Tourist boards and tour operators alike are quick to salute travel agents for their perseverance during what has been an extraordinarily tough time for the travel industry.

A quick survey of some prominent people in the industry quickly elicited kind words for agents, who like others in travel have had to cope with huge industry setbacks resulting from the pandemic.

“On behalf of The Cuba Tourist Board entire team, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the travel advisor community in Canada for their hard work during these difficult times and for being an important part of our extended Cuban family,” says Lessner Gomez, the board’s Canadian director.

“We have witnessed their dedication and tenacity in serving their clients and their resilience to overcome the challenges faced by our industry during the pandemic.

“We are genuinely and utterly indebted for their continued support to Cuba and their great deal of effort to keep the dream of travel to our country alive. We recognize the important role they play in steadily increasing the numbers of Canadians visiting Cuba, even throughout these unprecedented times.

“As we move forward, we are excited about our partnership and the future of travel to Cuba.”

Randy Snape of the Korea Tourism Office’s Canadian office says agents are pivotal to that tourism board’s upcoming plans.

“Travel agents are key to our success moving forward,” Snape says. “Throughout the months ahead, we will be holding many information sessions to make sure that agents are aware of entry requirements for Korea. We will also be re-launching our specialist program with all updated entry requirements. Travel agents knowledgeable on our destination are key to our success moving forward and we will be doing even more in 2022 to ensure their success in selling Korea.”

Sana Keller of Santa Monica Travel & Tourism also applauded travel agents for their performance.

“On behalf of Santa Monica Travel & Tourism, we are enthusiastic about promoting Santa Monica to our Canadian travel agent community and educating them on this beachside Southern California destination so that they are better equipped to sell the destination to their valuable clients,” she says. “We recognize the importance of travel agents and know that being a travel agent isn’t just about selling travel, it’s about providing a service, such as suggesting hotels, recommending options and itineraries to clients based on what they might enjoy. Travel agents can also pass on exclusive negotiated fares or deals to customers, assist in the event of an unforeseen mishap (weather, pandemic, flight delays) and shoulder the stress so that customers don’t have to worry. Find a travel agent you trust and stick with them. Its the best decision you’ll ever make!”

Meanwhile, Renee Stanton of Goway Travel says agents are a critical component of Goway’s long industry presence.

“I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: travel advisors are the backbone of our business,” she says. “Goway has been in business for 52 years and has spent that time crafting dream vacations for globetrotters. These 52 years would not have been possible if we didn’t enjoy incredible support from our partners across the industry. This has been especially true over the past two years, where we’ve seen the true value of our partnership with travel advisors. It’s why we are committed to strengthening our relationship with our partners and showing travel advisors just how much they mean to us.

“So on behalf of the entire travel family at Goway, I’d like to thank our valued partners for their continued support, especially over the past two-plus years. Rest assured that we have learned some lessons from the past two years and are more committed than ever to supporting travel advisors and making their lives easier. We have reinvested in our business through product innovation, new training initiatives, and industry incentives, such as our revitalized India Odyssey travel product, our loyalty program GowayPro, and a soon-to-be-announced Travel Academy. All of these tools will make travel advisors’ lives a little easier and help them share a love of travel with the wider world.”