Incentive Travel Yields New Opportunities for Leisure Advisors – Skift

Whether you are a home-based travel advisor or you work in a large office servicing high-profile accounts, the Travel Advisor Innovation Report will have you covered with the trends, news, and features you’ll need to stay on top of an ever-changing marketplace.

For leisure travel advisors looking to expand their business, boost income, and take creativity to new levels, incentive travel is a possible niche to pursue. While it takes commitment to learning about the important differences, primarily that incentive trips are all about serving business objectives and not vacation needs, some of the skills required are not dissimilar from those required to serve the customized needs of high-end leisure travelers. Existing clients who are corporate decision-makers could be a starting point.

The increased availability of services providing help with everything from marketing campaigns to destination choices means that advisors can outsource elements they don’t want to handle themselves. The main caveat, according to one agency owner who has expanded into incentives, is recognizing that the incentive market rises and falls with the economy even more than other types of travel — and can take longer to rebound.

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Any suggestions for the coverage you would like to see are welcome. Feel free to contact me at mbl@skift.com.

— Maria Lenhart, Travel Advisor Editor

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Can Leisure Advisors Crack the Incentive Travel Market? For leisure travel advisors, especially those already accustomed to providing concierge-style services, expanding into incentive travel could be a realistic goal. With help from outsourcing services, even small agencies can handle the complexities involved.

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Skift Travel Advisor Editor Maria Lenhart [mbl@skift.com] curates the Skift Travel Advisor Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Tuesday. Have a story idea? Or a juicy news tip? Want to share a memo? Send her an email.

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