businesses,” Brown said.
At the end of the program, advisors will walk away with a professional “toolbox,” a set of practical, actionable resources that Brown refers to as a core component of the forum. This includes a printed and digital workbook; a glossary of travel industry terms; a list of destination training platforms, institutions and certification resources; a directory of professional organizations; and a guide to essential trade publications and media outlets.
Ultimately, Brown hopes to help advisors avoid “having to build the plane and fly it at the same time” — as she did at the start of her own travel industry path, which began by purchasing an agency franchise after leaving her long-term career in commercial risk management and insurance.
“I took a deep dive into travel because I started out full time,” Brown said. “So now, I’m thinking about a lot of the things that helped me in those first six years, [as I went] from being a franchise owner to an independent advisor. I want to replicate that, in a sense, because I think that was the base and the structure that I needed to become the advisor that I am now.”
Attending the Forum
While registration for the Atlanta Travel Excellence Forum is not yet open, Brown estimates that interested parties will be able to sign up by mid-April. There will be a fee to attend, and slots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Participation will be capped at 60 participants on the New to Travel Track, and 40 on the Pro Track.
“What I want to instill in attendees is that they become trusted advisors,” Brown said. “It’s really about elevating travel advisors.”
