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Beyond the Booking: A new way Travel Advisors Can Create Meaningful & Intentional Travel Experiences with Sahara Rose De Vore

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Ros:  Well, hello there everyone. Welcome back to the Travel Agent Achievers podcast. Many of our listeners are already deeply connected to their clients' stories and goals. Today is really about exploring another lens on that, not about changing who you are professionally. This conversation is about intention, human connection, and how travel can support personal growth while still honoring the incredible work that you as a travel professional already do every single day. Joining me today is Sahara Rose De Vore, the founder and CEO of the Travel Coach Network, a global community focused on bringing a more human-centered and emotional approach to travel. Sahara's journey has taken her from a Baroque college student to traveling solo across 84 different countries.

Ultimately leading her to carve out a unique space within the travel industry. She is the creator of the world's first ICF accredited certification program for travel coaches with more than 750 coaches across over 40 different countries. She's a published author, TEDx speaker, global presenter and startup investor. And her work has been featured in more than 300 media outlets including Travel Weekly, Condé Nast Traveler, TripAdvisor, CNBC, CNN Travel, and of course Forbes. She was also named one of Travel Pulse's most influential women in travel and currently serves on the advisory board for the Hotel Guide. Today, we are exploring how ideas like intention setting, transformation, and deeper client conversations can complement the work that travel professionals are already doing and how these perspectives may enhance the way that we support travellers before, during, and after their journeys. I'm so excited for this episode. Sahara, welcome to the podcast. I am so excited that you are here. Can you tell us a little bit more about yourself?

Sahara: Yeah, absolutely. So I didn't come from a family that traveled. Travel wasn't something that we did very often or talked about. Our extent of traveling or my extent of traveling was to pack in the family van and we drove from northern US in Wisconsin where I live to southern Texas down all the way at the southern border and then across to Mexico because my grandmother was from Mexico, we would visit her family. And then same thing up to the French region of Canada for my grandfather's family. But I was so young that I barely remember any of that. And no one in my family traveled for business. No one took talked about vacations or took lavish vacations. And so I also at the same time, throughout my years really struggled to figure out like what my career path was. I wasn't the student who graduated high school who knew exactly what I wanted to study in university. So I toyed around with different topics. I wasn't like my friends who knew exactly what path they wanted to go down. Because I have different interests and I liked having different experiences. So my third year university, I joined a hospitality and tourism management program in Chicago. I had a small window of time. I was switching universities across the states and I came across this program. I was like, travel, that's cool. Who doesn't? Who doesn't like travel, right? So I applied and got in and that was the catalyst to me having this idea of going to travel after graduating in two years from then. And so I decided to with all the other students in my class were from Europe and Asia and all over the world. And I'd learned about how many countries they'd been to and how easy it is to travel to other countries when you're over in those regions. And I was just in awe. And so I said, I don't know how I'm going to do this, but in you know, when I graduate in two years from now, I'm going to figure out and I'm going to go backpacking Europe. And that is what I ended up doing when I graduated in 2010. I bought a one-way ticket to Ireland, packed a backpack, and that was a catalyst to my solo journey.

Ros: One way ticket to Ireland and you just went from there. What was probably one of the things, I mean, I love this as a traveler myself and you know that for my story, was leave school. I always wanted to visit Paris. I ended up going to Asia, not until my 21st. So I was very similar. Caravan, traveling as a child, know, lots of road trips. We didn't travel internationally either. So it was 21 when I actually took my first trip to Thailand. And following that, it was then Europe and backpacking.

What, when you visited Europe and so why did you choose Ireland as your first place? Was there a reason for that? Or was it some way that you'd always just thought, I really want to go to this destination?

Sahara: No, I chose Ireland for a couple different reasons. One, I was researching more affordable flights from Chicago to Europe, and I wanted to start on in Western Europe. And so I, they had Amsterdam, Dublin, Madrid, those were some of the more affordable, Brussels affordable destinations for me to fly into.

And so at the same time, my mom was this guy that she was dating. He had a friend who lived in Ireland. And I thought maybe that's a good way for me to kind of break in this solo adventure, which I've never done before, is to stay with a family in Ireland. So I decided that way. It was more affordable. And I was able to stay with someone for the first two weeks, I think it was, before I left them and continued on.

Ros: Smart move to do that. So you've then, you then continued for a few years, traveling and backpacking. And I remember listening to your story about returning home for, you know, seasonal times, you'd get some work, get another ticket and go somewhere else. Are there any places that stand out in your memory that you go, there's some unique places all over the world that you go, that just captured my heart?

Sahara: Yeah, I think the two biggest ones for me, I I spent the majority of my time in Southeast Asia. And so the biggest two ones for me are Thailand. I know that's such a backpacker answer, but I really Thailand really checked all my boxes. So I spent quite a few times there and went back several times, took my mom backpacking twice already through there. And then also the Philippines. I went to stay in the Philippines after the super typhoon went through years back and I fell in love with the people and the beauty and I think it's a pretty underrated destination for people to travel to. And so if you like the vibe of the Lake Thailand, Philippines would be a nice one as well too with, you know, affordable massages and great food and affordability once you're there. So Thailand and the Philippines are two of my favorites.

Ros: Oh, I love that you said that. The Philippines is certainly one of my favorite as well. It's where I have my team all based. I've been traveling up there since about 2015 and it's so lovely every time I go back. Now with so many thousands and thousands of islands, you can never spend enough time there, but I am very similar. I love it. The people, the food, you know, the culture, it is just amazing. It's so good to be there. So I'm glad that you said that. The Philippines is very cool. So bringing it back to what then attracted you to travel coaching and can you just give me, I know we'll talk about the differences between travel coaching and being a travel advisor or a travel professional. There are similarities though. I really believe in what a travel coach is and also what a travel professional also does. Can you give me an explanation on what is a travel coach?

Sahara: Yeah, so a travel coach. So when I started the Travel Coach Network, or first I started my own wellness travel coaching business, and soon had others asking what's a travel coach? Where'd you learn about it? And that's what gave me the gut instinct to found the TCN. But I soon realized that I had to define what that meant, because oftentimes there's different definitions for words, right? And I soon learned that there were travel advisors who were coaching travel advisors who would call themselves a travel coach. And to me, that's not what I wanted to define it as. I built the TCN honestly without the travel agent in mind, a travel agent advisor in mind, because it wasn't what I was looking for when it came to a travel career. And so under the TCN, a travel coach is someone who helps people understand their why for travel helps them set intentions for their trip. So what are you really looking to get out of this experience? How do you want to feel pre, during and post trip? And helping people use travel as a tool in their life for things like healing, transformation, personal growth, professional developments, reaching their goals and aspirations. All of these underlying reasons why we travel and turn to travel in the first place is brought to the forefront in the world of travel coaching.

Ros: Yeah. Okay. There, it also talks about like the life's big moments. And one thing that I heard you say recently was around, you know, there's wellness, there's grief, there's lots of different niches and themes amongst the coaching, but using travel as the gateway to move through these phases as well. And these really big life moments. How would you, so for somebody who is already running a planning business or a travel advisor business, how would you describe it then for an advisor to potentially incorporate some of these things or some of the practices that you have? Or do you think that it is in alignment or is it totally separate?

Sahara: Now, that's a great question. So despite me saying that I built this without the travel agent advisor in mind, what I realized soon, especially during the pandemic, was that we had a lot of travel agents, advisors, organically come into the travel coach network to learn how they could combine the concept of travel coaching with what they wanted to do already in their business. So it's a very complimentary component to the travel agent travel advisor worl and really essentially what that means is that travel coaching enhances the way that from everything in your business, how you brand, how you figure out your niche, how you, how do you figure out who exactly your ideal client is? How do you speak to your ideal client? How do you work with them pre, during and post trip? What kind of support is there? we hear all these new buzzwords come about like, meaningful travel and transformative travel and mindful travel and all of this, but what does that actually mean and look like in your business? When you actually work with your clients, how do you help them have a meaningful transformative experience, even from like a wellness experience? What does that look like? And that really assess with their goals, having strategy put in place, having structure to help support them through this journey beyond just creating itineraries and planning and booking trips.

Ros: Yeah. So you, you mentioned all, there were a couple of things that surprised you when you were looking at the way that advisors support clients beyond bookings and learning more about the advisor world. So when you got into this area and designing the travel coach network, you mentioned that you, weren't looking to become an advisor yourself. It was the coaching side of things that was where your heart was during the pandemic, there has definitely been a shift and I've seen it as well amongst advisors to learn more about clients and really have more deep and meaningful relationships. And everything that we do, I believe has that human connection. It's the stories, it's the emotion and the way that people can travel. So what has surprised you about the way that advisors support their clients? Have you seen any surprise things or things that have come up for you that you're like, yeah. they can actually do more of this to enhance their business.

Sahara: Yeah, a couple of different things stand out to me. is the lack, well, it should be, there's many things. One is like the lack of your personal story in your business. What's surprising to me.

I mean, the travel advisor industry is a very saturated industry. There's a lot of the industry has kind of put you into pillars, into categories, into niches, right? Like, are you in luxury? Are you in wellness? Are you in cruises? Are you in Disney? Like whatnot. And so when you are trying to compete essentially and for clients out there and you're

And you're trying to mimic what has already been said and done because it works for someone else or it's the way someone told you that you should do this, but you are ignoring your own personal connection to travel because again, travel is very personal. Travel is very emotional. And when people are looking to go on a trip that has purpose to their life and or gets them the feelings, right? That's why we buy anything. No one buys a trip. No one's really paying for a flight or a hotel, they are looking to feel something different. That's why we get this escapism, these getaways people want to feel. So you have to really understand like how can I take what it is that I personally believe in about travel? How has travel impacted my own life? What's my own story about travel? So personal branding is so important in any business, let alone in the travel industry. And so I was really surprised that there is a disconnect between travel advisors and their businesses and then their personal brands. And they really struggled to have a brand story and to lead with that in their messaging to attract their ideal clients. Because I think that kind of goes back to what I was also going to say is that when the industry kind of puts these pillars in place and says, put yourself in one of these categories and that's who you're going to sell to or that's the type of properties and experiences you're selling, that also puts up blinders to really who exactly needs the type of experiences that you are trying to convince people of. And instead of throwing spaghetti at the wall and just seeing who's going to buy from you, that model doesn't work for anyone, any sort of business, let alone in travel, and especially in an industry that's so saturated where people can find bookings and deals and agents and stuff everywhere, AI now everywhere. You have to get crystal clear on who exactly your ideal client is and create a niche that is hyper specific to, to you and your brand. And that's a newer concept coming about in the travel advisory industry is like really honing in on the type of experience for your specific type of ideal client.

Ros: So there's a few things there. I completely agree with you. When I talk about the niche or the niche for our clients and those that are part of the Travel Agent Achiever Network, there are three different things. I say you can focus on the person. So who the person is, the destination or the experience. So three different areas. But I also say that who is it that you want to attract or who you are, we need to understand our own values and who we are as humans first. And in addition to that, then looking at, you know, what is it that you want to promote or that you love so deeply and you are so connected to, because that's also where clients will be drawn to you. But you don't need 10 million people. You don't need, you know, potentially 10,000 people. You might only want to and need to work with in order to fill your books, it could be 10 people, it could be 30 people, it could be 50 people, it could be 100 people, who knows? But there's a lot of also what you say with the misconception being put into those buckets, you're a cruise expert, you're a luxury expert, you're a touring expert or something else. Then with that, there's a lot of fear for an advisor that might come up as well to say, well, I need know, to be influencing people on all the social media channels. The reality is, you know, we're all human at the end of the day. How many people is it that you can really take care of and understand on a deeper connection, which is where I love the whole travel coaching, because what we do as well, or what I see a lot of advisors do is actually go that little bit deeper, which brings me into, you know, there are different processes though.

We have, and you talked about systems as well and understanding your processes during a discovery call. So if somebody is jumping on a call with an advisor, if they wanted to ask a deeper question to understand the client or to learn a bit more about them, you say, suggest, you know, talk about our brand story. And when booking something, it's not about us. It's always about the other person.

Would you have any suggestions on questions to ask that can really deepen that relationship in the first instance, like on that discovery call?

Sahara: Yeah, I mean, and that's why what we do in the Travel Coach Network is so important because it's like, well, of course we can have a discovery call and get to know our clients, but there's a reason why people become coaches and you're trained as a coach. There's certain techniques and practice that you put into place to be able to create that safe space, to have your clients open up and for you to understand what type of questions to ask them and how to ask them and how to create that relationship with them that wants them to open up and go beneath the surface and peel back those layers. That all takes practice. That takes education on how to do that. So there's a system in place when it comes to coaching. And that's a big thing that sets us apart from just any other travel expert out there. But with that said, it's twofold. So when I talked about personal branding, your ideal client, when they come to you, by the time they come to you, they've already learned about you. And when they learn about you, if you did it effectively, that means that you shared your story. They connected with something that you believe in, what you accomplish, your values, something in your brand, in your messaging, your everything drew them to you. So there's a purpose there. And so it's really important in your branding or in your business and this is where personal branding comes into place. It's so important for you to kind of show how it is. What does that mean to open up and have an emotional connection to travel and to understand how beneficial travel is according or regarding like what you said of like, are you trying to sell experiences? Are you trying to sell to a specific type of person? Are you selling a certain destination? What are the emotional connections to all three of those or whatever it is that people are choosing. Right. You have to make that connection at point A to point Z for your ideal clients. What are they? Why should they care essentially about travel? So that in that discovery session, it's really about being able to pull back the layers.

Ros: Yeah. Pulling back the layers, getting to understand them and having that in mind at all,

Sahara: Yeah. Yeah, and being able to ask a question like, what are you looking to get out of this? How do you want to feel? What's going on in your life right now that motivated you to want to reach out to me, that motivated you to think about going away and relaxing on a beach? What keeps you up at night? If you could wave a magic wand, how would you feel tomorrow? How would you want to feel when you come back from your trip? What would you want your life to look like?

You know, how do you want to wake up and feel every single day? Because we know that through research and through our own personal experiences that travel is so powerful and beneficial to us at different parts of different times in our life. So every time that we travel, we're a different person. We're looking for something different. So meeting your ideal clients where they are during that time in their life and understanding them and having them feel like you are the person who understand them. That's where it become so much easier to convert.

Ros:  Does that then come back to or go into like the purpose of travel? So you mentioned that people will naturally be drawn to you once they understand who you are, you're sharing your story, your values. There is definitely that attraction and that magnet that happens. I see that all the time in good marketing, but is there a deeper purpose? So even when a client is potentially traveling, that changes how you can engage with them.

So between a client and an advisor, I mean, for me, there are times that it can be quite personal. And I can get emotional myself when I'm walking through a journey with a client and the reason why they're going and it sits with me. And I know a hundred percent that that is part of my background and the empath in me that I care deeply without trying to get too attached. And I can be very clear with a client as well to say, well, if you're going to do this, these are the things that I really want you to take with you. Most recently, a client who is quite unwell was advised to not necessarily take their big last trip. And I had to be really clear and it breaks my heart, but as a client and also as an advisor, my duty is to be there to support them and I said, I hear what doctors are telling you, I hear where your heart is, I will do everything in my power to make this trip as seamless as possible. However, I just need to tell you and please as a friend, can you take a note with you? Like just put something in your pocket because if something does happen, then there is a way for us to be able to connect. I don't want it just to something happened to you and then you know, nobody knows who you are and how to get in contact with loved ones or anything. I said, please just do that. And it breaks my heart to have to say it, but there is that deeper connection that I find with clients that become friends as well. And it can get a little bit blurry at times because you're going to be blunt, but also be there to support people. I mean, how do you, how do you not blow the lines? I mean, that's a really big technique in coaching, right?

Sahara: Yeah, I mean, that's what comes, what our coaches learn through the fundamentals and core competencies of coaching of how do you keep that separation and how do you, you know, work on your coaching mindset and how do you build those relationships without crossing boundaries or without implying your own emotions onto their emotions and that influence their decisions. So all of that comes into place and

You know, as you gave that example, you know, there's a big reason why advisors in general, the word advisor is different from the word coach, right? So in the world of coaching, in particular travel coaching, it's really about taking, we'll use that example there of how else could that person have used that experience to help them feel a certain way that they wanted to feel, whether that is the connection that they are leaving with their children or their grandchildren. If it's something that they've never experienced before or feeling that they wanted to accomplish before, since it's their last big trip. So whether you ask about support during there, it's, and this looks different for every coach, because everyone has something that they're passionate, interested in differently that they integrate into their business models but it could be having that person document their journey in some way that they can then share with their family. Or if it's something that as a coach, you can support them by giving them exercise, exercises, physically exercises per se for this client, but exercises that challenge them to do something that they didn't think that they were able or capable of during that trip. Or self-reflection, you know, and how can you help help them stay accountable for for doing what they wanted to do and make the most out of this experience? But yeah, I mean, they're it's really.

That's it's hard. It's, you know, travel because it is a personal thing and you are helping someone have a really meaningful experience. Being able to become a trained coach is really important to a key step to being able to kind of keep those boundaries. And while still taking people on this journey of transformation that they're looking for.

Ros: Yeah, I can understand that completely, that it's very complimentary in so many ways with the different skill sets from the travel advisor and the travel business owner and also being a travel coach to understand the boundaries, the connection, the deeply inherited values of both parties there and what we all want is that journey that transformation, that excitement, those memories. mean, one of my biggest sayings is that I love to help curate experiences for my clients to create those memories themselves that they can come back with and share. And I just, I love that. And I know a lot of my clients love to be able to come home and share the journey and their experience. And it's almost like I can live with them or through, through their experience as well. But I, I hear you with those coaching principles where they can really fit without changing the roles as well. So as a travel advisor, it's a very complimentary skill to have to enhance yourself as a human and as a business owner, but also deeply integrate into what you actually do now as an advisor. So I love that. So do you believe that travel professionals and advisors, they all should become coaches? Or is this something that they can simply integrate different ideas into what they already do?

Sahara: Yeah, I mean, in the Travel Coach Network, our advisors and agents that come to us intentionally want to become certified travel coaches so that they can, you know, learn that skill set that you mentioned, which is really important. Of course, you can always kind of pluck pieces of this into education, into different areas of your business and the journey that you take your clients on and the support and how you work with your clients.

But in order to provide someone with a really meaningful experience or, you know, as the this term transformative travel, transformational travel comes about, it's going to be less of the separation between what's transformative travel and what's just travel, because travel is going to be a transformative journey in its own. And that takes a certain skill set to be able to support someone across their entire journey.

So it is really important for people to become certified in this so that they can understand what does that look like from start to finish and from not only a coaching standpoint, but from a business standpoint as well, because it complements so much about setting yourself apart and your marketing and your branding, just all aspects of your business, building these relationships that get your repeat clients. When you can change their lives through travel, you have a client for life.

Ros:  Yeah, I love that. And becoming certified in it, it's another, it's another area for advisors to showcase their skills. And they, believe it's, you know, very complimentary, as I said, I also think that a lot of advisors intuitively do these sorts of things. But as you say, there are certain skills that you need to learn and understand.

Because there are boundaries, there are these extra things. Is there something that you can share that you see advisors do that you're like, I wish you'd learnt how to do that a little bit differently?

Sahara:Yeah, I think the first thing is, or the thing that stands out the most to me, there's a couple different things, but is figuring out these niches. It's really the traditional way of figuring out your niche and who you serve in as a travel advisor, as like I mentioned, kind of put yourself into these different pillars or these categories. But having these really hyper-specific niches that speak directly to the pain points of your ideal clients.

And is really important. So if we were to ask for those listening and you really to this podcast episode and you were to sit down and write down 5050 pain points about your ideal clients right now, what would you say about them? What would you know about them? And would you be able to go beyond their typical booking preferences and decisions in the past and go beyond?

their loyalty programs and go beyond their interests and what they like to do or go beyond their typical demographics and their income level and all of these things that we're used to talking about when it comes to kind of describing our ideal clients, you have to go beneath the surface and really understand them on a human level. And that difference is going to help you figure out how do I create a niche that's gonna make me stand out, draw in my ideal clients and help me build a travel brand that is going to, that's unlike any others that exist out there who already are in these different traditional categories.

Ros: Do you think one of the hardest things for a travel advisor to do, to write out 50 things because I'm sitting here going, okay, yeah, right. And I don't know, I don't know whether I'd be able to get to 50.

Sahara: Yeah, so I think where a lot of people struggle is you have to be clear on what are you actually trying to sell? So are you trying to sell a certain type of destination? Are you trying to sell a certain style of travel? you trying to sell a certain outcome and experience that people are getting? Like, what are you actually trying to sell here so that you can hone in on the benefits of that? Understanding why it is that your ideal clients need that. Or if you understand, let's say it's a destination that you're selling, it's a cruise experience you're selling, it's an adventure experience you're selling. Who needs that? And what are their pain points? And then what are the benefits of that experience? Being able to really describe and go beneath the surface of the why behind who it is you're serving and why someone should have that sort of experience or go to that certain place or try to stay at that certain type of style of hotel, you have to go beneath the surface and understand the why. What I find a lot of people really struggle with though is unpacking their own why. And so I would also challenge those listening to this episode to unpack your own why for travel. And that is where I see a lot, I get a lot of tears on my private calls with my travel coaches on this because they don't often connect the dots between why they're trying to change the lives of others who travel and who they want to serve and their own personal stories and connection to travel. And that's a tough one.

Ros: Ooh, that is a tough one. So understanding why we travel or why we started.

Sahara: Even in this industry in this first place.

Ros: Why are you in the industry in the first place? I love that and I love the stories that come out from behind that. But as you say, it's that deeper work. It's not the surface level. know one the things. So for me, I used to travel the world and my job was to promote Australia as a destination. And my friends would ask me, know, oh, Rose, I'm going to China. Where should I stay? What should I do? I'm going to Norway. I'm doing this and South America. And I would be able to rattle it all off. So for me though, my transition into the travel space was around, I wanted to come home. I wanted to have the opportunity to talk about different places to clients and give them that experience that I have had. But I also wanted the flexibility and the freedom. So that's quite surface level. And what you're suggesting is that needs to go deeper. Like what, what were other. Yeah, that takes work.

Sahara: Yeah and in order for you to understand, you particular, but in general for a travel advisor to be able to help their clients peel back the layers of their own why, it's really important that you do that work for yourself first. And if you want to create a brand that stands out and that's purpose driven, you have to understand and get to the root of your own why.

And what I often hear people say, you know, if we ask anyone, like, why do you love to travel? Why are you helping? Why are you a travel advisor, travel agent? It's very common to hear things like, I love travel. I've always traveled. Or, you know, I like seeing new sites and trying new foods and, and meeting new people. But that tells us absolutely nothing about what travel actually means to that person and so yeah, it's hard. It took me years to really pull back my own layers and, and speak my truth about travel as well.

Ros: And what it means to you to now have the travel coaching network. So with travel professionals, when they first hear the term travel coach, what misconceptions do you see? What do you hear things that come up for you? Like when people come to you and they're like, I want to be a travel coach. Are there any misconceptions that you hear?

Sahara: Yeah, I mean, people still think that a travel coach is just another term for a travel agent, travel advisor. And so we still have to work really hard on educating what sets us apart and why it's different and why it's complimentary.

Ros: Right. So they are complementary skills to have as an advisor, as a travel coach as well. I think that this is also, it's a really good understanding for a lot of advisors to say, this is the next step. So if you are an advisor out there and you're listening to this saying, I love being an advisor, but you want to do the deeper work. You want to be able to have a complementary skillset that really supports your business, but also your clients. And, you know, as we move into the digital age, even further with AI, I believe that human connection is still going to be at the forefront of everything that we do. And this is another avenue for you to then add into your skillset to maintain those, those relationships and build deeper connections with people because.

That's where I think in yourself, your Sahara, with your experience and what travel means to you has then developed over the years and can certainly help other people as well. So if a travel advisor was listening today and they wanted to experiment with this idea in a small way as well, what's, have you got a question or something that they could try this week in their travel business?

In addition to understanding their why and learning about their clients, are there any other sort of questions that they could ask on a call or when they're getting to know their clients?

Ros:  Yeah, I think some of the ones that I mentioned today is just really understanding like who is this trip calling you to be? You know, where is this motivation coming from? What are you going through in your life right now? And being able to open hold space for your clients to open up and to to share or to reflect on that or giving them an assignment, a reflection, a journal prompt for themselves to go back and really reflect on it, because maybe they don't have the awareness at that moment on the call to share that, but it's something you can give them before you hop on a call with them. So they take the time to do that reflection, to be open, to have that space where they feel okay, to actually be honest of why do they want to get away? What are they actually looking for out of this experience? And because honestly, when you're able to help them do that, it may not be that destination that they think they want to go to or that type of experience they think they want to have. Instead, it might be something a lot different because they really need something that's aligned with the feelings that they want to feel for this trip in particular.

Ros: Yeah, I love that. What excites you most about the future of human connection in travel?

Sahara: I mean, geez, I think the future of travel, I always say the companies that are going to and the travel experts that are going to keep the emotions and human centric side of travel in the forefront of your business, despite all the AI, all the tech, everything that's happening around us are going to be the ones that really succeed moving forward. Because again, travel is emotional, travel is personal. And if these travel, if travel advisors can really hone in on who they are and who they serve and what they want to be known for in this space and the type of transformations and type of journeys that they're really trying to help their ideal clients achieve in their life, then they're going to be the ones that really stand out. There's not going to be replacing any of our emotional connection and people are always going to want that personal guidance, that personal support, that personal recommendations, stories when it comes to travel.

Ros:  Yeah, all about that human connection there and the big heart centered. Sahara, thank you so much for joining me today and for sharing another perspective on how we support travellers beyond just the itinerary as well. I really appreciate the way that you speak about the intention, about human connection, and certainly around helping people travel with more purpose as well, whilst also recognizing the incredible role that travel advisors really play in their clients lives now and into the future as well.

So for those that are listening and feel curious and want to learn a little bit more about Sahara's work and explore what the travel coaching network or the travel coach network is all about, we will include all the links and details in the show notes so that you can learn your own time and see if it aligns with where you are on your journey. I highly recommend that you check it out. And as always, see what resonates with you, leave what doesn't, and remember that the relationships that you already build with your clients is incredibly powerful. And that's what it comes down to at the end of the day. Sahara, where is the best place for listeners to connect with you or learn more?

Sahara: Yeah, thank you so much. You can find us at thetravelcoachnetwork.com or @thetravelcoachnetwork across all of our social channels.

Ros: I love it. Thank you so much for being here with me today for sharing your journey and also the Travel Coach Network. I really look forward to catching up with you over the next couple of months as well as we both meet up in San Diego at the ASTA Conference where we'll both be sharing the stage. I look forward to that and I appreciate your time today. Thank you so much for sharing everything with our listeners.

Sahara: Thank you for having me.

Ros: All right, everybody, make sure that you go and check out the Travel Coach Network and the work that Sahara does. It is very heart centered. There is a lot that we can implement into our travel businesses as well and use this as a complimentary skill. So check it out. Let me know what your thoughts are. Send me a message. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and I will speak with you all very, very soon. Thanks so much.