Local travel agent honored

Metro Wire Staff

A Stevens Point-based travel agent has been honored by a trade organization.

TravelAge West has announced that professional travel advisor Lina Sutton, owner of Stevens Point travel agency Go Wander Travel Co., has been selected once again to participate in the Future Leaders in Travel Retreat, this time as a Guide for the 2023 event.

Guides are a select group of individuals who are chosen based on their accomplishments, dedication to the industry, and active participation in the previous year’s retreat.

The Future Leaders in Travel Retreat is a three-and-a-half-day event that brings together the next generation of travel advisors and suppliers through small-group business appointments, collaborative content sessions, an outdoor activity, and immersive networking events. Future Leaders is designed to provide attendees with new ideas for conducting business and build professional relationships that will last a lifetime.

This year’s event will take place at the Hyatt Ziva/Zilara Rose Hall in Jamaica from Aug. 27-30.

To qualify as an advisor participant, individuals must be between the ages of 22 and 37, be a full-time seller of travel, have a passion for professionalism, show enthusiasm for impacting the future of travel, and be inspired to find new and better ways to sell travel.

Only a select few advisors were chosen to participate as Guides from the group of 2022 attendees. Those selected are responsible to help first-time attendees navigate the event, encourage lasting connections and get the most out of the Future Leaders in Travel Retreat. Guides also assist in the educational portion of the event, whether that be a workshop facilitator, panelist, or moderator.

“In this industry, when we have the opportunity to get a bunch of rockstars and like-minded people in the same room, that’s where the magic really happens,” Sutton said in a news release. “Attending the Future Leaders in Travel Retreat last year truly changed the trajectory of my career in travel for the better. I walked away from that experience with so many wonderful new professional relationships and connections. It inspired me to make strategic changes to my business model, leading to a personal record of revenue growth. I am thrilled to be invited back to the Future Leaders in Travel Retreat this year as a Guide so that I can share my experiences and insights with a new generation of travel advisors.”