Tired of hearing other travel agents complain that consumers don’t know they exist, a Florida home-based agent is organizing a Travel Agent Awareness Week for Nov. 1 to 7.

“I was sick of agents complaining on Facebook forums and elsewhere so I decided to do something about it,” said Leila Coe, CTA, an independent contractor with World Class Travel in Gainesville, Florida.

Coe introduced her “grass roots” campaign to launch Travel Agent Awareness Week with a Facebook group she started a week and a half ago. She has already enlisted some 100 agents to participate and has asked them to spread the word to other agents. “Any agent is welcome,” said Coe.

During the week-long campaign, participating agents will post on social media on a different topic each day. The topics:

Nov. 1: Who you are, what’s your background, why do you do what you do, what made you become a travel agent?

Nov. 2: A Day in the Life - What your typical day is like as a travel agent? (Try to be positive but you can also mention some “behind the scenes” frustrations like long hold times or the airlines and explain how you deal with them.)

Nov. 3: Your Specialties - What you typically book; your destinations, products, niches?

Nov. 4: Why use a travel agent, in your own words. Why should someone choose to call you instead of the supplier directly?

Nov. 5: Throwback Thursday – What your favorite vacation was; your favorite destination, trip, hotel, restaurant, beach. Try to include photos.

Nov. 6: Free Day - Blog about whatever you want but remember to keep it positive.

Nov. 7: The future of travel – trends, ideas, calls to action. 

The hashtags for Travel Agent Awareness Week are:

#TravelAgents #WeExist #TravelAgentAwareness