Agents Encouraged to ‘Give and Receive’ the Gift of Premier Education
FRAMINGHAM, MA, November 21, 2022 – The Travel Institute has launched its Season of Giving just in time for the holidays, once again featuring tuition assistance for its most popular training courses for travel professionals at all levels of experience. From now until year end, The Travel Institute’s Premium Access online library, new agent training course, certification programs, lifestyle and destination specialization courses, are available at 20% off, along with a special, 3-course bundle rate for Northern, Central and Southern Europe specialization.
“Regardless of where an agent is at in their travel career, continuing education is critical to their ability to advance their expertise ongoing. To be successful, give the gift of education to yourself, a colleague or your entire team,” encouraged Diane Petras, CTIE, president of The Travel Institute.
Industry research supports a strong correlation between agent success and education, which builds both capabilities and confidence. As the industry’s education leader and a non-profit organization dedicated to education in support of individual and industry success, The Travel Institute’s educational options are affordable year-round. Season of Giving additional savings include:
- Premium Access Online Library: Unlock unlimited continued learning via The Travel Institute’s ever-growing Premium Access online content library, which includes recordings of all “Ted Talk-style” webinar sessions; all Lifestyle, Niche, and Destination courses and specialist designations; Business Planning, Business Ethics, and Financial Planning courses; white papers on timely, critical industry topics; ongoing product discounts; and more.
- TRIPKITSM Introductory Training: This in-depth, self-paced course can be accessed anytime/anywhere and packs the equivalent of one year of college into a 19-lesson, self-paced timeline with an emphasis on real-world experiences for both Canadian and U.S.-based students. Including the 15-chapter Exploring the World destination geography resource, TRIPKIT provides foundational industry knowledge and critical skills new agents need. Students passing the online, proctored TAP test are listed online with a “Hire me!” notation.
- Advanced Certification: After mastering the basics, Canadian- and U.S.-based agents can earn their Certified Travel Associate, CTA®, Certified Travel Counselor, CTC®, or Certified Travel Industry Executive, CTIE®, credentials and join more than 27,000 already certified graduates. The CTA 10th edition was released in early 2022, adding new sections on marketing and payment processing and updates throughout. Graduates also benefit from the Certified Travel Agent DirectorySM, an online, no-cost, agent directory for consumers.
- Lifestyle, Niche, and Destination Courses: More and more agents are specializing in lifestyle and niche markets and destinations. From luxury, wellness, golf, honeymoons and destination wedding lifestyle and niche markets to key destinations worldwide, specialist courses support agents in matching itineraries and attractions to traveler lifestyles and interests. Agents will tap into curated lists and descriptions of key landmarks, attractions, and local ground transportation options; discover culture, celebrations, special events and public holidays that add traveler value; gain insider advice with local vocabulary, pronunciation guides, and other travel secrets; understand seasons, temperatures, optimal travel times and geography using interactive maps; learn about local shopping, dining and entertainment, and much more. Available online or in print, agents also learn critical business skills to identify and qualify clients. Agents passing an optional exam earn specialist designation credentials to further showcase their expertise. Also available in Premium Access.
- Europe Specialist 3-Course Limited Time Bundle: Combining 3 courses—Northern Europe, Central Europe and newly released Southern Europe—agents will master European travel through this 3-course European series designed for agents to become proficient in Europe’s vast cultural norms and culinary options, varying climates, rich history and architecture, inter-region travel methods, tipping, adventure travel options and other nuances of the countries, while also tapping into professional sales strategies to close the deal. Also available in Premium Access.
For all courses, The Travel Institute continually updates content and utilizes a best-practice, interactive, online learning platform, which has demonstrated success in higher engagement and increased retention. Successful completion of a specialization course qualifies for 10 Continuing Education Units (CEUs), an annual requirement of CTA®, CTC®, and CTIE® professionals. In addition, completion of online library courses and content offer a varying number of CEUs.
“I’ve said it many times: agents are the face of the travel industry and a critical cornerstone of its success. Further enabling agents to access our industry-leading curriculum through additional financial assistance advances their knowledge and skills, helps spark new ideas for their travelers, and further enables our collective success,” Petras added.
Learn more at Season of Giving.
About The Travel Institute
A collaborative industry effort created in 1964, The Travel Institute has continuously evolved to maintain its role as the global leader in travel industry education and certification while staying true to its mission: dedicated solely to advancing the professionalism of both agents and industry leaders in support of individual and industry success. A non-profit, independent organization, The Travel Institute also works with leaders throughout the industry to create and deliver relevant, meaningful and rigorous coursework. Using exclusive proctored, closed-book testing to ensure its graduates earn credentials that demonstrate the highest standards of expertise and service, The Travel Institute has certified more than 27,000 Certified Travel Associate (CTA®), Certified Travel Counselor (CTC®), and Certified Travel Industry Executive (CTIE®) graduates and also administers the Travel Agent Proficiency, or TAP®, exam to confirm students new to the industry demonstrate a mastery of travel industry basics. A trusted partner to industry suppliers and educational institutions, The Travel Institute has trained hundreds of thousands more through additional courses, webinars, and in its online Premium Member content. Throughout North America, many successful agents and high-profile leaders credit their success to coursework from The Travel Institute. Learn more at The Travel Institute.