Always have something new on your agenda to learn. Even if you think you are absolutely overloaded, you should do it anyway! Self-development should never stop, this goes also to the professional education. Stack up information and knowledge about all sorts of topics, especially when you think that you will never need them. Because you will.
Now I particularly would like to talk about the destination specialist or expert trainings that are specifically prepared for travel agents and tour operators. Numerous tourism boards around the world present short, easy courses about their country. These usually come in form of an online platform with videos, texts, downloadable maps, useful advices and itineraries to get to know and sell the destination.
While some of these courses are relatively short and cover only the basic highlights, all of them has something for you. Yes, you can read a travel guide book and of course you can search almost any information online. However, I find these online trainings useful, because they collate on one easily accessible site, the most important and practical information you should know about a destination. From the local experts with the right approach, what a travel professional need to know about a location to be able to work with it efficiently. Transportation options, weather, visa requirements, local food to taste, tour highlights, less-known points of interest, itinerary samples just to mention a few that you can easily learn at one place. The perfect departure and reference point when you start working with a new destination or if you are looking for ideas and tips to update your existing products and data base.
Most of the tourism boards make sure that they regularly refresh their course material with the latest news, the coolest offers, specialized product ideas. This way you will have all the general information covered, besides staying up-to-date with the trends.
Additionally, you can always check back to their site if you quickly need information.
These courses usually don’t take too long to complete, but give you the confidence to add the destination to your profile and expand your professional knowledge to work with the globe more effectively. The more you know about a destination, the better you will be equipped to make the right choices and build a sustainable and responsible tour profile.
Be specialized, become an expert! Bring it on!
Beáta