Two 30-second commercials released Friday will introduce viewers to VeriVacation, ASTA's new platform that connects travelers with ASTA Verified Travel Advisors (VTAs).
VeriVacation was soft-launched in December. Since then, VTAs have been familiarizing themselves with the platform and prepping their profiles.
The commercials were designed to be funny and engaging, and they speak to two main issues: AI's potential to mislead consumers and bad actors looking to scam people. The spots will appear on digital platforms.
"Chatbot" features a woman asking a generative AI platform for advice on what to do in New Orleans. She opts to "dress up an alligator for Mardi Gras," and then looks for an alligator in a swamp -- and ends up running away yelling "Happy Mardi Gras!"
"Bats" features a man who is clearly a scammer welcoming clients to his "office," a storage unit. He tells them their freighter "leaves the dock at midnight, and judging by its cargo, it's Caribbean-bound." The couple reconsiders and calls an advisor they found on VeriVacation, asking for an emergency appointment.
Advisors must be VTAs to be listed on the platform. To become a VTA, advisors need to meet a set of standards that ASTA stiffened last year. They must complete four courses on topics like legalities and ethics as well as meet annual sales minimums and complete continuing-education courses to recertify every two years.
ASTA president and CEO Zane Kerby said VeriVacation is "a cornerstone in our mission to professionalize and elevate the travel advisor industry."
"We've made tremendous strides in redefining what it means to be a travel advisor," Kerby said. "The barriers to entry in our field have been too low for too long, but that's changing. Through education, certification and advocacy, we are collectively raising the bar."
ASTA's board of directors recently approved the development of a consumer-awareness fund, which is now in place, according to Erika Richter, ASTA's vice president of communications. Richter plays a travel advisor in the "Bats" commercial.
The fund will be used for initiatives like commercials, which are "the first of many that we intend to make," Richter said. It's a way, she said, to ensure "our consumer pushes are sustainable and ongoing."
In connecting travelers with VTAs, Richter said, "they are guaranteed to work with someone who's vetted by us. And the continuing-education requirements are an important enhancement to our program, so we're staying on top of policing our own."
The commercials were filmed in New Orleans earlier this year. ASTA worked with consultancy FGS Global to produce them.
While the first spots are lighthearted, ASTA said future commercials will be more serious in nature and will feature narrative-style interviews with advisors and their clients.