How to become a Travel Agent

Travel Agent is a very popular profession in the work. To become a travel agent you should have to get training and certified from travel institutions, school, college or vocational institution.

What is a travel agent ?

Now-a-day travel industry is a very exciting and vibrant industry. Travel agents simplify the process of planning trips for customer and they work directly work with their customers or clients. They give suggestion about planning trips and tour packages to the customers. 

Actually, they make suggestions based on their client’s experience, budget and mind condition. They generally work with computers or calling by mobile, cruise lines, resorts and rental companies for confirming the security of their clients. Their research over their customers and arrange their tours, travel, resort packages depending on the weather, people safety, geography or location. 

Travel agents are not so busy in the normal season. But when it's season of travel, they become busy to offers their packages, reserve package for the customer at the correct time. In that time they become busy to talk with a customer by telephone, mobile phone and online. But during the off season, when people don't go to tour much, in that time, they research for new places and find which is the best for a tour and enjoy vacation time. 

They research by weather, geography, environment and surroundings. When they complete researches, then they offer new tour packages in the next year. They earn a lot of money during the tour season. Actually travel agent work in the indoor-office most time. They pass more than 40 hours per week for contacting with customer for filling up their demand. Now I want to write articles about how to become a travel agent.

How to become a travel agent

travel agents typically need a high school diploma or equivalent, also need additional training achieved from vocational or technical institute. They also need a certificate for becoming travel agents. These institutions described in the above give certificate on these topics. Moreover, who has four or five year degrees or experience about hospitality can get a benefit to making a successful career in the travel industry. Find the nearest travel institute that offer certificate after completing training. Certificates help your customer to know about you that you are good standing and professional travel agents. Some travel institute offers certificate on several certification programs. These certificates are on Travel Counselor, Travel Associate or Travel Industry Executive. Actually, certificates will help you to get jobs in different travel industries. You should follow the registration requirement, which depends and varies on your country. In fact, to become a travel agent like other profession is a serious and long-term commitment. If you want to success in the travel agent sector, you have to spend your valuable time, effort, money for receiving training and getting certified by travel school, college or institutions. It will make you, better for your work performance and as a result, your sales will be increased and then you will be able to be a professional travel agent. Learning foreign languages is optional, but it will help you much if you know different kind of foreign languages.

All of these are about travel agents, formal educational qualifications. To become a travel agent you also need many other qualifications. You must have a good knowledge about computer and internet technologies. Because most of the travel resort is reserved and booked via online. Moreover, you have to know to know about geography for serving the guide for your customers. It is very important and essential for a travel agent, he must have skill about customer relationship and interpersonal skill for working face-to-face and on the phone with his clients on a daily basis. Improving your speaking method is a great way to hold the attention of your clients. If your speaking method is not so good, you can get training on this subject. Another major fact is that a travel agent should excel his time management and have to skill on active listening. Because he has to select best packages for his clients depending on client budget, needs, choice and requirements. Then he selects best packages for his clients. He should also manage offers and savings on any tour packages.

To become a travel agent online, you can choose home based or agency based service.

• You can find a home based travel agency.

• Work with and established travel agency online. Don’t work with any cheater or temporary travel agency. Most of these travel agencies allow working you online with them. They share their resources with you and maintain computerized system and give you to chance of directly work them. This co-operating system will also help you find a travel agents job quickly.

• Also try to find host agencies if you can open or start your own, independent and free travel agency. Some company will help you to do this, but all of them are not honest. So, be careful when finding a host agency that will help you to create own agency. Don’t invest your money in any fake hosted travel agencies. Sometimes, some host agencies don’t give perfect training and don’t serve essential topics what you need. Actually, the host agency offers different kinds of travel agent supports, marketing agent supports and back to back office supports and allows accessing all kind of reservation portal and all kind of travel suppliers.

There’s also a factor that you can work as direct employees in different travel agencies or you can work as an independent contractor. The direct employees work in a travel agency where agency owns all office space, equipment and supplies. Agents only need to do work with them. On the other hand, if you are an independent contractor, that means you own all of your requirements for opening a travel agency. You have to own all things like office space and other requirements, including computer, mobile phone, telephone and necessary office service. Independent workers also work in the host agencies.

It is a common question that how much money a travel agent can earn. It’s totally depended and varies in every person. A travel agent can earn as much money as he like depending on his sales how professional he is.

Joining a travel agent's forum and discussion can increase your knowledge area and experience on this sector. You can learn knowledge from members of these groups, forums or discussion and you can share your knowledge, experience, ideas and techniques about the travel industry. It’s also helped you to know the latest update, news and trends in the travel industry.

Conclusion

At all, a travel agent is a great profession for people who want to like travel. I think it would be a great profession for you. Just be patience, honest, polite, smart, well behaved, work hard, be industrious and then you will be succeed in this sector. This is an important factor that never think for earning money, but always thinks twice for customer satisfaction. Customer is the source of your income. So, if can satisfy the customers by you manner, speaking and courtesy, you will be succeed soon. Sometimes, customer can misbehave with you. But you will not misbehave back to them. Just try to keep quite and be smart in you workplace.