Expert advice makes travel abroad memorable

Travelers these days are inundated with information, alluring videos, four-color brochures, guide books, Web sites and toll-free hot lines that provide captivating information about a myriad of destinations, cities and countries.

Too often, however, the materials contain misleading, inaccurate or dated information.

Airline Web sites and online travel agencies can provide the public with unprecedented access, prices and reservations for airlines, hotels and rental cars But they're less useful for travelers trying to plan a complicated, individualized itinerary based on first-hand recommendations from experienced individuals who are personally familiar with the places they'd like to visit.

Historically, traditional travel agencies have claimed to fill that role, but over the past decade, computerization, commission cuts and agency downsizing have turned many agents into travel reservationists.

To complicate the problem, there's also been a worldwide explosion in the number of places to visit, as well as the options.

While there's no way anyone can know everything, it's always comforting to get advice from someone who's been where you want to go. Recognizing this disconnect, an increasing number of countries have established formal travel agent programs. In Europe, at least 10 nations now operate such programs.

The Scottish Tourist Board, a pioneer in these educational efforts, has operated its Specialist Counselor on Travel to Scotland program since 1986, and in that time it has certified more than 500 American travel agents. Completing the SCOTS course requires an agent to invest some 90 hours of study and participate in continuing education and familiarization trips to Scotland.

The Holland Travel Professional Program was launched in 1992. Switzerland has 600 certified Switzerland Network Specialists. There's an Austrian Certified Travel Specialist program, a Scandinavian Travel Agent Registry, and Ireland has more than 600 members in its Shamrock Club. Within the past year, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Hungary and Britain have initiated similar programs. Germany has plans to introduce one in the near future.

While these programs vary considerably in the amount of study and rigor involved in achieving certification, all serve to help participants -- travel professionals who most likely already have a passion about a particular country -- become and stay informed about the intricacies of visiting there. In addition, it provides them with a credential to certify their expertise.

This is not to suggest that only travel agents who have been certified can put together satisfactory trips; many agents have lots of knowledge and in-country experience but haven't participated in the program.

Nor does certification guarantee that an agent will know all there is to know. But it certainly helps them provide their clients with personal insights that help ensure a trip suited to their tastes. Accreditation also indicates agents' willingness to invest the time and money to do their jobs better, which is always a good sign. When undertaking a trip that may cost many thousands of dollars, the knowledge these experts can provide is worth many hours of running around. That advice probably won't be free, but it may be the difference between a good trip and a great one.

The only downside of these programs is that there aren't more agents who can provide this level of counseling. Participation in even the largest of these programs is very limited in terms of the number of travel agents out there. For example, the well-established and well-regarded Dutch program has certified only about 1,000 agents in the United States, and finding a country-certified agent in any given area can be difficult.

Furthermore, few travel agencies these days can afford to invest in this sort of education for staff members. Nor can they afford to advertise the particular expertise of any of their agents.

Generally, the best place to start searching for a country expert is to contact its national tourist board. It can either provide names of participants in its programs or forward names to the agencies for a referral. Several countries list certified agents on their Web sites, but most often the best way is to call. Even if a country does not have a formal program, it may be able to supply a short list of agents with particular expertise in the country.

Here's contact information for the programs mentioned above:

Austria -- 212-944-6880; www.anto.com

Britain -- 310-470-2782; www.btausa.com

Hungary -- 212-355-0240; www.gotohungary.com

Ireland -- 800-669-9967; www.irelandvacations.com

Holland -- 888-446-5526; www.holland.com

Portugal -- 212-354-4403; www.portugal.org

Scandinavia -- 212-885-9700; www.goscandinavia.com

Scotland -- www.toscotland.com

Spain -- 1-877-465-2777; www.okspain.org

Switzerland -- 212-757-5944; www.myswitzerland.com

And here's a selection of local travel agents who've achieved certification in one or more of these European programs; apologies in advance to anyone we've missed.

Ed LeMay -- Mon Valley Travel (Holland, Switzerland, Austria, Scandinavia, Britain)

Virginia Hively -- Mon Valley Travel (Ireland)

Janet Cornell -- Gulliver's Travel (Scotland, Ireland)

Bob Thompson -- Ambassador Travel (Austria, Holland)

Linda DeBlasio -- Carlson-Wagonlit (Holland)

Jean Farrand -- Carlson-Wagonlit (Britain, Holland, Scandinavia)

Joseph Kiernan -- Carlson-Wagonlit (Britain)

Sigrid Kiernan -- Carlson-Wagonlit (Switzerland, Germany, Hungary)

Bodir Smith -- Carlson Wagonlit (Scandinavia)

Micki Tomko -- Carlson Wagonlit (Germany)

Catherine Case -- Crown Travel (Britain)

Maria Moreau -- Navigant Travel (Austria)

Barbara Webber Poloway -- Forbes Navigant (Holland)

Marianne Meehan -- Affatigato Travel (Holland)

Congratulations to all for their professional commitment. As travel planning becomes more of a faceless, commodity service, a knowledgeable expert is good to find.