I’ve just returned from TravelAge West’s annual Future Leaders in Travel Retreat, which was held this year at Hilton La Romana in the Dominican Republic. The event is designed to provide travel advisors under the age of 40 with education, networking, business advice and more. It’s easily the most inspiring event I attend every year. Meeting so many young, innovative, motivated advisors — and seeing the potential they have to impact our industry — is truly exciting.
I was thinking about this group as I read our latest cover story [LINK TO COVER STORY AFTER UPLOADED]. As the story points out, planning an FIT (foreign independent travel, or flexible independent travel) vacation is not necessarily the easiest type of trip for an advisor to plan — but if it’s done smartly, it can be deeply beneficial, both financially and personally.
It’s important for any professional, in any field, to recommit to the parts of their job that are a bit more challenging.
“I sell FIT because it’s so rewarding when your client returns, and you hear from them that it was perfect,” said one advisor in the story. “The high they feel from their experience is worth the extra work. The potential to make a lot of money is another reason that it’s great, because I charge higher fees, and I can usually choose my markup with my travel partners.”
One of the post-event comments I hear most from our Future Leaders attendees is that they now plan to lean into the things that make them uncomfortable. I’m so proud of these agents when I hear this, because it shows me they know that the things that are uncomfortable are often the most beneficial in the long run. It’s important for any professional, in any field, to recommit to the parts of their job that are a bit more challenging. Stasis is the enemy of innovation, as the quote by the author William S. Burroughs states: “When you stop growing you start dying.”
Perhaps recommitting to learning more about FIT travel is your first step toward reinvigorating your business and lighting a spark that will rekindle your passion for travel planning.
