Agent to Agent: Staying Focused Through the Noise

Dear Tammy: I’m having one of those days where I’m questioning everything.

You see, I’ve been reading your column since it started and been utilizing your tips. Business has improved a bit, of course, but overall, I keep reading social media posts or other articles about how people do not want to travel anymore, especially internationally. Travel is scary, or expensive, or they just don’t have the time. They think that we aren’t a necessity in someone’s life, like food or housing.

At times, it’s becoming a bummer just to get on the internet. How do you feel about this?

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Tammy: First of all, thank you for reading since we started this column, and we did so for a reason. It was to help travel agents improve business and get a better understanding of how consumers travel. By doing so, we can do a better job and provide better service.

You’re right. Travel is scary and expensive, and many people just don’t have the time.

But here’s the funny part: According to new research, Americans spend FOUR YEARS of their life indulging in escapism, which means they want to get away from where they are currently.

Whether it be their job or their home life, they want to escape.

READ MORE: G Adventures Surveys Travel Daydreamers and Has the Solution  

The study was commissioned by G Adventures and included  2,000 adults across the United States. The results showed that we spend 12 hours and 56 minutes each week trying to escape. We do so by watching movies, reading books and, they say, dreaming of vacations. Another form of escape tallied at just under an hour and that was exploring new places.

Oh, and we are big daydreamers too! The survey says a whopping 60 percent of us daydream of winning the lottery, 54 percent of going on vacation and 50 percent of traveling to somewhere exotic.

We daydream and fantasize because it puts our minds more at ease.

So how does this pertain to you as a travel agent? Just because you’re reading about people who are afraid to travel or can’t for a variety of reasons doesn’t mean they won’t if presented with the right opportunity.

— The person on a budget? Suggest a more affordable weekend getaway.

—The person who is scared of international travel? How about a cruise that allows them to see some international sites, without being right where there have been issues.

—The person who doesn’t have the time? Help them to plan something out a little farther. This gives them the time to raise money and arrange their schedules and their lives so they can take a break.

Being a travel agent means working with all sorts of consumers and providing them with solutions that fit their situation.

Trust me, they want to travel.

Nearly a quarter of the survey participants worry they won’t get a chance to indulge enough in real life adventure. Help them to make it happen.