How Fora Harnesses the Importance of In-Person Connections in the Travel Industry

How Fora Harnesses the Importance of In-Person Connections in the Travel Industry

There’s something special about in-person connection, and this is especially true in the travel industry. While travel advisors can work from anywhere and take on a global clientele (flexibility is one of the best reasons to become a travel agent), many of the most fruitful learning and career-advancement opportunities occur in real life.

At Fora, we understand that entrepreneurship can be lonely. We’re big about in-person learning, connection and collaboration. Community matters. To foster a tight-knit community, we’ve invested in initiatives like in-person learning days, local chapters and our legendary annual Live Forum conference. We also regularly send select advisors to industry conferences around the world, including Virtuoso Travel Week, the travel industry’s biggest event of the year. Read on to learn more about how each initiative leverages the power of in-person connection. 

In-person learning days

Earlier this year, Fora piloted in-person learning days to complement our travel agent training. We hosted a select group of Fora Advisors at our HQ offices, where they spent the day workshopping, networking and learning from each other, HQ staff and some of our partners. Advisors learned tangible, actionable skills and efficient systems for building a successful business. Plus, they were able to interact directly with all three of Fora’s co-founders.

“Getting the opportunity to meet HQ staff in person as well as collaborate with other advisors in one room is invaluable,” Fora Advisor Christie Sweany said. “Working from home can be isolating, and I can’t express strongly enough how important it feels for me to interact with and learn from what other advisors are doing so I can continue to work smarter not harder and scale my business!”

In-person training days allow advisors to zero in on the more business-oriented aspects of travel advising. Fora Advisors are entrepreneurs, after all. There’s so much more to the job than planning and booking amazing experiences. These mini bootcamps equip advisors with additional business-savviness — and confidence. 

Fora Chapters

Fora is a global travel agency. We have advisors all around the world. But our breadth and reach do not come at the expense of community. Fora Chapters are regional groups helmed by a Chapter Lead, a standout Fora Advisor who has demonstrated not just booking prowess, but strong community engagement.

Fora Chapters regularly get together in their respective cities (LA, NYC, Dallas, Chicago, Phoenix, London…) to visit local hotels, network, flesh out ideas and learn from one another. (Fora Advisor Katie Larsen, Chicago’s Chapter Lead, recently organized a day of co-working by the pool at Nobu Chicago.) These in-person events allow local advisors to meet up more regularly and continue to build and scale their businesses with the support of their peers.

Live Forum

Live Forum is Fora’s flagship conference of the year, where advisors can connect with each other, Fora HQ and our travel partners. Each year is different (and better) than the last. Advisors attend panel conversations with notable speakers — from both inside and outside the industry, tons of workshops, networking sessions with travel partners (we’re big fans of “partner speed-dating”), partner dinners, cocktail parties and so much more. 

Industry conferences

We always come back from conferences wiser, enlightened and reinvigorated about travel. Fora’s Pro advisors are eligible to attend industry conferences around the world, from ILTM to Virtuoso Travel Week. (Read about some of our advisors’ key takeaways from VTW 2024.) 

These events allow our advisors to form personal connections with global partners, learn about upcoming openings and develop a deeper understanding of travel products and industry trends at large. They’re invaluable learning experiences that equip attendees with the necessary tools to better inform their clients, deepen their expertise and propel their businesses forward.  

Fora FAMs

FAM trips — short for familiarization trips — are perhaps the epitome of in-person learning. Every travel advisor will sell destinations and properties they haven’t been to (that’s where Fora’s Destination Debriefs come in), but having the opportunity to visit these places certainly helps make advisors’ jobs easier. 

Fora hosts several FAMs each month. These trips — to places from Morocco to Barbados, Boston to Costa Rica — allow our Pro advisors to really get to know a destination, in addition to our partners on the ground. FAMs also strengthen Fora’s community. (FAM WhatsApp groups have been known to continue long after a trip has ended.) Advisors meet people they otherwise may not have, and form deeper bonds with previous acquaintances. 

Following a FAM, advisors are required to educate their peers. Attendees provide in-depth trip reports, guides and helpful travel advice to fellow advisors via Forum, our community app. We can’t wait to continue to collaborate with our partners to curate these invaluable experiences for our advisors.

Experience the power of in-person connection with Fora

We continue to iterate on our in-person offerings, and are always looking for opportunities to increase and improve our IRL events. Fora Chapters (which continue to grow), in-person days of learning, Life Forum, industry conferences and FAMs are just the beginning. If you’re interested in joining our community, apply to become a Fora Advisor. We can’t wait to welcome you.