Here’s How VisitBritain’s New BritAgent Pro Turns Travel Advisors Into Britain Experts

As many travel advisors know, London sells itself. But what if clients are interested in a “London Plus” vacation — meaning London paired with additional cities — or if they’re repeat visitors who want to skip the capital city altogether? That’s where BritAgent Pro comes in.

Earlier this summer, VisitBritain re-launched its enhanced advisor training program, BritAgent Pro. The program, which is designed to aid travel advisors in helping their clients make the most of their U.K. vacation, comprises training modules for England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, and offers comprehensive content about each destination’s experiences, accommodations, transportation and events.

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"BritAgent Pro represents a strategic leap forward in how travel advisors can discover and market Great Britain,” said  Carl Walsh, senior vice president, USA, for VisitBritain. “We crafted the digital curriculum with advisor priorities top of mind, highlighting key attractions, accommodations, events, and experiences across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This comprehensive approach equips travel professionals with an advanced toolkit to create memorable British travel experiences.” 

Following a Nov. 6, 2024, webinar on the program, I completed the new BritAgent Pro certification, and was impressed by the depth of information the program provides.

Here's what travel advisors should know before signing up.

BritAgent Pro represents a strategic leap forward in how travel advisors can discover and market Great Britain.

BritAgent Pro Content

“Great Britain has a lot to offer,” noted Jonathan Heasman, travel trade manager of national accounts, USA, during the webinar. This includes 64 cities and 32 UNESCO World Heritage Sites — to put that into context, the U.S. has 24 — plus national parks, quaint villages, spectacular coastlines, film and television locations (aka “set-jetting)”, iconic regional foods and drinks and, of course, castles and historic sites.



Therefore, in addition to helping advisors increase their general knowledge of Great Britain, including weather, geography, and key cities or points of interest, the curated learning program also provides detailed information about specific cities and regions, such as must-sees and -dos in Brighton, or “Bridgerton” tours fans can take in Bath.

I particularly appreciated inclusion of maps, which make it easier for advisors and clients to visualize travel time between (or within) destinations during the planning process.

BritAgent Pro Format

The program has five sections: Train, Retain, Promote, Sell and a Directory. Within the Train section, I found the most significant component to be the chapter covering “essentials” (i.e., general information about England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), plus sections for “Getting to Britain” and “Getting around Britain,” which focuses on rail transportation.



The section’s remaining three chapters delve deeper into the four nations within Great Britain, with top-line information about their cities, airports, time zones and currency, as well as details about what clients can see and experience in each destination. Additionally, there’s an image library and clickable, interactive maps. One thing I also appreciated was the periodic knowledge checks, which ensured I was staying engaged and retaining the information.

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The entire program took me only a few hours to complete, but advisors can go at their own pace, and their progress is saved as they go. Best of all, I could access "Sales Companion" content once I completed the course, including bullet-pointed course highlights, reference materials, destination guides, suggested itineraries and sharable images and videos. (The BritAgent Pro Sales Companion is accessible online or via a mobile app.)  

“Our ultimate goal at VisitBritain is to empower advisors with the necessary tools and insights to become true Great Britain experts, enabling them to craft uniquely memorable itineraries to simultaneously retain and attract clients," Walsh said.

The VisitBritain Shop

Advisors can make their clients' travel experience even smoother by taking advantage of the VisitBritain Shop,which offers more than 500 bookable products that can be purchased in advance, including tours, transportation options — like BritRail Passes and Oyster Cards, along with tickets to popular attractions and theater performances — and as VisitBritain Project Manager Tara Didi pointed out during the webinar, when advisors purchase visitor Oyster Cards through the VisitBritain Shop before clients arrive in London, they will already have them ready for train transfers from Gatwick or Heathrow airports to the city center.

Travel Advisors who complete the BritAgent Pro program can take advantage of exclusive discount codes for select products and offerings purchased through the VisitBritain Shop, which can be passed on to clients or retained as commission.

Current discounts accessible through the BritAgent Pro site are 3% on BritRail Passes (for train travel throughout Great Britain), 4% on visitor Oyster cards, travel day cards and group day cards (for train travel within London), along with 6% on most U.K. attractions and tours, including all-inclusive city passes, bus tours, walking tours, sports, activities and television and film tours. Advisors who complete the course can also save 4% on theater tickets.