During a recent visit to a tour operator, one figure stood out: since the pandemic, 40% of its sales staff are new.
Four in ten agents were not there a few years ago. They never went on the fam trips of the past or to the regular meetings with brands, and they have never visited the destinations they sell today. For tourism boards, hotels and airlines, that is both a challenge and a real opportunity.
Travel Agencies Need Training More Than Ever
The logic is simple: you can only sell what you know. An agent who has never heard of a destination, a hotel or an airline will rarely suggest it to clients.
New sales staff know this, and they are asking to specialise. They want reliable information, concrete selling points and people they can turn to with their questions.
For a travel brand, this is the moment to be there. The brands that support these teams today are the ones they will recommend tomorrow.
In the Field: Our Representatives, Your Voice in the French Market
At GroupExpression, our sales representatives travel across France to meet travel agents. It is demanding work that rarely gets the spotlight, yet it remains the most effective approach: it is the foundation of travel trade representation.
In agencies, they present your products, highlight your strengths, answer agents' questions and share the selling points that win over clients. They also relay feedback from the front line, so you can fine-tune your offer and your marketing.
Visit after visit, they become your voice in the market. They build trust and a human relationship that no digital tool can replace.
Remote Training: Short, Practical Webinars for Sales Teams
Alongside this field work, we run webinars. They are designed for sales teams: a short format, information agents can use straight away, and the chance to put questions directly to each brand's experts.
Agents can join live or watch later, at their own pace. The programme and all replays are available on our trade portal, espacepro.groupexpression.fr.
From Field Insight to Action Plan: A Strategy Built with Your Partners
These conversations go beyond training. Every agency visit and every question asked during a webinar is valuable intelligence. Our teams turn it into an action plan: sharper messaging, better-targeted marketing campaigns and well-timed sales pushes.
This work is at its most powerful when carried out with your partners: airlines, tour operators and travel agency networks. Together, we move faster and go further.
Example: A New Air Route to Your Destination
A destination becomes easier to reach thanks to a new flight from Europe. The challenge is to spread the word about the new route and, with it, easier access to the destination or the hotel. We first brief tour operators' product managers, then carry the message to travel agencies through meetings, workshops and webinars.
Newsletters only go so far: conversation is what makes the difference. Agents' questions, their clients' profiles, where they prefer to fly from (avoiding a particular airport, or flying from a neighbouring country such as Switzerland): our teams feed all of this back. It helps refine products and communications so they deliver better results.
This is the approach we have taken, for example, for Los Cabos with Condor, for Saint Lucia with Air Caraïbes, and for Centara's resorts in the Maldives, a destination where new air routes from Europe are opening up.
Earning a Place on Travel Agents' Shortlists
Tourism boards, hotels, airlines: with sales teams turning over, visibility is no longer enough. To be recommended, you need to be known, understood and trusted by agents, through professional, responsive follow-up.
Nothing beats:
- agency visits, to build the relationship and keep the conversation going;
- face-to-face meetings, to spark interest;
- high-quality training, to give agents the tools to sell;
- an action plan shared with your partners, to turn field insight into sales.
We have been doing this for more than 20 years. Looking to strengthen your presence with travel agencies? Talk to our experts and we will build the right programme around your objectives.