Any agent with a couple of decades or more under their belt will remember study groups organized by the Institute for Certified Travel Agents (ICTA). Travel agents regularly met in person in their local communities to coach and support each other on their way to receiving their agent certification. Often, the meetings led to lifelong professional and personal friendships.
These days, ICTA is known as the Travel Institute, and the study groups are still in operation. But they have changed with the times. Today, study groups are conducted not in the evenings in a travel agency back room or around an agent’s dining room table, but online. And the course offerings are more diverse.
This week, for example, the Travel Institute is starting an online study group based on its Destination Specialist Alaska course. The group, led by Steven Coy, starts March 1 and is open to anyone enrolled in the course and to the Travel Institute’s Premium members.
The 30-minute coaching sessions are designed to give participants an opportunity to share what they know about Alaska and offer suggestions about promoting and increasing sales to the state.
“We have had great success with facilitating CTA and CTC online study groups, and many agents have requested that we hold similar study groups based on specialist courses,” said Patty Noonan, the institute’s director of sales. “This will also be a good way to help people prepare for the Alaska specialist test and earn their designation.”
The institute has also scheduled its next online study group for Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) and Certified Travel Industry Executive (CTIE) certification. The nine-week sessions, led by Mark McMullen, are scheduled to start April 12. The price is $99.
The courses include financial and business planning, negotiating, marketing, goal setting, managing change, managing conflict and a test preparation session.
The CTC certification is designed for owners and managers; the CTIE is designed for travel professionals in management positions.
For more information, see www.thetravelinstitute.com.
This article has been updated with Patty Noonan's correct first name.