"Nexion Veterans in Travel" Scholarship Program Helps Veterans Become Business Owners

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Travel Leaders Group and Nexion, the travel industry's premier host travel agency, are introducing a new program for military veterans that provides scholarships to cover the full cost of tuition for training to become an independent travel consultant. In addition, once participants are ready to launch their agency, Nexion will waive all membership fees for eligible scholarship recipients for up to 24 months.  The program has been officially endorsed by AMVETS (American Veterans), one of the country's leading military veterans support and advocacy organizations.

Recipients of the Nexion Veterans in Travel scholarships will attend the award-winning, multi-course Travel Leaders of Tomorrow Virtual Campus training program featuring highly experienced instructors, comprehensive online courses, weekly live instruction in a small study group and guidance in preparing a business plan for their future travel agency. Tuition for the full program normally costs $1,800. Nexion and Travel Leaders of Tomorrow are both part of Travel Leaders Group, one of the country's largest travel agency companies.

"The travel agent profession is very much thriving and growing," said Jackie Friedman, CTC, CTIE, President of Nexion.  "We are in need of a greater number of travel professionals and it's an occupation that offers tremendous flexibility in terms of schedule and location with many agents working from home. It would be an ideal career choice for many veterans."  Friedman added, "Once they are ready to establish their agency, they will receive support through Nexion coaching and peer mentorship. In fact, we have a number of Nexion travel professionals who have a military background and have volunteered to serve as professional mentors to those who graduate from Nexion Veterans in Travel."

Ninan Chacko, CTC, CEO of Travel Leaders Group, stated, "At Travel Leaders Group, we are very excited about this opportunity to help veterans launch an enjoyable and successful new career and to further foster our efforts to give back to our communities and make a positive impact on people's lives. We encourage others in the travel community to join us in developing employment opportunities for those who have served our country."

Added Sherman Gillums, Jr., Chief Strategy Officer for AMVETS, "Our programs holistically tackle civilian transition challenges for veterans in the areas of healthcare, benefits, and job opportunities. For some, a 9 to 5 job is great, but for a growing number of veterans, career opportunities that are flexible, profitable, and self-empowering are the preferred path. The Nexion Veterans in Travel scholarship program, along with the Travel Leaders of Tomorrow training curriculum, is an excellent opportunity for interested veterans, and we are very grateful to these organizations for their meaningful support."

Friedman emphasized that previous travel industry experience is not required to become a travel agent. "Through training, we teach people the technical and business skills to become a travel advisor. Broader attributes such as strong communications and organizational ability, leadership, drive and compassion are the kinds of characteristics that make for a good travel professional. During the admissions interview process, those are among the types of skills we will be screening for prior to acceptance into the program."

Independent travel consultants who join the Nexion host agency network receive a wide range of benefits and services including ticketing, operations and fulfillment support, along with technology, marketing and continuing education.

Additional information on Veterans in Travel, along with scholarship applications, are available on the Nexion Veterans in Travel website www.veteransintravel.com.

Additional information on the Nexion host agency network can be found at https://join.nexion.com/.

Nexion LLC
Nexion® is a fully licensed, bonded and accredited host agency, offering membership to independent travel professionals since 1995. As part of Travel Leaders Group, Nexion provides ticketing, operations and fulfillment support to independent travel professionals coupled with best-in-class tools, technology, marketing, education and support. Nexion is the complete host agency for multi-agent agencies, corporate agencies, experienced agents and those new to the industry.

Travel Leaders Group
Travel Leaders Group (www.travelleadersgroup.com) is transforming travel with a commitment to our vacation and business travel clients through our progressive approach toward each unique travel experience. Having already assisted millions of travelers, Travel Leaders Group manages leisure, business and franchise travel operations under a variety of diversified divisions and brands, including All Aboard Travel, ALTOUR, Andrew Harper Travel, Colletts Travel, CruCon, Cruise Specialists, Nexion, Protravel International, SinglesCruise.com, Travel Leaders Corporate, Travel Leaders Network and Tzell Travel Group. With over 7,000 agency locations, Travel Leaders Group ranks as one of the industry's largest traditional travel agency companies.

AMVETS
AMVETS (American Veterans) is the nation's most inclusive Congressionally-chartered veterans service organization, representing the interests of 20 million veterans. AMVETS is open to and fighting for all who honorably served in the United States military, including the Reserve and Guard. With more than 250,00 members nationwide, we are veterans serving veterans.

2018: Year of the Travel Agent
Travel Leaders Group has named 2018 Year of the Travel Agent. Over the last decade, the travel agency industry has flourished through technology, the growth of travel options and personalized service. Travel Leaders Group represents approximately 52,000 travel agents with unmatched expertise in 135,000 destinations and 53,000 areas of interest. Travelers and suppliers have rediscovered the value a professional travel advisor delivers to the travel experience. Travel agents help to move people around the world, and keep our economy growing. www.YearofTheTravelAgent.com

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SOURCE Nexion