Picture a glass-roofed double-decker bus threading through central London whilst you tuck into a four-course gourmet meal. One travel agent will experience exactly that if they can sit through enough training modules before March 2026.
TIPTO launched the competition on Tuesday, dangling a Bustronome dining experience for two as the reward for agents who complete every supplier training course on its platform. The prize celebrates freshly updated content from Fred.Holidays, one of 26 tour operators and travel brands in the membership group.
The Bustronome element isn’t subtle. Passengers eat whilst the bus rolls past Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament and Tower Bridge—a deliberately Instagrammable prize designed to stand out in a sector where incentives typically lean towards fam trips or shopping vouchers.
To enter, agents must achieve Gold Star status by working through all available supplier modules at TIPTO’s online portal. Those who already hold that status need to complete the new Fred.Holidays content to maintain their standing and secure entry into the draw. One winner will be selected at random once the competition closes on 31 March 2026, with notification following in April.
The training itself covers what TIPTO describes as the “hints and tips” needed to convert enquiries into confirmed bookings—a pressure point for agents navigating commission structures and customer indecision. Modules span the organisation’s full supplier roster, which includes Abercrombie & Kent, AmaWaterways, Ambassador Cruise Line, Royalton Hotels & Resorts, CroisiEurope, Do Something Different, DriveAway, Exoticca, Fred.Holidays, Gold Medal, Holiday Extras, Hurtigruten, Intrepid, JG Travel Group, Leger Shearings Group, Newmarket Holidays, Playa Hotels & Resorts, RateHawk, RCD Hotels, Red Sea Holidays, Scenic & Emerald Cruises, SPL Villas, Titan, Travelpack, USAirtours and Virgin Voyages.
TIPTO has operated since 1999, making this its 27th year supporting UK travel agents and homeworkers. Beyond online training, the group runs up to 35 face-to-face events annually—roadshows where agents meet suppliers directly and pick up product knowledge that’s harder to absorb through screens.
The extended timeline raises questions about maintaining momentum. Most agent competitions run for weeks, not 15 months. Whether that duration reflects confidence in engagement levels or acknowledgment that comprehensive training takes time remains unclear.
For Fred.Holidays, the revamped module represents a fresh push for visibility within a crowded supplier lineup. Training content doubles as marketing—the more agents know about a product, the more likely they are to sell it when customers walk through the door or land in their inbox.
Agents can register or log in now through TIPTO’s website to begin working through the modules. The competition targets professionals across the UK and Ireland, though exact eligibility numbers weren’t disclosed.
By April 2026, one agent will swap their desk for a moving restaurant with panoramic views. The rest will at least have Gold Star status and, theoretically, sharper sales skills. Whether that trade-off feels worthwhile likely depends on how much they enjoy online training—and how badly they want that lunch.
