For so long, travel careers meant that you had to choose your niche.
“Niche” is a term used to simplify what you as the travel expert specialize in. How travel experts are used to choosing their niche is based on the client’s age or income level, the category of travel such as luxury, family, or cruises, a specific destination, or even a brand like Disney or Sandals.
Or travel experts have chosen what they are told are lucrative, possible, or desirable and could easily make sales.
But can we really group a demographic, brand, or a destination into 1 or 2 types of clientele?
Well obviously, We could before but not anymore.
Today’s traveler comes in all genders, ages, stages of life, personal goals, work-life, lifestyles, needs, objections, dreams, income levels, generations, and more.
So why is the travel industry still using the traditional way of “choosing a niche” and thinking it applies to how, why, and who travels in the post pandemic world?
Answer is, Because it’s an industry that tends to do what was proven to work in the past.
How could they think that this approach and strategy are going to help travel professionals stand out in the new age of travel?
Because it won’t.
There has been a lack of depth in the travel industry with the experiences that are provided. I’ve asked countless travel professionals what they help people with and I hear things like: take the stress of travel planning off of their back, give them memorable experiences, customize trips for them, have trips of a lifetime, and more.
If you took a crowd of travelers and asked questions like:
Who likes going off of the beaten path?
Who enjoys traveling solo?
Who likes traveling for longer than 1 month and likes sticking to a tigher budget so you can go farther for longer?
Who likes a fancier travel journey?
Who seeks a spiritual journey?
Who uses travel to heal or grow or learn or transform?
I guarantee that those who raise their hand for each of these questions won’t look the same, or be in the same age range, or demographics, or have the same income levels, and more.
I attended an ASTA event last year and sat in on a session about finding your niche.
This was the first event that I went to in person post pandemic, or coming out of the pandemic.
I couldn’t believe the lack of depth to the topic, the old-school mentality that still exists, and the absence of ideas like transforming through travel, wellness travel, meaningful experiences, personal storytelling, the travel expert’s passion from travel and where it stems from, and attracting ideal clients in a personal and purposeful way.
I’ve never been a huge fan of the term “niche”. because you don’t need to serve 1 type of person or solve 1 type of need.
Instead, I like to say “area or areas of focus”.
So, here are a few tips to helping you find your area of focus in your travel business:
Where does YOUR love of travel come from? Why are you doing what you do today in this industry?
WHO can relate best to your story, transformation, outcome, experiences that you can help?
HOW has travel transformed or impacted you and your life?
WHAT kind of difference do you want to make in this industry and WHY?
What are YOUR interests, skills, expertise, and knowledge base when it comes to travel?
What problems, voids, and shortages have you experienced, learned, or realized in the industry that you can improve or help with?
I challenge you to think outside of the box when it comes to taking your travel business to new levels, to standing out in the travel industry by being YOU, and implementing what YOUR ideal clients want and how you best serve them.
We are ready to help you do just that in the Travel Coach Certification Program or hear more on this topic on the TCN Podcast
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