Trust at stake?: 97% of travel agents demand accreditation as debate over industry standards heats up.

The vast majority – 97% – of respondents TSH The survey says they believe there is a need to introduce travel agent accreditation, although there is considerable disagreement over how such a system should work.

Of the 152 votes, 79% (121) said yes, agreeing that “professional credibility is at stake” and a further 19% (29) agreed that accreditation was necessary but cautioned that it “should not be too great a barrier to entry”.

Just 2% said access to basic non-accredited training should be improved, and only 1% thought it was “good as it is.”

The survey was accompanied by an editorial from Yorkshire-based Tivoli Travel owner Joe Greenwood Richards, who wrote for TSHargues that a more regulated accreditation system could help “catch out” inexperienced operators and protect the industry’s reputation.

“I believe all travel agents should be accredited – here’s why”

Richards, who has nearly 40 years of travel experience, said there had been little change in the industry since she first took the formal apprenticeship route, arguing that consumers deserved more confidence in trusting agents with their holidays and money.

The survey results show her concerns resonate with most deals, although agent feedback was more mixed and nuanced, showing any solution would likely be difficult to implement fairly.

“It’s just not necessary”

Travelosophers agent Daniel Bartholomew Oates rejected the idea that accreditation should be a prerequisite for working as an agent, pointing instead to practical training.

“I started working in this industry without any qualifications or accreditation and I can compete with some of the bigger names in the industry, which I am incredibly proud of,” he said. “The industry does not need accreditation, it needs proper on-the-job training for new recruits.”

David Walker of The Travel Snob also questioned whether qualifications could adequately measure the experience that customers actually value. Instead, Walker emphasized the importance of real-world industry experience.

“I have 30 years of hardcore, ultra-luxury travel under my belt,” he said. “I’ve been to 150 countries and I’ve never sent anyone to a country I haven’t been to. Clients pay for first-hand experience and knowledge.”

He suggested that industry and destination country experience could potentially form part of the training, arguing that “life experience is often much better than classroom learning” when it comes to advising clients.

“We all have to start somewhere”

For some agents, the question is less about whether training is desirable and more about whether accreditation may inadvertently close the door to people trying to establish themselves in the industry.

WanderLux Luxury Travel owner Sarah White said she supported the idea of ​​a standardized training program but questioned whether a mandatory accreditation system would be practical in today’s market. “My qualifications have never been requested by a client,” she said, adding that consumers don’t always understand or prioritize industry advancements.

White also pointed to the diversity of the home-working sector, arguing that agents can have very different levels of experience and training and still build impressive businesses. “I am a self-taught agent myself and am proud of what I have learned over the past four years in the industry,” she said.

She also questioned whether regulation could impose “significant costs” without necessarily improving outcomes for consumers, and said travel is too diverse and rapidly evolving to take a “one size fits all” approach. “We all have to start somewhere, and building a customer base is difficult,” she added.

“Be careful what you wish for”

Others were much more emphatic in their belief that the industry needed formal standards: Cotton Travel owner Josh Cotton-Lawton compared the industry to other professional services.

“You wouldn’t go get your hair cut by someone without qualifications, so why the hell would you book a holiday with someone completely unqualified?” – he said. Cotton-Lawton added that restoring standards is “imperative” and suggested Abte also have a role in the discussion.

Paul Baldwin, owner of Just Travel 4u, agreed that accreditation was desirable, but warned that the practicalities could be much more complex. “Be careful what you wish for,” he said. “In an ideal world this makes sense, but what does it look like? And how much does it cost?

Baldwin also questioned whether accreditation would need to be divided into different levels depending on the complexity of the booking. “Booking a five-day holiday to Spain is much easier than a three-week multi-destination itinerary,” he said. “Will there be levels of accreditation?”

He also noted that thanks to direct booking systems, consumers can already organize complex DIY holidays online without any qualifications.

“I could get accreditation to book three-week itineraries to multiple destinations, but my neighbor, a teacher, can book the same thing online herself without any accreditation,” he said.