Reason 1 – Moving from survival mode to reinvention mode
26 March was the day our borders closed, and a blanket ban on travel was issued. As a collective, the travel industry entered into survival mode. With little to no income, most consultants fought tirelessly to help their clients, whether it was to get them safely back home or to obtain that much-needed refund.
Fast forward three months, and we are now all well-used to working from home and relating to colleagues on Zoom or Teams. Still, most of us are in a survival mindset. The time has come to switch gears and move to reinvention mode.
Out of crisis comes opportunity. Travel has changed forever, but so has the perception of the travel consultant. Gone are the days travellers want to organise their own travels because ‘what could possibly go wrong?’. Everyone has had a clear and horrifying glimpse of just how much things can go wrong.
Otto De Vries will guide you out of survival mode into reinvention mode with practical tips and advice. He will shine a light on how to pivot and reinvent your travel business for the ‘new normal’.
Get ahead of the curve with this critical Travel Summit Session.
Make sure to register for the Travel Summit today.
Meet Otto De Vries
Otto de Vries is the CEO of ASATA (Association of Southern African Travel Agents), past Chairman of the World Travel Agents Association Alliance (WTAAA) and board member of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA).
He has been active in the travel industry for 30 years, 20 of those in senior management roles in the inbound, retail and wholesale sectors. He is a WTAAA delegate to the IATA Passenger Agency Global Joint Council (PAPGJC) and currently Chairs the WTAAA Air Committee. Through the Council he has participated on several sub-committees, including the steering group on NDC Thought Leadership, the Transparency in Payment Advisory Group and the IATA ADM Working Group