California Agency Advisory Council

In a collaborative effort to tap into the expertise of influential travel advisors and shape product development in Australia, Visit California partnered with Infinity Holidays, Karryon and United Airlines to host the inaugural California Agency Advisory Council for fiscal year 2023-24. This council brought together eight highly experienced travel leaders from across Australia, representing some of the nation's most prominent agencies including iTravel, MTA Travel, TravelManagers and more.

The California Agent Advisory Council is a strategic initiative designed to cut through the noise and give California a competitive edge by using experienced agents to train the influx of new agents and spark interest in veteran agents in market. By focusing on a select group of high-impact agents, the council aims to drive product development, enhance training and amplify California's brand through targeted messaging. Throughout their year on the council, members were tasked with multiple responsibilities, including attending in-market meetings, taking part in a familiarization trip to California, delivering FAM experiences and trainings their agency groups and producing social media assets to share with their followers, among other activities.

The impact has been substantial. The council members embarked on two specially curated FAMs, one highlighting Southern California with stops in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, the other focused on Northern California with visits to San Francisco and Santa Cruz. Both ended in Monterey. Beyond the FAMs, council members played an active role in training agents by sharing their product knowledge with over 1,100 travel advisors. Their efforts also included 675 posts across various social media platforms, generating significant engagement and driving interest in California. Lastly, this council was essential in helping with the development of two new itineraries, in partnership with Infinity Holidays, reaching over 4,000 advisors in its network.

This initiative exemplifies the power of collaboration in the travel industry, presenting California as The Ultimate Playground for Australian travelers. The members of the first California Agency Advisory Council will continue to share their love of California and updates with their agency networks. A new council will be formed with a new group of agents in fiscal year 2024-25.