Education:
37%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)
31%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
Travel Agent
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Job Outlook:
As fast as average
Education:
High school diploma or equivalent
Work From Home
Salary
High:
$64,100.00
Average:
$48,250.00
Hourly
Average:
$23.20
What they do:
Plan and sell transportation and accommodations for customers. Determine destination, modes of transportation, travel dates, costs, and accommodations required. May also describe, plan, and arrange itineraries and sell tour packages. May assist in resolving clients' travel problems.
On the job, you would:
- Collect payment for transportation and accommodations from customer.
- Plan, describe, arrange, and sell itinerary tour packages and promotional travel incentives offered by various travel carriers.
- Converse with customer to determine destination, mode of transportation, travel dates, financial considerations, and accommodations required.
Important Qualities
Communication skills. Travel agents must listen to clients’ travel needs and offer travel advice and information that meet those needs.
Customer-service skills. Travel agents must be able to interact with clients and respond to questions and complaints in a friendly, professional manner.
Detail oriented. Travel agents must ensure that the reservations they make are for the dates, times, and locations that match travelers’ schedules.
Organizational skills. Travel agents often work on itineraries for many clients at once. Ability to keep information in order and to ensure that bills and receipts are processed in a timely manner is essential.
Sales skills. Travel agents must be able to persuade clients to buy transportation, lodging, or tours.
Personality
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Characteristics of this Career |
|---|---|---|---|
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92% | Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. | |
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76% | Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical. | |
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67% | Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. | |
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66% | Self-Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Strengths |
|---|---|---|---|
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100% | Enterprising - Work involves managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations. Enterprising occupations are often associated with business initiatives, sales, marketing/advertising, finance, management/administration, professional advising, public speaking, politics, or law. | |
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78% | Conventional - Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Values of the Work Environment |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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61% | Relationships - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. |
Aptitude
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Abilities | Cognitive, Physical, Personality |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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78% | Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. | |
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75% | Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. | |
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75% | Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. | |
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72% | Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. | |
|
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72% | Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. | |
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72% | Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
Job Details
Responsibilities
Record operational details of travel.
Process sales or other transactions.
Gather customer or product information to determine customer needs.
Calculate costs of goods or services.
Prepare sales or other contracts.
Sell products or services.
Distribute promotional literature or samples to customers.
Retrieve information from electronic sources.
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Attributes & Percentage of Time Spent |
|---|---|---|---|
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100% | Telephone - How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? | |
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100% | Electronic Mail - How often do you use electronic mail in this job? | |
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97% | Spend Time Sitting - How much does this job require sitting? | |
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95% | Importance of Being Exact or Accurate - How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job? | |
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86% | Contact With Others - How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? | |
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86% | Deal With External Customers - How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job? | |
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83% | Structured versus Unstructured Work - To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals? | |
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76% | Letters and Memos - How often does the job require written letters and memos? | |
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76% | Face-to-Face Discussions - How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? | |
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76% | Freedom to Make Decisions - How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer? | |
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72% | Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results - What results do your decisions usually have on other people or the image or reputation or financial resources of your employer? | |
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72% | Level of Competition - To what extent does this job require the worker to compete or to be aware of competitive pressures? | |
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70% | Degree of Automation - How automated is the job? | |
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69% | Frequency of Decision Making - How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization? | |
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68% | Time Pressure - How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines? | |
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68% | Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls - How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls? |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Tasks & Values |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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90% | Working with Computers - Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information. | |
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89% | Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. | |
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81% | Communicating with People Outside the Organization - Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail. | |
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77% | Performing for or Working Directly with the Public - Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests. | |
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73% | Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships - Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. | |
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72% | Processing Information - Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data. | |
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70% | Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge - Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job. | |
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70% | Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. | |
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69% | Selling or Influencing Others - Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions. | |
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69% | Documenting/Recording Information - Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form. | |
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69% | Performing Administrative Activities - Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork. |
What Travel Agents Do
Travel agents offer advice on destinations, plan trip itineraries, and make travel arrangements for clients.
Travel agents sell transportation, lodging, and admission to entertainment activities to individuals and groups planning trips. They offer advice on destinations, plan trip itineraries, and make travel arrangements for clients.
Duties
Travel agents typically do the following:
- Arrange travel for business and vacation clients
- Determine clients’ needs and preferences, such as schedules and costs
- Plan and arrange tour packages, excursions, and day trips
- Find fare and schedule information
- Calculate total travel costs
- Book reservations for travel, hotels, rental cars, and special events, such as tours and excursions
- Describe trips to clients and advise about local customs and attractions
- Give details on required documents, such as passports and visas, and on complying with cross-border entry requirements, such as health and safety protocols
- Make alternative booking arrangements if changes arise before or during the trip
Travel agents sort through vast amounts of information to find and arrange the best trip options for travelers. In addition, resorts and specialty groups use travel agents to promote vacation packages to their clients.
Travel agents may visit destinations to get firsthand experience so that they can make recommendations to clients. They visit hotels, resorts, and restaurants to evaluate the comfort, cleanliness, and quality of establishments. Self-employed travel agents may have additional responsibilities related to running their business, such as recordkeeping, managing staff, and marketing. However, travel agents most of their time talking with clients, promoting tours, and contacting airlines and hotels to make travel accommodations.
The following are examples of types of travel agents:
Leisure travel agents sell vacation packages to the public. They are responsible for arranging trip itineraries based on clients’ interests and budget. Leisure travel agents often focus on a specific geographic area or type of travel, such as adventure tours. Some cater to a specific group, such as students or single people.
Corporate travel agents, also called travel coordinators, primarily make travel arrangements for businesses. They book transportation and accommodations for an organization’s employees who are traveling to conduct business or attend conferences.
Work Environment
Travel agents held about 66,300 jobs in 2022. The largest employers of travel agents were as follows:
| Travel arrangement and reservation services | 62% |
| Self-employed workers | 18 |
Travel agents typically spend much of their day sitting, working on the phone and on the computer. Agents may face stress during travel emergencies or unanticipated schedule changes.
Work Schedules
Most travel agents work full time, although part-time work is common. Some work additional hours during peak travel times or when they must accommodate clients’ schedule changes and last-minute needs.
Getting Started
How to Become a Travel Agent
Good communication and computer skills are essential for travel agents.
A high school diploma typically is required to become a travel agent. However, employers may prefer to hire candidates who have sales experience or relevant certification or education. Communication and customer service skills are essential.
Education
Travel agents typically need at least a high school diploma to enter the occupation, but employers may prefer to hire candidates who have a college degree or who have taken courses related to the travel industry.
Community colleges, vocational schools, and industry associations may offer technical training, certificates, or continuing education in professional travel planning. In addition, some 4-year colleges offer degrees in travel and tourism. Courses usually focus on reservations systems, marketing, and regulations regarding international travel.
Training
Employers in the travel industry typically provide on-the-job training that lasts at least 1 month. This training covers topics such as how to operate computer systems that are used in the industry. For example, a travel agent could be trained to work with a reservation system used by several airlines.
Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations
High school graduates with limited experience may demonstrate competence by taking the Travel Agent Proficiency (TAP) test. The test has no eligibility requirements, but study and preparation may be required. The test is administered by The Travel Institute.
The Travel Institute also provides training and professional credentials for travel agents at three different experience levels. These credentialing programs are the Certified Travel Associate (CTA), Certified Travel Counselor (CTC), and Certified Travel Industry Executive (CTIE). To maintain the credential, each program requires continuing education annually.
The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) offers credentialing and educational programs for those seeking to become a travel agent. ASTA offers the Verified Travel Advisor (VTA) program and the ASTA Roadmap to Becoming a Travel Advisor.
The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) offers four levels of certification: Certified (CCC), Accredited (ACC), Master (MCC), and Elite Cruise Counselor (ECC). Each level requires a certain amount of training and product knowledge.
Some states require travel agents to have a business license, to register with the state, or to meet other conditions. Requirements vary by state. Contact individual state licensing agencies for more information.
Other Experience
Some agencies prefer to hire travel agents who have extensive traveling experience. These agencies especially prefer travel agents who focus on particular destinations or types of travelers, such as groups with a special interest or corporate travelers. Agencies also may prefer to hire travel agents who have sales experience.
Job Outlook
Employment of travel agents is projected to grow 3 percent from 2022 to 2032, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
About 8,600 openings for travel agents are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Employment
Demand is projected to increase for travel agents’ expertise in recommending options to clients seeking personalized travel experiences. People are expected to continue relying on travel agents for their advice on popular or unique destinations and for their ability to handle travel issues.
However, the ability of travelers to use online resources to research vacations and book their own trips may limit demand for travel agents.
Contacts for More Information
For more information about training opportunities and optional certificates, visit
American Society of Travel Agents
Similar Occupations
This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of travel agents.
| Occupation | Job Duties | Entry-Level Education | Median Annual Pay, May 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Information Clerks |
Information clerks perform routine clerical duties, maintain records, collect data, and provide information to customers. |
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|
Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners |
Meeting, convention, and event planners arrange all aspects of events and professional gatherings. |
Bachelor's degree | $52,560 |
|
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants |
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High school diploma or equivalent | $44,080 |