The term Travel Coaching is fairly new but the concept of coaching has been around for decades.
According to a chapter in Coaching in Islamic Culture, it reports that (quote) “between the 1940s and 1960s, some organisations provided their senior executives with counselling, delivered by occupational or organisational psychologists. These interventions were designed to support the executives to overcome barriers and excel at their work.” (end quote).
The chapter goes on to say (quote) “The modern incarnation of coaching can trace its roots back to the Human Potential Movement of the 1960s, a decade of exploration in human growth and development. “ (end quote).
Over the past decades, we saw tremendous growth in the coaching industry ranging in wellness coaching, life coaching, health coaching, spiritual coaching, parental coaching, business coaching, and more.
All of these forms of coaching are (quote) “The art of facilitating the unleashing of people’s potential to reach meaningful, important objectives” (end quote)- says thought-leader Roskinski.
That growth is what inspired me to become a travel coach- not because I saw it plastered all over the place (granted when I started my travel coaching business, it was almost 5 years ago and wasn’t as spoken about as it is now)- but I knew that my path as a travel coach was what I wanted because I wanted to empower and help others to use the power of travel to help them in their own wellbeing, personal life, and work-life, like travel did for me.
I have seen an uptick in coaches in a wide range of niches, from health and wellness to life to and transformational coaches, and more, come into the travel coach network (and outside of the TCN)- combine their love, knowledge, and passion for travel with their interests, background, and expertise in another coaching field.
But what about if you don’t have a coaching background or experience?
What if you are a travel agent or a travel advisor, or a travel manager, or a tour operator, or some other role involving tourism and hospitality?
Or what about if you come from the medical industry? Maybe you are a doctor, therapist, or a pharmacist? – I’ve seen a big growth in this area as well combining their expertise with travel.
The question is, how do you combine coaching with your current travel or wellness business?
It’s about asking the right kind of questions.
It’s about getting to know your traveler (aka client’s) personal wants, needs, fears, goals, desires, concerns, and more.
It’s about connecting with them on a human level and having open communication and effective listening skills
It’s about creating a safe space for them to talk about where their desire for a trip comes from- I call this their motivating factors for travel. Lazlo at HTWW
WHY do they want to go somewhere? What does a sense of freedom mean to them? What does wellness mean to them?
What kind of outcome, solution, transformation, changes, or feelings are they in search of?
Why do they want to escape?
What sets their inner soul on fire?
Why does meeting new people, having new experiences, seeing new things, learning about new cultures, and all of those other reasons why people truly travel really mean to them?
No longer is travel solely about the transaction between an agent and a client.
No longer is travel solely about the cold hard facts of an itinerary
No longer is wellness travel separate from travel overall
Because wellness IS travel and travel IS wellness
The TCCP and the TCN community are the places that you will want to be to learn more about how you can combine your coaching with your current travel or wellness business.
Or maybe you’re in a whole other space and you want to combine it with your love of travel.
It’s my goal to make you think. To push you to get creative. To think outside of your box and the boxes that the travel industry has built around travel careers for years.
I encourage you to do more. Think bigger. And go bigger.
I encourage you to take that leap and that risk and create the business of your dreams.
Hear more about Travel Coaching and the Travel Coach Certification Program on the TCN Podcast!
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