“What are you going to do now, dear, that the kids are gone?”
“I don’t know….”
“You know, you’d make a great travel agent….”
This is the conversation that started it all.
I thank God that I have the opportunity to experience the beauty of this world through travel and that I can share my enthusiasm with my clients.
“I didn’t know that!”
“Thank you for being there!”
“I don’t know!”
“The holiday was perfect!”
“What would I do without you?”
“What would you recommend?”
“Thank you!”
These are the conversations that keep me going.
Overwhelmed clients come with questions, with hesitations, and with anticipation. Being able to calm them, answer their questions, build confidence, and celebrate their enthusiasm is a wonderful, necessary gift of a travel professional.
Travel means – “to go from one place to another; to journey”. I love to travel and see what the journey brings! I know that traveling doesn’t mean just getting on a plane, a train or in a car and going. It is so much more than just going; it’s about experiencing where you are going. The goal of being expert for me is to help my clients have the best experience wherever their travels bring them.
A professional is someone– “following an occupation as means of livelihood; a person who is an expert at his or her work”. So, am I professional? Absolutely! True, in part it’s about the “livelihood”, but in my instance, that’s icing on the cake. The income is sweet – but what about the cake? It has to be good. I strive to make it great. That’s where the expert part comes in. Can I possibly be an expert in everything that comes to me? Well, honestly, no. But I can absolutely do my very best to study and learn what I can and present that to my clients. I love doing that. It’s….fun! When I realize that I have become an expert in one small area, I’m ready to move to the next one. That’s the goal of being “professional” for me.
So why do I love being a travel professional? For me, it really is about helping others. I really get so much joy out of meeting people, helping them put together the perfect holiday or trip (sometimes it’s just a flight because they have to go “right now”), and then welcoming them home.
Sometimes my interactions don’t go perfectly and that reminds me to be humble and strive to better myself for the next time.
Travel Agent Day is every day for me. Thank you to everyone who comes to me seeking help, advice and answers. I am looking forward to more conversations.
“It’s a beautiful world. Let me help you experience it!”