Agencies urged to tackle training

Investment in training should be “made mandatory” in the travel trade says agent

The travel trade is “lagging behind” as an industry due to the minimal amount invested in staff skills and training.

In a roundtable debate organised by ATN last month (see p.24), training providers and travel agents said the industry fell well behind other service industries when it came to training .

Sundar Vasudaven, principle consultant, TRS Consulting said due to the serious lack of investment in skills development, he was “not quite sure whether our industry is actually at a par with other service-related industries,” adding: “If you look at all travel companies in this region there is a need for the whole mass to come to a higher level.

“How can you say that we charge professional service fees when the industry itself is not recognised as a professional industry?” he asked.

Varghese Daniel, deputy regional travel manager, UAE & Oman, Kanoo Travel agreed that money invested in training in the travel sector fell well below that in other industries: “Are we doing enough training for our associates in the travel trade? Definately not. Unlike in the hotel industry and the banking industry, it’s not happening,” he said.

According to Mohsin. Z. Kidwai, general manager - retail, Orient Travel Services the lack of investment in staff training was leading to serious failings in service provision at many agencies. “Look at the standard of the travel consultant who is sitting behind the desk –they are poor on knowledge,” he said.

“Just issuing a ticket and making a reservation, you cannot call yourself a travel consultant. When you call yourself a consultant you should have complete and thorough knowledge so you can advise the customer, but how many consultants here possess that knowledge?”

Kidwai suggested that staff training should be made mandatory in the travel trade in order to improve the situation. “I think it would help improve the service level in the industry if they made training mandatory.

“There should be a fixed amount that each agency has to pay each year, then agencies will be forced to send staff for training on rotation. Then you can basically turn your staff into professionals.”