Can you tell us a little about yourself and how long you’ve been in the industry?
I have been in the travel industry for nearly 20 years and am the Founder and CEO of Tisson Travel Group, a boutique host agency focused on bespoke and luxury travel. My work is centered on building both exceptional travel experiences for clients and sustainable, profitable businesses for the advisors within our network.
What do you specialize in and why are you passionate about that?
I’m not on the client-facing side anymore. I get to spend my time developing the company and working on agency development with each one of our individual agencies in the Tisson community. The mentorship piece is important to me, all successful entrepreneurs had a mentor at some point that helped shape the scope of their dream. My job is to help them, build their business and provide them innovative systems and tools to do so
Are you noticing any interesting trends from the bookings you have or from what suppliers are promoting?
Definitely. People want bespoke itineraries, nothing cookie cutter. Something that is a dream trip that they don’t want to put off or something that has always been on their must-see list and they are going for it.
What’s your biggest piece of advice for travel advisors right now?
Real growth requires a willingness to be uncomfortable. It is in those moments that we learn, adapt, and evolve. Innovation in our industry depends on embracing that process, not resisting it.
How is the role of the travel advisor evolving?
It requires individuals to be incredibly creative, knowledgeable and willing to take on those big requests with confidence. It’s also a time when the high producing advisors are realizing they need to be with boutique hosts to best returns on their businesses.
Tell us a little bit about a booking that stands out – whether it’s the most expensive, the longest, the most adventurous, etc.
A few weeks ago, a dear friend of mine contacted me. He hadn’t been on a trip in years and he wanted to just get away. He had a very limited budget and asked me to create something for him and to make sure it wasn’t an all-inclusive somewhere. One month later, he was sailing on a sailboat through the Canary Islands. Talk about creating core memories for clients.
What are your thoughts on FAM trips? Are they valuable? Why? Do they help you sell more? How can they be improved?
I think fam trips can be very valuable when used properly. I don’t think that it should be an industry standard that agents go on fans because they need a personal vacation. There has to be some accountability for those agents when they return in the way of a marketing plan, a sales plan and a way to promote that supplier who just invested in them.
What’s the biggest challenge you are facing in the travel industry right now? What do you think can be done to overcome it?
I think one of the biggest challenges is large hosts, mass recruiting people to the industry with little or no experience and telling them they are business owners and telling them that they can do anything they want with their travel business. But they don’t give them the tools, the foundation, or the business knowledge of what it means to actually own and run a travel business. It is not sitting at a desk, taking orders, and booking trips for clients. There is a business model behind owning a business, and that is imperative to success. I have developed a business training program industry specific for this exact reason. People are feeling like they are missing the necessary foundation to build a successful business that has staying power.
Do you have anything to add?
There are many careers that can offer success, but very few that offer both purpose and fulfillment. This industry does, and that is what makes it so exceptional.
Nominator:
“I’m so excited to nominate an incredible travel advisor, Tannis. Tannis is one of the most innovative people I know. She’s constantly finding meaningful ways to connect with and support her community, and she approaches her business with both creativity and heart. What really stands out is how intentionally she empowers other women, encouraging them to grow, build confidence, and find their own niche within the industry.
She’s accomplishing so much, and she does it by lifting others up along the way. The success she’s creating isn’t just her own; it’s shared with the women she mentors and supports every day. I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this recognition.”
