Avis Travel Agent Scholarship

We have been working with this year’s applicants to clarify their frequently asked questions. If you are looking for more detail on your eligibility, application formats, or this year’s questions, please keep reading for more information.

Eligibility

I work in a niche part of the industry. How do these questions and this competition apply to me?

• The questions have been designed to be able to be applied to all parts of the travel industry. The judges are not looking for cookie cutter responses. If you work in corporate, approach the questions with your corporate hat on. If you’re a niche agent who specialises in specific trips – relate the questions to what you do.
• As part of the prize, you win the opportunity to choose a conference to attend in the Asia Pacific. It your choice so that it will be relevant to even the most niche aspect of our industry. We are very keen to see applications from everyone.

Applications

Is there any introduction required i.e. background in industry, role within company etc?

• We encourage you to tell the judges a bit about yourself. While the questions are focussed on specific topics, the judges will also want to know a little bit about you.
• Talking about who you are, what got you into travel, and what your role is are great starting places.

Did Jo Patton (last year’s winner) do a video or PowerPoint?

• Last year’s winner sent through a PowerPoint presentation. However, the criteria last year was different – we had no restrictions on application type. This year we have asked for either a presentation or a video. If you want to submit a presentation format, you can also use any application, such as Prezi. It doesn’t have to be PowerPoint only.

Can I send my application in word format?

• This year we are looking for video or presentation format only. However, there is not an expectation for applicants to send through highly technical presentations. The judges care more about the quality of your content.
• If your application is just one or two slides, with incredible content and examples but no  design fonts or colours, you will still very much be considered. Spend more time on your content than you do on production.

What would you be looking for in the applications, and how long is too long?

• The judges will be looking for how well you respond to the questions, not length or editing and design skills. Try to present your responses as best you can – but don’t lose sleep over the production quality.
• There is no time limit, but we do encourage you to keep it succinct! There will be many applications to review. Applications that are shorter and punchier will naturally stand out.
• The judges have no preference for one format over the other, as long as the quality of the content is good. However, if you are submitting a video – we strongly suggest submitting one video file with all three answers. If the file is large, please submit via a YouTube, Dropbox or Google Drive link.

What happens next?

Will the presentation be the same as what I would use for the finalist presentations, or are the finals like a second round with different assessment criteria?

• The judges on the final judgement day will see your original application, however finalists will be responding to a new question to our judging panel.
• The final question will be sent to finalists in October with full details on how and what to present.

Deep dives on this year’s questions

First Submission question: How do you ensure you keep sustainability front of mind when working with your clients? Please give a recent example, including any benefit it made to your business.

• Make sure you show an understanding of what sustainability means within the Travel Industry. The technical definition of ‘sustainability’ is the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level – but this is open to interpretation and there is no textbook correct answer.
• If anyone attended the Travel Daze conference in Sydney a few weeks ago, you have a head start! Otherwise, check out Travel Weekly, who often run articles about sustainability.
• There’s a lot of talk in the media about travelling sustainably. You might have seen Prince Harry and Meghan in the news for taking a solo jet to a climate change conference, or Greta Thunberg sailing a yacht from Europe to the US to avoid air travel. You may have heard of the major airlines and hotel chains that are phasing out single use plastics.
• The judges want to know – what do you do to ensure your business is sustainable? How do you encourage your customers to travel sustainably? We are talking about both business and environmental sustainability. So – if you are passionate about climate change and environmental sustainability, talk about that. If you have a big focus on making sure your client base / your business is sustainable – tell us about that instead!
• Don’t skip over the part that asks about benefits to your business – this could be as simple as positive feedback, better reviews, referrals, or repeat business.
• The key is to think outside the box. Our judges want to know what sustainability means to you. They don’t just want to hear your company policy. However – we also don’t expect that you will have piloted a zero plastics flight, or sailed a yacht between continents. Sustainability is about the little things that millions of people do every day.

Submission Question 2:  In your opinion, what is outstanding customer service, and can you demonstrate up to three examples of how you have recently been creative in providing outstanding customer service?

• This is somewhere to brag: this is where you should sell yourselves!
• Don’t skip over the first part of the question that asks you ‘what is outstanding customer service’. Also – think outside the box when providing your three examples.
• When giving your examples, keep in mind – is this beyond what another agent in the same situation might have done? Did you do something unique, or creative, or create an incredible experience? If yes – then this is the sort of thing we are looking for!

Submission Question Three: What do you see as the biggest threats and the biggest opportunities facing the travel industry that may impact the way you conduct your business

• If you are not familiar with a SWOT analysis, do a bit of research so that you understand how to analyse strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This would be a great opportunity to do a SWOT on your own business. While this isn’t required and we don’t expect to see the SWOT – it will help you answer the question and it is a great tool.