The Travel Institute is overhauling its Certified Travel
Associate (CTA) program on Jan. 17 with updated, expanded content.
The new CTA curriculum will require 15 courses, compared
with the eight core courses and four electives previously required. In addition
to the number of required courses, the curriculum will feature new topics like "Netiquette"
and updates to existing topics.
The program is divided into two categories: Professional
Skills Modules (Business Ethics, Business Writing Skills, Customer-Focused
Selling, Customer Service, The Art of Listening and Communicating, Teamwork,
Time Management, Understanding Customer Needs) and Practical Skills Modules
(How to Prevent Credit Card Fraud, Planning Itineraries, Selling All-Inclusive
Resorts, Selling Escorted Vacations, Selling Special Interest Travel, Touring
the World, Travel Insurance).
Throughout the curriculum, The Travel Institute has added
engaging activities and exercises. There are also quizzes in each module.
"During the development stage, we evaluated each module
with fresh eyes, sitting down as a travel adviser and asking ourselves, 'How
will this help me be the best frontline travel professional I can be?' After
careful thought we decided that each topic was essential to one's success,"
director of training Guida Botelho said in a statement.
Botelho also said The Travel Institute hired "subject
matter experts" to develop each course.
In order to be certified as CTAs, students have to pass,
with a grade of 70 or higher, a proctored exam of 50 multiple-choice questions
and five short-essay questions. Students have 12 months to take the course and
final exam.
The self-paced online CTA certification program is $399,
which includes online materials and the testing fee. Students can also complete
the online program via a payment plan, paying $33.25 per month plus a nonrefundable
administration fee of $25.
The self-paced print program is $499, and includes printed
materials and the testing fee as well as access to the online version. Students
can choose to participate in a virtual study workshop for an additional cost.
"Today's agency environment and what's required of a
travel professional is so different from what it was a decade ago -- even just
a couple years ago," Diane Petras, COO of the Travel Institute, said in a
statement. "So, in keeping true to our mission, The Travel Institute is responding
to 'the changing face of travel' in all that we do, with the new CTA curriculum
as one of our flagship initiatives and commitments to giving back to the
industry in 2017 and beyond."