Why I choose not to call myself a Travel Agent.

I am a sucker for a good convention or trade show. This years Home based Travel Agent Forum hosted at the Venetian Hotel in  Las Vegas, Nevada was just what proverbial doctor ordered. I loaded up my suitcase with more clothes than I could possibly wear in the 5 days that I’d be in Vegas and boarded the plane to Sin City. I was more than ready to learn all that I could learn about new destinations, tour operators and most importantly how to be an even travel agent.
As in any home based career, isolation from colleagues can be a real drag so rallying up travel professionals from around the United States and doing what we do best : talking travel, does a traveling mind good. It’s inspiring and motivating and it most definitely re-instills in my soul a sense of “meant to -be- ness” in the travel industry. As I sat and listened to travel guru, Mark Murphy tell us about how NOW is the time to be a travel agent,   it dawned on me that creating dream vacations and memories that last a lifetime for individuals, families and everyone in between really is my calling. It’s what I believe in. As I nodded my head in agreement with Mark Murphy and other travel leader professionals, I envisioned myself in some sort of religious conference because I felt THAT passionate about the topic of travel. I wasone raised and waving hand away from shouting out, “ Can I get an AMEN?!!”

I sat in on classes pertaining to religious pilgrimages, African Safaris, Japanese cultural immersion trips, Facebook marketing strategies, cruising the continents on big cruise lines and so much more. My wanderlust had been triggered and I was like a kid in a traveling candy store. I’ve always said that I specialize in travel to Costa Rica, Mexico and the Caribbean and I do so because I feel really passionate about promoting travel to those destinations. As I sat and listened to speakers who were equally passionate about their destinations and products, I realized that all of us in this profession do what we do because we love it and because we know it’s an important addition to creating a well -lived life. The world is big and there are great people out there willing to share their love of life as it is lived and breathed in their little slice of the world.

Viva la Vida Travel is all about living life through travel. If there is one thing that resonated with me this week at the travel conference is that there are many great places to go on this beautiful planet of ours and there are so many experiences just waiting for us to find them. One need not know every destination like an expert to promote it and share it with people. Everyone has their bucket list items ~ everyone has their sweet spot on this planet that inspires them and keeps them coming back for more. In the spirit of Viva la Vida Travel and my mission to promote living a life well traveled, you will now be hearing about other cool places to travel to in addition to  Costa Rica, Mexico and the Caribbean. There’s a great world of travel professionals who work together to make dreams come true for people like you. We take great pride in what we do and we see the value in making sure your dreams are more than what you had imagined. It’s a pretty big job ~ manifesting dreams and all, but it’s a really cool one and it’s my favorite thing to do.

The term Travel agent was debated as an accurate description of what we actually do in the travel field and I was glad to hear that others were equally as distraught about the title of “travel agent” as I was. Are we really agents of travel? Do we simply sell travel? Somehow that term doesn’t sum up how I see myself so, I decided that I  will no longer refer to myself in the sterile words of “travel agent” ~ no, no, no, I am more than an agent of travel. I am a Dream Maker and I will declare my title as such from here on out. My take away from this weekend was two-fold: 1. The term travel agent is old news : I am now a Dream Maker and 2. It’s important to get out there and see what others in the travel industry ( fellow Dream Makers) are doing in this world because now, I am that much closer to bringing  YOU, my clients to new and exciting experiences.


Viva la Vida Travel is all about making travel dreams come true ~ whether it be to Mexico, Costa Rica, the Caribbean or Uganda. . . .Whatever you can dream up, Viva la Vida Travel will be here to make it your reality. 
                                              www.vivalavidatravel.com

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