Article written by Tom Brussow, President of Sunsational Beach Vacations.

In the face of the most trying times that we as the travel industry have ever faced, it is increasingly clear that it is the travel agency owners and front line travel advisors who are leading the way back and are the primary engine driving the recovery of travel.

Having just returned from my second trip to Mexico since August, I wanted to take a moment to recognize my colleagues and strongly encourage the other business sectors of our industry to more aggressively get in the game, do the work and make the necessary time and energy investments required to drive the return to prosperity that we all very much need at this time.

On THE HUB, we have had many conversations among the top agents throughout the country about how we can achieve this in a collaborative and effective way, understanding the various limitations that we all are working with.

We agree that these two pre-requisites are the keys to getting consumers traveling again. However, as we know full well in our businesses, it is always way more about the "how" of solving the problem, not the "what".

So, here is where we start:

#1: Build consumer trust and confidence in the safety of travel and the quality of the experience.

#2: Provide unique and affordable travel products and experiences that give consumers the inspiration and motivation to travel.

Without a doubt, it is the travel advisors who are leading the way and demonstrating these two key aspects through their own proactive and enthusiastic efforts. They are the pioneers who are taking it upon themselves to show how it's done and sharing their experiences via social, travel trade publications and other media.

For example, Randy and Lisa Otts, owners of 2GetawayTravel, have been on the road non-stop since June to see the top beach destinations and to create meaningful content. In speaking to Randy, he is very passionate about the work he is doing.

"In early June, my wife and co-owner Lisa and I came to the conclusion that we needed to get out and travel for ourselves and video document what the new process was going to be to spark travel. It worked. As quickly as we began posting to our social media pages, the quote requests started coming in! Since that initial trip, we decided that the best way to spend our marketing dollars was to travel. So, we pulled out all the stops and created a video blog called "Tuesday Travel" on YouTube and continued traveling and producing videos. Quotes have kept coming and our social media channels are growing. So, my advice to all Vacation Consultants is do exactly what you want your clients to do, TRAVEL!" Randy said.

Jennifer Doncsecz of VIP Vacations, another leader on THE HUB, recently hosted a very important destination group conclave for forty of the top Female Leaders in Travel in Los Cabos. Collectively, the agencies involved here accounted for over one billion dollars in travel sales in 2019.

Lori Gold of TWIL Travel has initiated a remarkable social media effort with her Resorts of the Riviera Maya Facebook group, which is now more than 2400 members strong. Lori has worked tirelessly to inform other agents, answer questions and contribute to the recovery in a huge way.

And finally, we feel that our new travel industry community on THE HUB is certainly contributing in a variety of important ways. We are passionate about uniting the industry and continue to offer 12 months free on The HUB to ensure that travel advisors can get the support they need now.

I could go on as these are just four examples of a very long list! And, as if this effort wasn't monumental on its own merit, add to the fact that agents are essentially doing it for free, without compensation or financial support from suppliers who would normally lend cooperative marketing or other support to efforts such as these. In the absence of this, travel advisors continue to carry the mantle and get the job done. And, by all measures, our "community over competition" spirit and the efforts being made are having a major impact.

To be sure, some resort suppliers such as Playa Resorts and Karisma Resorts have certainly helped lead the way by creating and hosting destination events that are providing many agents an opportunity to visit key destinations such as Cancun, Punta Cana, Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos first-hand to showcase the travel safety aspects, as well as, preview the customer experience for their clients.

Marilyn Cairo, VP of Global Sales for Karisma Resorts, who recently hosted a top GIVC agent group at El Dorado Seaside Palms said, "Right now, while value is important, trends indicate that consumers are not basing their decisions on price. More than anything, they are looking for assurance and the advice of travel advisors who they trust to guide them."

All this said, much more collaboration and energy is still needed as the tour operators, airlines and tourist boards definitely need to up their game as do many of the other larger resort chains. Sales, marketing and supplier to agent engagement by webinar or via Facebook post is definitely not the strategy we need to be successful right now or moving forward.

For example, while the major airlines are the direct beneficiaries of the work being done by this army of travel advisors leading the way, they have shown no interest in supporting or contributing to the cause. This only serves to make the mission harder as agents too are strapped for cash and access to flights is, of course, an integral part of the "Lead the Way Back equation".

I am sensitive to the plight of the airlines, and the airline layoffs have been drastic and painful, to say the least. At the same time, the airlines never seem to learn their lesson as they seem unwilling to give a hand up to the agency community who represents a major source of revenue generation and "free of charge" customer service resource to each and every one of them. They should and need to be better citizens of our collective travel industry community.

Given their extremely valuable and needed asset, they could easily put forth inexpensive agent-directed programs that would be hugely beneficial and would surely accelerate the return to prosperity by allowing more agents to travel and show the way forward for their clients. If they elect to continue to stay on the sidelines, I believe they are doing a disservice to the hard work and dedication of the frontline agency owners who control so much of their distribution and who are now evaluating supplier behaviors and their partnerships for the future.

Agency owners and advisors are evaluating because they realize that massive challenges like the ones we are facing often power innovation and seismic shifts in relationships, loyalty and the predicates under which business is done. In our weekly Travel Think Tank discussions on THE HUB and private conversations that I've had with top producing agents, it is clear that today, more than ever before, that "all bets are off" when it comes to the long-standing practices and the methods by which travel advisors engage and book with suppliers and the criteria they apply to determine with whom they will align themselves.

In a world saturated by social media, it is travel advisors who are the real influencers as they have shown the leadership and the personal responsibility that the industry needs at a critical time. And, given that agents are also the holders of the customer relationships, we have a unique situation/opportunity now where travel advisors have the leverage and will decide which products and suppliers are best suited and most deserving of their support and lucrative revenue generation capabilities for the future.

I fully expect that this will bring much and long-needed changes, innovation, realignment of key partnerships and a general rethinking of the role and the importance of the travel advisor in the travel industry landscape for years to come.

All I can say about this much overdue wake-up call for our industry is that...it is about time and I am very excited and optimistic for what the future will bring!

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