Peer networking and support is a vital and often neglected support mechanism within the travel agent community, the conference was told, using a personal narrative of business crisis and recovery as a central theme. It argued that agents often operate in isolation, which can prevent them from seeking or receiving help during difficult periods until it is too late. The core proposal was for stronger, proactive relationships among members to create a safety net and a knowledge-sharing resource.
Ciara Mooney of Freedom Travel told the annual conference of the Irish Travel Agents Association in Alcobaca in Portugal that she expanded too quickly, opening three agencies in three years before facing a near-collapse in the fourth. She credited a frank phone call from another agent at a funeral, who warned her to close two offices to save the business, as a pivotal intervention that demonstrated the power of direct peer connections.
The speaker framed the newly formed Membership and Engagement Committee as a mechanism to formalise these vital connections, enabling agents to know each other well enough to recognise and respond to signs of struggle. She compared an isolated agent to someone drowning in the ocean while appearing to have fun, emphasising the need for a community built on constancy and perseverance where members learn from each other’s mistakes.
Mooney invited all agents and suppliers, regardless of their business size, to participate in the committee’s upcoming networking session on 28 November. She positioned the initiative as inclusive and essential for collective resilience, drawing on her own experience of rebuilding a successful career with community support.
Thepresentation was a call to action for greater openness and collaboration within the trade, highlighting that shared experience and honest communication are critical tools for navigating the industry’s inherent challenges and sustaining long-term business health.
Ciara Mooney shared:”I remember a call from another very close agent friend of mine… He picked up the phone and said, you’re either going to have to close two of them offices, or you’re going to lose your business.”
“It’s like seeing somebody out in the ocean and they’re flapping around. It looks like they’re having great fun. They could be drowning.”
“The relationships that we’re trying to form are to get to know each other and to be able to pick up the phone, we are here to learn from each other.”
