As travel scams continue to be on the rise and fraudulent websites get more and more sophisticated, the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) is determined to look for resolutions to this growing issue in the travel industry. One solution? Enhancing its Verified Travel Advisor (VTA) certification program.
“Consumer complaints have regrettably required ASTA to discipline members in the past,” said Zane Kerby, ASTA president and CEO, at this year’s ASTA Travel Advisor Conference in Dallas. “However, since 2017 when we launched the ASTA Verified Travel Advisor Certification, we’ve never fielded a single complaint against an ASTA Verified Travel Advisor.”
With this in mind, the organization decided it was time to give the program an overhaul, redesigning it to accommodate the modern travel advisor and increase consumer confidence.
“From now on, when the media calls us and asks how to avoid travel scams, we’re going to point them to our new directory that will display ONLY Verified Travel Advisors,” Kerby said.
The program was once nine courses, and it has now been narrowed down to four main courses. The remaining five have been combined with the other additional courses that can be taken to maintain the certification.
The core courses include Legal Insights: Protecting ASTA Member Agencies and Professionals, Ethical Excellence: Mastering the ASTA's Code of Ethics, Legal Compass: Navigating Agency Relationships and Regulatory Guidebook: Understanding Federal Compliance for Travel Agencies.
Mandatory Eligibility Criteria
Emphasizing the importance of being a reputable travel advisor with ethical principles, ASTA has set eligibility criteria now mandatory for all advisors new to this program to meet.
In addition to being an ASTA member, advisors must have either a minimum of two years of uninterrupted experience and an annual sales volume of $500,000 for at least one of those two years or at least five years of experience and an annual sales volume of $250,000 for five consecutive years.
“Key and important to us is to maintain the professionalism of the business, the professionalism of the travel advisor, so that a consumer can count on an ASTA Verified Travel Advisor as someone to be trusted to do business with and to indeed do what’s right for the traveler,” said Mark Meader, ASTA’s senior vice president of industry affairs and education, during a press conference at the ASTA Travel Advisor Conference.
Maintaining VTA Certification
Similar to other certifications, it’s important to maintain the status, especially in an ever-evolving industry such as the travel industry. To do so for their VTA certification, advisors must earn four continuing education units (CEUs) every two years.
The CEUs can be earned by completing additional courses or by attending events including the ASTA Travel Advisor Conference, ASTA River Cruise Expo, ASTA Legislative Day, ASTA Premium Business Summit and ASTA Caribbean Showcase.
“The recertification is a critical step to ensure that our members are maintaining their competitive edge and learning the relevant skills to meet the changes of this evolving market,” said Kerby. “Our promise to consumers rests on this.”
Once advisors earn their VTA certification, they have authorization to use the VTA logo, which validates the earned trust and professionalism travelers expect from the travel advisor they choose to work with.
“People are looking for travel they can trust, and ASTA’s Verified Travel Advisors are the solution,” said Kerby. “Travel advisors who take this step are not only staying relevant by doing so. They’re making themselves indispensable.”
To learn more about obtaining the VTA certification, visit ASTA.org/VTA.
This article originally appeared in the Fall 2024 issue of The Compass magazine.
About the Author
comments