What to do if your travel company changes direction

Change is nothing new in the travel industry. But when the company you work for changes direction, restructures, or starts talking about redundancies, it can leave even the most experienced travel professional wondering what comes next.

Perhaps the business is moving away from the kind of travel you love selling. Maybe targets, technology or ways of working are changing. Or perhaps a restructure means your role could look very different – or may no longer exist at all.

Whatever the circumstances, uncertainty can be unsettling. But a change in your company’s direction doesn’t have to mean taking a step backwards in your travel career. It could be an opportunity to think about what you want from your next chapter – and whether there’s a different way to put your experience to work.

Your company is changing. What should you do next?

When change happens around you, it’s tempting to focus solely on what you can’t control. Instead, start with the things you can.

Give yourself some time to understand what’s actually changing and what that could mean for your role. Try to separate confirmed information from speculation, particularly if conversations about restructuring or potential redundancy are taking place.

Then ask yourself a bigger question: if you had the choice, what would you want your career in travel to look like from here?

For an experienced travel professional, that might mean thinking about:

• the customers and types of holidays you most enjoy working with
• how much freedom you have to build lasting client relationships
• whether your current targets and working environment still suit you
• the flexibility you want around your life outside work
• how much control you’d like over your earning potential
• whether you want to remain an employee or explore running your own travel business
• what level of support and security you would need to make a change confidently

You don’t need to wait until a decision has been made for you before exploring your options.

Facing redundancy in travel? Your experience still has enormous value

If redundancy is a possibility, it’s natural to think first about finding another employed role. For some people, that will absolutely be the right move.

But it isn’t the only option.

Years spent working in travel give you something incredibly valuable: experience. You understand customers. You know how to listen, ask the right questions and turn an idea into an unforgettable trip. You’ve built destination and product knowledge, developed supplier relationships and learned how to handle the unexpected.

Those skills don’t disappear because your employer restructures.

In fact, a period of change can be the moment to consider whether you could use that experience differently – including building a travel business of your own.

Could becoming a self-employed travel professional be your next step?

For some experienced travel professionals, the biggest attraction of self-employment is having greater control over how they work.

Rather than moving from one travel company to another and adapting to another set of priorities, becoming a Travel Counsellor gives you the opportunity to build a business around your customers and your ambitions.

That could mean developing the kind of client base you want, creating deeper customer relationships and building something that belongs to you.

Of course, self-employment is a significant career decision. Questions about income, finding customers, technology, marketing and day-to-day support are entirely reasonable – particularly if the decision comes at a time when your current employment already feels uncertain.

That’s why it’s important to understand not just the opportunity, but the support behind it

Starting your own travel business doesn’t have to mean doing it alone

One of the biggest misconceptions about becoming self-employed in travel is that you have to figure everything out by yourself.

With Travel Counsellors, you run your own travel business while being supported by a global community and the wider Travel Counsellors platform.

That means you can focus on what you do best – looking after customers and creating brilliant travel experiences – while having access to the technology, tools, training and wider support designed to help you build your business.

For experienced travel professionals who already know the industry, it can offer a different balance: the independence of running your own business combined with the reassurance of having an established travel company behind you.

Don’t wait until redundancy to start exploring options

If your travel company is restructuring or changing direction, researching your options doesn’t commit you to leaving.

It simply gives you choices.

You can update your CV and reconnect with people in your network. You can look at other roles in the travel industry. And you can explore self-employment to understand whether running your own travel business could give you more of what you want from your career.

Doing that research while you’re still employed can also give you valuable breathing space. Instead of making a rushed decision if redundancy does happen, you’ll already have a clearer idea of the routes available to you.

Ask yourself: What do I want my next chapter to look like?

A company changing direction can feel like something that’s happening to you. But it can also create an opportunity to decide what happens next.

Maybe you still love travel but want more control over your working life. Perhaps you’ve built strong relationships with customers and want the freedom to put those relationships at the heart of what you do. Or maybe the prospect of redundancy has prompted you to consider an idea you’ve had in the back of your mind for years.

Whatever has brought you to this point, you don’t have to have all the answers today.

You just need somewhere to start.

See whether becoming a Travel Counsellor could be right for you

If your current travel company is changing direction – or you're facing the possibility of redundancy – a Travel Counsellors Discovery event is an opportunity to explore another path.

You’ll be able to learn more about what it means to become a Travel Counsellor, understand the support available and get a clearer picture of what running your own travel business could look like.

There’s no obligation to make a decision. It’s simply an opportunity to ask questions, explore the possibilities and decide whether Travel Counsellors could be the right next chapter for you.

Ready to explore your options? Book your place at an upcoming Travel Counsellors Discovery event.