Ask anyone about scoring good travel bargains and, chances are, he will point you to the NATAS travel fair held bi-annually at Singapore EXPO or Suntec Convention Hall.
Starting this year, consumers will have another channel – an online portal with destination content, holiday packages and air fare deals that will be available throughout the year.
But that’s just one of the many initiatives National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS) is planning to roll out in the year ahead, shared its president Steven Ler during an interview with Travel Weekly Asia.
“It’s about time we go back to the core value of what NATAS is about: to provide the right platform to help agents do better in their businesses,” said Ler who took on the role of president last June.
With the changing dynamics of the travel landscape, conventional agencies are being forced to rethink the way they conduct their businesses. In addition to the added competition from online travel agents (OTAs), consumers are changing how they buy and experience travel.
“There is a lot of self service with consumers going online to search for content – more price comparison and destination research. They know exactly what they want and how to travel, and can make educated choices. As an agent, we have to ask ourselves: what’s our value?” opined Ler.
Transforming businesses through technology
One of the ways NATAS wants to help travel agents is to make relevant technological solutions readily available.
To expedite travel agents’ adoption of technology, they can choose from a set of solutions, pre-identified by Singapore Tourism Board (STB), which have also been pre-qualified for funding approval. Solutions include front-end booking engines and chat bots, currently the more popular options that have been taken up, as well as those that help simplify backend processes.
“While a handful of agencies have already indicated interest, what’s more important is to see them evolving after incorporating the solutions into their businesses,” emphasised Ler.
He added that this is the rationale for launching a playbook, which provides a step-by-step guide to help agencies identify opportunities, and a list of techonology solutions and providers they can take advantage of.
Also in the works is a through-train guided mission that includes overseas study trips, and a Travel Technology Challenge that will see NATAS partnering global distribution system (GDS) providers and even banks to cultivate a hotbed for travel tech innovation.
Doubling down on manpower
NATAS is also focusing on increasing professionalism among agents and identifying more skilled talent. This will be done via the partnership with education institution East Asia Institute of Strategic Management (EASB) and the development of a talent management portal.
“To help general travel agents see a better career path, we have to show them how they can grow. With the training partnership, we can curate the curriculum – from destination training, selling to designing itineraries – which will help them go from mere consultants to designers of experience,” he explained.
The Talent Management Platform is a logical next step, as it offers a customised marketplace for travel agent employers and job seekers to connect. Features include a ‘rank and score’ algorithm to ensure better job matches, as well as a self-assessment to help job seekers better understand their strengths and weaknesses.
“This will really enhance professionalism across the board and offer more clarity on how the travel trade should come together, he commented.”
The way forward
With these new initiatives in place or soon to be so, 2018 looks to be off to a promising start.
To drive awareness of the new happenings, NATAS wants to engage with travel agencies on all levels. So far, they’ve already organised a mini party to spread the word about study grants, and held a ‘towkay’ talk to discuss manpower solutions.
Ler believes that the recent amendments to the travel agents act and regulations, which took effect on January 1, are also beneficial for the industry on a broader scale as the guidelines can “attract the right businesses to enter to provide more options for consumers”.
On a last note, I asked him if he would be running for the role of president, come the exco elections in May. His response? “Honestly, I don’t know. I will at least see through my term for now, but if there are better contenders, they are more than welcomed to steer the ship.”