OYSTER BAY, NY – As travel agencies struggle to enlist and train advisors to fill a critical shortage, American Marketing Group’s KORE education program is unveiling a campaign to attract talent to the industry.

Launched in 2021, KORE is a fully digital college-level platform that grounds new advisors in the skills they need to ramp up quickly and be successful. The flexible, self-paced curriculum provides training and support in key areas of the fast-evolving industry.

The KORE difference includes:

• In-depth, intensive learning that takes 130 hours on average to finish, including a proctored final exam
• Modules on how to sell travel rooted in real-world experiences with skills unique to the industry
• Topics of current interest such as technology tools, social media marketing, and industry compliance and fraud protection co-created with attorneys
• Top agency owners and managers who serve as personal mentors for learners without an affiliation
• A competitive advantage through job placement for graduates
• Creation in partnership with The Travel Institute, the industry’s gold standard for education

As part of its new marketing outreach to reach potential advisors where they spend time online, KORE will be featured in targeted Google, Facebook and Instagram ads. The ads will drive people to a landing page. There candidates will discover what makes the KORE program unique in the industry and how it will benefit them. The campaign will run for at least six months.

“We’ve invested a great deal in developing KORE because we believe strongly that it’s ensuring the future of the travel advisor profession,” said Steve Phillips, Senior Director of Education and Training. “Now we’re making a substantial investment in an awareness campaign so even more potential candidates will discover how KORE can be their passport to travel business success. By actively recruiting and training new talent, we’ll help solve the critical advisor shortage that our industry is currently facing and build a strong foundation moving forward.”

KORE’s marketing campaign comes at a vital time for the travel advisor profession. Many left the industry during the pandemic, and a recent study by The Travel Institute found 56 percent of the agencies that lost staff haven’t replaced them. At the same time, advisors are leaving the field due to retirement. The survey also reported that two-thirds of advisors are over the age of 50, with only 6 percent under 35.

Meanwhile, demand for travel advisor services is already high and continues to grow. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the number of travel advisors will increase by 20 percent by 2031, adding 9,100 positions. Unable to recruit professionals rapidly enough, some agencies have been forced to turn away business.

“We’re really proud of the diversity KORE is attracting to the advisor profession,” Phillips said. “We’ve enrolled men and women from all over the U.S. in a variety of age groups. We have people just starting their careers and others switching occupations, such as a retired airline pilot, former lawyer, and ex-IT professional.”

KORE graduates are thriving in their new field. “KORE taught me all about the travel industry – how it works and why it works the way it does. In doing that, it gave me a stronger love and a respect for my field,” said Bridget Merritt, the program’s first graduate and an advisor at NEST affiliate TravelSalesGroup. “I highly recommend KORE. Make that investment in yourself and your industry. It’s worth every minute.”

“KORE is exactly what our industry needed and has made a huge impact on our success,” said Steve Ineson, owner of Four Seasons Travel, a TRAVELSAVERS affiliate. “This game-changing curriculum allowed us to hire and train an advisor, all in just a few months. Within a year, this advisor has surpassed every sales goal and is on track to help increase our business by over 20%. KORE has helped us achieve our sales and profitability goals and will now be an automatic part of our recruiting and training process.”