Hound finds 'hidden jobs'
   Send a Friend Free Trial
Forgot Your Password?
  How Hound Can Help You
Search Jobs Direct from Employer Career Pages

Need Help? Call us at (800) 680-7231
Keywords Location  Organization

example: Counselor

example: Greensboro, NC or 27401

+ Browse Jobs   + Advanced Search   + Preferences   + Search Tips

Jobs >> Jobs Articles >> Career Feature >> How to Become a Travel Agent?

  Resources

Career Feature (570)
Self Improvement (146)
Featured Employers (416)
Interview & Resume Tips (187)
The Scoop (1)
Career Feature

How to Become a Travel Agent?

 Dated: 01-28-2010

Getting the job of a travel agent, or becoming a travel agent requires credibility. The need for experienced travel agents is widening as more people travel for business and pleasure. Although this is not a very high-paying career, it has the advantages of getting to learn about new and different places, without needing to travel.

Membership to Hound gives you instant access to over 70,000 employer jobs. Enter your email address below to become a Houndie.

Email Address (Used as your profile ID)
  
 

While there are no fixed educational degrees for those interested in pursuing a career of a travel agent, a degree in liberal arts or business can help and may come in handy.

Attend a certificate or associate program in business travel. These programs complement most of the liberal arts and business training equally well. Learning a second language as Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, etc, will also help in building networks and relationships with customers. This particular ability is invaluable to a travel agent, especially in organizations that focus on international travel.




Use online search engines to research agencies that are hiring and personalize your letter with words that are descriptive and display creativity. Ask your family, friends or colleagues for inputs.

Try to meet up and communicate with college students, business and organization for the dates of group travel and save them for the best rates available. If you've landed the job of a travel agent, it is also prudent to consider other employment opportunities since business travel can be volatile as the stock market.

If you still feel the need for additional training, you can choose to take a week-long travel agent course at a community college to learn the fundamentals. You can also consider working as a ticketing agent for a solid background in the travel industry. For this, you will also need a certain amount of computer knowledge. This is because travel agents conduct much of their business through the computer. Also, don't forget to read a variety of travel magazines to keep up with current trends in the industry.

Additionally, check with your State Department of Commerce to any registration or certification requirements for travel agents.



Related Articles
 Create Job Alert   |    Email to Friend   |  




Browse Jobs  |   Search Jobs by Industry  |   Our Sites