A credit to the trade: agents receive recognition from peers for efforts to stimulate business. (Retail).(IRIS award winners)

Travel Agent, February, 2003 by Holly, Tricia A.

Every business owner and employee welcomes praise for a job well done. In fact, a study by Forbes in the late nineties found that workers would perform better if they were rewarded with a pat on the back, rather than just a pay increase. In the travel industry, it seems that agents are rarely recognized for their efforts. If anything, retailers often feel penalized, whether it's by the airlines eliminating commissions or the Internet threatening their client base.

MLT Vacations--a wholly owned subsidiary of Northwest Airlines Corp., whose products include Worry-Free Vacations and Northwest Airlines WorldVacations--hopes to put an end to that trend. Indeed, the company last year developed a concept under which agents could be recognized by their peers and...