How to be a Travel Agent in 2024
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Cindy Williams, CEO of Wandless Campus, shares how to become a travel adviser in 2024. She provides insights into the industry's requirements, different training paths, and what to avoid, including travel MLMs. Cindy emphasizes the importance of passion and dedication, explaining the commitment needed to succeed. She discusses options like tourism degrees, certifications, and working with host agencies, while highlighting the resources offered by Wandless Campus. Cindy also promotes a holiday gift guide contest, with proceeds supporting a scholarship fund.
Takeaways
- ✈️ Becoming a travel adviser in 2024 is possible and there are several paths to get started.
- 💼 The travel adviser business offers perks such as discounts, free travel, and fam trips, but it's essential to be genuinely passionate about the industry.
- 📚 Proper education and learning are critical for success, whether through certifications, degrees, or hands-on experience.
- 🎓 Options for becoming a travel adviser include earning a tourism degree, traditional certifications, or programs like those offered by Wandless Campus.
- 🖥️ Wandless Campus offers a 12-week certification that includes instructor-led classes, a mentor, and on-demand learning, without ongoing certification fees.
- 🚫 Be cautious of travel MLMs (multi-level marketing schemes), as they often focus more on recruiting rather than actual travel advising skills.
- 🤝 Many travel host agencies offer limited support due to legal restrictions, so learning how to operate independently is key.
- 🎯 The industry requires personal responsibility for business development, including marketing, sales, and service automation.
- 💡 Understanding your personal goals is important when choosing the right path and model for becoming a travel adviser.
- 🎁 The video includes a holiday gift guide and a contest to win travel-related prizes, with proceeds supporting scholarships.
Q & A
Who is the speaker in the video, and what is her background?
-The speaker is Cindy Williams, founder and CEO of Wandless Campus. She helps individuals become certified travel advisers and launch travel businesses from home.
What is the main topic discussed in the video?
-The main topic is how to become a travel adviser in 2024, including the steps involved, challenges, and options available to those interested in the travel industry.
What are some of the benefits of becoming a travel adviser?
-Some benefits of becoming a travel adviser include perks such as discounts, free travel, fam trips (familiarization trips), and the flexibility to run a business from home.
What does Cindy recommend to individuals who are serious about entering the travel industry?
-Cindy recommends taking her 'Travel Master Class,' which provides detailed information on building a successful travel business, avoiding mistakes, and understanding the industry structure.
What are the different ways someone can start their career as a travel adviser?
-There are several ways to start as a travel adviser, including earning a tourism degree, completing industry certifications, working with a host agency, or enrolling in specialized programs like those offered by Wandless Campus.
What is the main difference between Wandless Campus' certification program and more traditional certification options?
-The Wandless Campus certification can be completed in 12 weeks, provides ongoing updates without extra fees, and offers hands-on support, including instructor-led education and mentoring, unlike traditional programs that may take years and require ongoing fees.
Why does Cindy caution against relying solely on travel host agencies?
-Cindy explains that travel host agencies may not provide adequate training or support since travel advisers are typically contractors, not employees, meaning they are responsible for their own training and business setup.
What risks are associated with joining a travel MLM (multi-level marketing) program?
-Cindy warns against travel MLMs because they often emphasize recruiting others rather than focusing on building a legitimate travel business, which may not be taken seriously within the industry.
What does Cindy suggest as a starting point for anyone considering becoming a travel adviser?
-Cindy suggests starting by reflecting on whether you're truly passionate about travel and committed to the learning and work involved. She advises taking the 'Travel Master Class' to avoid common pitfalls.
How can people interested in the travel adviser field learn more about the programs offered by Wandless Campus?
-Interested individuals can visit travel school.com for more information on Wandless Campus programs or make an appointment with the enrollment team at cisonvacation.com to discuss their specific goals.
Outlines
🎥 Starting Your Journey as a Travel Adviser in 2024
The speaker introduces the topic of becoming a travel adviser in 2024, highlighting the steps to take, potential pitfalls, and a detailed process on how to get started. She sets the stage by encouraging viewers to keep watching for more insights and welcomes them to the show. The speaker, Cindy Williams, introduces herself as the founder of Wanderlust Campus and shares how her platform helps people become certified travel advisers. She also mentions a contest for the holiday season and a gift guide with prizes, linking it to a scholarship fund for students in need.
🎁 Exciting Holiday Contest and Gift Guide Announcement
Cindy announces the launch of a holiday gift guide tailored for travel lovers, mentioning that many items are personally tested by her. She shares details about the annual contest where 10 prizes from the guide will be given away, highlighting how the affiliate proceeds will go to a scholarship fund for students. This contest is part of her commitment to giving back to the community every holiday season. She encourages viewers to check out the gift guide and take part in the contest.
🧳 Becoming a Travel Adviser: Different Pathways and Avoiding Pitfalls
The video shifts back to the topic of becoming a travel adviser. Cindy explains the various ways to enter the industry, starting with a suggestion to take a comprehensive travel industry orientation class that her platform offers. She emphasizes the importance of avoiding mistakes and taking a structured approach to getting into the business. Cindy shares that her platform doesn't host agents, allowing for a more unbiased perspective in the travel industry. She invites viewers to check out a masterclass that covers landmines to avoid and successful business-building strategies.
🌟 Is a Career as a Travel Adviser Right for You?
Cindy encourages viewers to evaluate if they have a real passion for travel and if they are committed enough to make it a full-time career or profitable side hobby. She stresses that, unlike the past, becoming a travel adviser now involves setting up your own business. This requires a willingness to learn, do the work, and manage operations independently, as travel advisers typically work as contractors or independent agents. She advises prospective advisers to ensure their dedication before jumping into the field.
🎓 Traditional Tourism Education vs. Modern Certification Programs
Cindy compares traditional tourism degrees and certifications to the modern approaches available, such as her 12-week certification program at Wanderlust Campus. While a degree offers permanence, it may not provide practical, real-world skills. She contrasts this with her certification program, which is designed to teach students how to set up a business from home. She also emphasizes the benefits of her program, such as updates without extra fees and personal mentorship, which aren't typically offered by traditional programs.
📚 Hands-On Learning and the Benefits of a Support System
In this segment, Cindy explains how Wanderlust Campus provides hands-on personal support through instructor-led education and mentorship, helping students set up their businesses successfully. She highlights the contrast between her program and other certifications that may lack practical business setup guidance. Her program also offers on-demand learning with live classes, helping students feel supported throughout their journey. Cindy encourages potential advisers to explore all available options and choose the one that resonates with their preferred style of learning.
🚧 The Pitfalls of Relying on Travel Hosts
Cindy discusses the limitations of working with travel hosts, noting that while hosts may offer a quick path into the industry, they often don’t provide the formal training and support needed to thrive as an independent contractor. Due to legal constraints, hosts can’t offer the full training experience necessary to run a successful business, leaving many agents feeling lost. She warns viewers about the challenges of this model and the potential for feeling overwhelmed when the support is lacking.
🎲 Navigating Travel MLMs: Proceed with Caution
Cindy warns against travel multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes, which often disguise themselves as legitimate travel opportunities but ultimately focus on recruiting others rather than building a genuine travel business. She advises viewers to carefully read contracts and avoid being misled by false promises of easy profits through recruitment. She suggests taking her masterclass to learn how to avoid falling into such traps, urging viewers to stay informed before making any decisions.
🎯 Make Decisions Based on Your Goals
Cindy wraps up her advice by encouraging viewers to focus on their personal goals when deciding their path in the travel industry. She emphasizes trusting your instincts and thoroughly vetting available options. For those interested in learning more about Wanderlust Campus, she provides links to connect with the enrollment team and explore how their program can help launch a successful travel business. Cindy concludes by wishing the audience good luck and encouraging them to pursue the career if it aligns with their passions.
📹 Stay Tuned for More Travel Industry Insights
In the closing section, Cindy invites viewers to explore more content on her channel, including case studies from successful students, offering proof of her platform’s effectiveness. She encourages viewers to stay connected for travel tips, business growth strategies, and a behind-the-scenes look at her travel brands. Cindy ends the video with holiday greetings and reminders to participate in the gift guide contest.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Travel Adviser
💡Certification
💡Host Agency
💡MLM (Multi-Level Marketing)
💡Fam Trips
💡Scholarship Fund
💡Portable Business
💡Holiday Gift Guide
💡Entrepreneurship
💡Learning Curve
Highlights
Wondering how to become a travel advisor in 2024? This video covers all the steps to get started and what you need to avoid.
Cindy Williams is the founder and CEO of Wandless Campus, a platform that helps people become certified travel advisors and launch their travel businesses from home.
The video shares a holiday gift guide for travel lovers, with 10 amazing prizes up for grabs. All proceeds go to the Pink Pineapple Scholarship Fund for students in need.
Becoming a travel advisor offers perks like discounts, free trips, and fam trips, but it requires dedication and hard work to succeed in the industry.
Cindy stresses that starting a travel business today means working as a contractor or independent travel advisor rather than an employee.
Key advice: Passion for travel isn't enough—you must be ready to learn, work, and protect your own business.
One pathway to becoming a travel advisor is earning a tourism degree, but this traditional route may not teach you how to run a real-world business.
Wandless Campus offers a 12-week certification program with study guides and support, contrasting with longer, more expensive industry certifications.
A unique feature of Wandless Campus: updates and new information are provided for free after certification, with no ongoing fees.
Many traditional travel certifications lack real-world business setup guidance and personal support, which is where Wandless Campus fills the gap.
Cindy warns against relying solely on travel hosts, as they can't provide comprehensive training due to employee-contractor tax laws.
Half of the students at Wandless Campus come because they felt lost or overwhelmed in a hosting model, unable to grow their business.
Cindy advises avoiding travel MLMs, warning that they can turn into recruitment models rather than legitimate travel businesses.
Wandless Campus offers both instructor-led education and a personal mentor to guide students through the certification and business setup process.
Cindy recommends starting with clear goals and choosing a program that aligns with those goals to succeed in the travel industry.
Transcripts
let me guess you've been thinking about
becoming a travel adviser and you're
wondering is that possible for you in
2024 well Wonder no further we're going
to share all the Deets today what do you
need to know what are the things that
you should avoid and exactly step by
step how do you get started that sounds
like fun keep on watching that's what
we're doing on the show
[Music]
today
all right guys welcome back don't forget
to take a moment like subscribe and ring
that notification Bell over on YouTube
if you are new to the channel you might
not know who I am my name is Cindy
Williams and I am the founder and CEO of
wandless Campus we help people just like
you become certified travel advisers and
launch your travel businesses from home
you can find all of our information over
at travels school.com if you want to
learn more about that but today we're
talking about how do you become a travel
adviser in
2024 is it for you you I don't know
we're going to kind of explore that
today before we get started in today's
content I have one more big announcement
I want to share for all of our regular
followers I want to say happy holidays
we have a contest going on that you guys
do not want to miss um if you haven't
already heard we launched our holiday
gift guide this is an amazing guide that
is going to give you not just everything
that you need to know shopping wise for
probably yourself because I know you
guys it's all travel lovers that the
channel so a lot of things on this list
are things that I want but most of them
are things I already have I've tested
for you and it is a perfect gift guide
for Holiday Shoppers now when you get
the gift guide you're also going to be
registered in our annual contest and I'm
going to be giving away you know if you
guys have been following me for a while
you know every November December we do
stuff to give back to our community this
is part of that Journey um we're going
to be giving away 10 different amazing
prizes from the gift guide this is one
of the headbands that we're showing off
on the gift guide that's just one of
like a million things on there um but
we're giving away 10 things from the
gift guide and also if you do any
shopping from the links on here all of
the proceeds all the affiliate dollars
that are earned are going into the pink
pineapple scholarship fund that will
help students who are in need we going
to be able to dedicate some scholarship
dollars towards that so you're doing
good you're getting your shopping done
and who knows you might win one of those
fun prizes so definitely uh take time to
do that if you haven't already all right
let's get back to the topic at hand so
we are talking about how do you become a
travel adviser so look guys there's lots
of different ways you can become a
travel adviser if you are someone who's
watching this video because you're just
Googled how do you become a travel agent
and this video popped up that's great we
actually have a full kind of travel
industry orientation that I would
recommend that you grab that's really a
a great place to start it's our full
travel Master Class the blue the
blueprint to become to building a
portable profitable travel business to
seven figure sales and Beyond this is
going to tell you all of the landmines
you can walk into things you want to
avoid alt together and it's also going
to go through a very detailed uh kind of
different ways to get started in the
industry I'm going to talk about that on
today's video as well but if you're
really serious about getting in the
industry and you want to make sure you
don't make any mistakes please get that
travel uh class first we don't host
agents we don't hire agents so um you
know we're kind of um objective when it
comes to kind of how you start that
process or who you decide to work with
in the industry as you get started so
definitely do that I'll link that down
below so you have that Master Class as
well or you can visit charism
vacation.com
masterclass so let's talk through if
being a travel adviser is even for you
so the thing that I want to you to ask
yourself is am I passionate about travel
and not just travel for the perks and
the discounts which of course are an
amazing side benefit of working in this
industry that we do get perks and we do
get discounts and sometimes we do get
free travel or free events or we get to
go on these things called fam trips all
of that is very sexy and very exciting
and everybody wants to do that stuff but
are you really dedicated to the point
that you want to make this a career or a
really profitable side hobby either one
of those is fine but you have to also be
willing to do the learning that's
required the work that's required and
this really is setting up your own
business this is not like the models
when I started in the industry 30 years
ago where you would go to travel school
and you would work for a call center or
a mom and pop agency or one of these uh
kind of outfits out in the world that
would hire you as an employee you are
going to be operating as a contractor or
potentially even an independent travel
advisor working with suppliers directly
there's a few different ways to kind of
structure your business and get started
so there's different options options but
in all of the options you have to do
your own learning you have to do all you
know protect your own business and do
those extra steps that will be required
the good news is you can learn that
information and it is doable I just want
to make sure that it's on your heart big
enough to do it in a way that you can be
dedicated to it you can really put the
effort that it's going to take to get
into the industry so if you said yes
check on that check on one and check on
two then I would say go ahead and
continue your journey take the master
class as kind of the next step in
learning more after you watch this video
today so let's talk through a couple of
the different setups when you were out
there in the industry so first and
foremost you could go with the most
traditional which is go through you know
a four-year University where you're
earning a tourism degree a lot of people
don't like that because it takes four
years it's how you can't start earning
money a few months from now and so that
makes it more difficult no one can take
that degree away from you so that's
always a positive but I will say we have
just just as many students come through
our programs that have uh degrees or
backgrounds in travel um that just don't
know how to make it relevant in the
actual real world because when you're
earning that tourism degree it doesn't
always teach you how to run your
business in the real world and so
there's a little bit of a gap there even
once you earn your degree you still have
to figure out how to set up successfully
from home same thing with some of the
longer uh certifications available in
the industry now we offer a a
certification as well in our
certification you can earn that in a
12we period um we give you the study
guides all the information that you need
to earn your certification I think one
of the biggest differences between our
certification and some of the more
traditional certifications in the
industry would be that yes you have to
go through the process of earning it
it'll be more of an e program with the
other guys um and it can take one to two
years to earn your certification and
then once you earn it they will bill you
an ongoing certification fee every
single year you have to take a test to
keep your certification up and relevant
every one or two years depending on
which one you pick the difference with
wandless campus and through the charism
vacation certification becoming a travel
adviser you do it once and when we
update and give new information we give
it to our students we don't charge you
an extra fee for that so there there'll
be a difference there just in terms of
you have to figure out the long-term
commitment so there's there's that piece
as well now with um the traditional
certifications outside of you know
tourism uh degree uh the more
traditional certifications um there's
not a lot of how to set up your business
in those certifications right how do you
work in the real world how do you
actually get your business up and
running and there's certainly no
Hands-On personal support to do that
process with you so that can be
sometimes a struggle for people as well
um now if you're working with wandless
campus we have a full team of course
that's going to help you with that
you're working working with real humans
and ours is the only program where you
actually can get instructor-led
education you can also get a private a
mentor that works with you through that
process as well so again it's really how
you like to work look at all the options
and see what feels good to you what
resonates best um and then our learning
is on demand as well but you can show up
to those live classes so lots of
different things to consider there now
the one option we haven't talked about
yes yet is actually just working with a
travel host a lot lot of people think
this is going to solve all their progam
problems they're going to work with an
agency an agency will hire them and
they're going to give them all the
training and all the support and all the
tools and all the resources that they'll
need while that sounds good in theory
what I want everyone to really
understand is how our industry works
again you are not being hired as an
employee so you are a contractor which
means you are responsible for all of
your training you are responsible for
protecting your own business you're
responsible for making sure you do
everything anything required when you
are in a contract or relationship it's
actually not allowed that hosts provide
you with formalized required training in
any capacity because that would make you
an employee and that would violate the
employee contractor laws that are set up
by tax code so that's a really risky
situation for them to provide training
which they're they're kind of in a
catch22 some of them I'm sure would love
to give you amazing training but they
they're not really allowed to do that or
make it require
and what that creates is they can sign
you up and call you a travel agent
tomorrow but it doesn't mean you
actually know how to do the job of being
a travel agent it doesn't mean you know
how to protect your own business as a
contractor it doesn't know it doesn't
mean that you know how to set up the
real systems like Marketing sales
service automation things that you
really need to have in your environment
to make your suc make yourself
successful in today's environment and
that's where that model sometimes breaks
down and can be really difficult and
overwhelming we have two types of
students that come to wandless campus
half come because they're brand new and
they're like I just want to do it right
from the beginning teach me how to do it
do all the things right um and their
brand new agents are learning how to
become an agent and how to set up their
business they just kind of want to get
to the answers and then the other half
of the students that come to us usually
they have started in a hosting model but
they found that they're overwhelmed
they're lost they're confused the stuff
isn't coming together and some of these
hosting models have 20 people some of
them have 10,000 people and so it's
really easy to feel lost in those
environments and you sign up and you're
paying a monthly fee but if you're not
seeing any growth is it really a
profitable even hobby for you so that
becomes difficult as well so you have to
decide early on in this journey if
you're in that kind of aspiring phase
decide which type of person you are more
comfortable kind of moving ahead with do
you want to get all the proper
information training support from day
one and just do it right one time or do
you want to kind of gamble roll the dice
and try one of these other methods and
kind of DIY until you kind of figure it
out just budge it in a much longer
learning curve because you will be doing
it in a silo uh kind of on your own and
so that becomes difficult for a lot of
people so we like to give you all of the
options then one that I didn't really
talk about today it goes into it more in
the in the master class but I'm not a
big fan of travel mlms there's a lot of
mL of course they don't call themselves
mlms and I'm not going to mention them
by name just by that's not kind of what
we do here from a business perspective
but I will say you need to be very
cautious about reading hiring contracts
reading terms and conditions making sure
you're not getting into more of a
recruit your friends kind of model you
that you know and sometimes
unfortunately what we're seeing happen
even from students that come in to
wandless campuses they say well I
thought it was going to be this because
they told me this but then I got in and
they said well where you make the real
money is recruiting your friends why
don't you do XYZ and what it really is
is kind of like you know one of those
pyramid deals that's not you know the
the those types of Agents just aren't
taken really seriously in the industry
and the sad part about it is some of you
guys don't even realize you're signing
up for those until it's too late and
then you're in a contract so really
really be careful again take the master
class it will give you some more
information on really how to avoid those
situations and to help you on your
journey so my role as an indust as an
educator in the industry and the founder
of wandless Campus is to just give you
the information and make the decision
that's right for you I always want you
to start with what your goals are if you
start in the place with what your goals
are you will you will always make the
right decisions start with what your
goals are and then trust your gut as you
vet different options that are out there
in the industry if you want to learn a
little bit more about what we do you
definitely can reach out to uh to us at
travels school.com or if you want to
talk to our enrollments team go to cison
vacation.com
readynow and you can make an appointment
with our enrollments team so we can
learn about what your specific goals are
and if it's a match to work together
we'd love to talk to you about what we
do at cism vacation and wandless campus
to help you get your travel business
launched and started the right way and
get you into uh earning while learning
mode that's what we're kind of known for
in the industry and of course check out
all of our case studies here on YouTube
we have the most industry case studies
uh showing the types of results that we
get for our clients we have well over
200 of those documented right here on
YouTube so guys I hope this was helpful
for you if you were thinking about
getting into the industry in 2024
whether you're working with us or not I
wish you so much love so much abundance
I wish you the world as you get started
it really is an amazing industry to be a
part of and I hope you'll join us soon
so I'll see you guys next week happy
holidays again don't forget to sign up
for the holiday gift guide as well I'm
going to put all the link links that we
talked about in the videos down below
I'll see you guys next week bye
[Music]
guys hey guys Cindy Williams here if you
like that last video make sure you check
out all of the other content on our
Channel and if you want to follow along
and travel with me around the world and
see how I run my amazing travel Brands
and get some great tips on how to grow
your own
make sure you check out that other
content I'm going to drop a couple
videos here click those links I'll see
you next time bye
[Music]
[Music]
guys
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