Oasis,
a Florida-based host agency and a division of Smart Travel Group, is seeing
more interest from individuals who are looking to join the industry as
independent travel agents for their second careers or as part-time agents to
generate additional income, according to its president, Kelly Bergin.
Two
years ago, 20% to 30% of inquiries to Oasis were from those new to the
industry. That figure has jumped to 50% to 60% this year, she said. Those contacting Oasis with inquiries
about joining as an independent contractor are “all types” of people: retirees,
mothers and fathers with small children, parents who want a family business and
existing business owners who want to add travel to what they already offer
clients, Bergin said.
“About 60% of the requests we receive are Gen-Xers and
millennials,” she said.
To
better accommodate those new to the industry, Oasis recently started
New2Travel, a training program for those interested in starting their own
travel business.
“We realized that our past program was
not comprehensive enough to take someone from knowing nothing about the travel
industry to opening their own travel business,” Bergin said in an email
interview. “We added more to the curriculum, and we now recommend that
New2Travel enrollees attend our orientation boot camp in Boca Raton, where they
meet our staff and interact with supplier representatives. We now also include
a personalized website and branded email and print marketing to help jump-start
their new business.”
The new training program is designed to
prepare individuals to run a travel business in as little time as six weeks
from the time they sign up, Bergin said.
The New2Travel program is priced at $2,995 and includes training offered
by Signature Travel Network, the Travel Institute and CLIA; access to an elite Oasis website; personalized email marketing; and print mailers that go out six or seven times per month. Also included is a
three-day Boot Camp in Boca Raton (14 agents have already signed up, according to Bergin) and admission to the annual Oasis and Signature Travel
Network conferences in Las Vegas.
The program is outlined at www.oasisagent.com/new2travel/.