Travel Agents

Despite the opportunity, there are challenges involved in successfully putting together celebration travel. One of the biggest ones is to keep things under control with unwieldy groups, particularly if there is no designated group leader.

The trend for groups of family and friends to celebrate birthdays and other milestones with travel is growing in scope. It's a likely niche for many travel advisors to pursue.

With college such a substantial investment for many families, touring prospective campuses is a growing priority. This is creating opportunities for travel advisors to step in and handle the logistics.

The business of planning custom college tours has the potential to grow as tuition continues to balloon at schools across the U.S. The relative cost of having an expert plan an intensive college visit may be worth it for students and families preparing to make a major investment.

While incentive travel is most often handled by travel management companies, it can also be a good fit for leisure travel advisors, especially those accustomed to working with high-end clients and those who make good use of outsourcing. While there are major differences between incentive and leisure travel, some of the same principles apply.

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.

With more cruise choices than ever before, there are plenty of opportunities for travel advisors to boost earnings from cruise sales. Doing so, however, means taking a proactive approach to education and customer service.

This might be the best time in history for travel advisors to sell cruises, but it's also the most complex. Those who take time to know the growing array of cruise choices and focus on the high end of the market are the most likely to succeed.

A proliferation of Hawaii short-term rentals, which are exacerbating an already expensive and tight housing market, is sparking heavy debate in a state where tourism is the main economic driver. While such accommodations are needed to handle rising visitor numbers, some say it's time to get them under control and look at the consequences of unchecked tourism growth.

In Australia, the New Distribution Capability is moving from a vague concept to an active business model, as Qantas urges travel agents to sign up to a new channel with expanded content. Those who miss the June 30 deadline could lose out on some enhancements but also face new fees for airline bookings.