Travel advisors who want to finish their Verified Travel Advisor (VTA) certification in 2026 now have a compressed alternative to the self-paced program. The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) will run a VTA Virtual Intensive for its members Dec. 7-11, pairing two days of live virtual instruction with a single comprehensive exam.
ASTA Streamlines Certification
In its standard format, VTA is self-paced, and advisors take a separate exam for each module. Intensive participants instead get early access to materials for the four VTA courses, which ASTA strongly encourages them to review before the live sessions. Class time is devoted to practical examples, case studies and expert guidance on key topics and the module exams are replaced by one 60-question test that advisors complete at their convenience after the training.
The legal team behind the program’s curriculum leads the sessions: Peter Lobasso, ASTA’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Certification and Policy Enforcement, and Elizabeth Allred, ASTA’s Corporate Counsel. Training runs 1-3:30 p.m. ET on Monday, Dec. 7, and Tuesday, Dec. 8, for five hours of instruction across the two days. From Wednesday, Dec. 9, participants can take the exam online at any point before 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 11, so the full program, from the first live session to the final exam deadline, fits within one week before year-end.
Whichever format advisors choose, certification requires current ASTA membership, and supplier members do not qualify. Advisors must also document $500,000 in travel sales over their careers and pass either the four VTA core courses or the single intensive course. The intensive carries a discounted member price of $399.
Advisors who signed up for the self-paced certification and still have it in progress can switch formats. They may request a transfer into the intensive, where they would finish by taking the comprehensive exam, by emailing askasta@asta.org. Advisors whose host agency or consortium offers subsidies or discounts for VTA are also eligible to participate, and anyone who runs into problems using a promotional code should contact the same address.
For more information, visit asta.org.
