Assisting Travelers with Special Needs (self-study)

20-hour e-book course

Special needs travelers represent a promising market for the travel industry. To unlock this business opportunity, travel suppliers and agents must first be able to identify customers who may have special travel needs. Then they must deliver the services that make their journey safe and pleasant. This course provides knowledge and skills in identifying customers who may have special travel needs and require non-emergency special services, support or accommodation from suppliers. Learn important booking procedures and practical advice on how to stay healthy and safe while traveling. Travel agents increase their service value when they request the right support services from cruise, rail, lodging, airline and attraction suppliers on behalf of their special needs travelers.

Course code: TTTG-98

Course format

• This is a self-study course, which will take you approximately 20 hours to complete, depending on your previous knowledge and experience.
• The course materials are provided in e-book format.
• You will have 6 months to complete the course and exam (enrollment validity), which starts from the date you purchase the course.
• Explore engaging, self-customizable interactive features such as audio narration, printable note-taking tool, text highlighting, quick topic searches, interactive knowledge and skill checks, adjustable images and infographics and more.
• Performance will be based on an assessment. Please refer to the Assessment Information below for more details.

Recommended level

The recommended level for this course is Entry-level and Intermediate.

Study with the help of an Instructor

If you would prefer to study this course with the help of a local trainer, enrol at an IATA Authorized Training Center near you.

Registration information

• Please refer to our payment methods and applicable taxes.
• When you click to purchase the course, you will be directed to login to your Training Account through our Customer Portal. If you have previously taken a course with IATA, please have your login details ready, if not, you will be prompted to create an account.

Important: Please note that if you are purchasing courses for more than one person, a Training Account must be created for each individual. Registration and payment must be made through each individual Training Account. You may pay for multiple individuals by using one credit card or bank transfer in each individual’s users Account. If you pay by bank transfer, please attach a copy of the bank transfer issued by the sender’s bank to each individual order. If you are a company wishing to purchase courses for 10 or more employees, please Contact our Customer Service representatives for more information on how to register multiple users.

Upon completing this course you will have the skills to:

• Explain the service needs and business opportunities in the special needs travel market
• Define support services available to travelers with special needs provided by the different non-air travel business sectors
• Identify common airline services available to travelers with special needs, including standard codes and reservation procedures
• Provide advice and assistance to regular passengers traveling abroad and experiencing an emergency health situation

The key topics that are covered during this course include:

• Who are special needs travelers and how are they different or similar to regular travelers?
• Growing your business in the special needs traveler segment
• Which supplier services and support are available for special needs travelers, what to look for and how to secure them
• Best practices in handling the emergency needs of your traveling customers

This course is recommended for:

• Travel business staff and owners, including agencies, reservation centers and operators
• Airport and/or airline passenger services staff
• Medical support services providers

Upon successful completion of the assessment, you will be granted an Award that you can print for your records.

Assessment information

Please read the General Information on Self-study exams

• Method: Unsupervised online exam The assessment can be taken at any time at your convenience.
• Format: 60 multiple-choice questions
• Time allowance: 2 hours
• Passing grade: 70% correct answers
• Number of assessment attempts: 2

Important note: The assessment should be accessed after you have completed the course module. Once you have started the assessment you can no longer access the course module.