Travel agents act as "middle men" between tour operators, airlines, hotels and paying customers. They ensure customers have all their specifications met when abroad in terms of hotel type and facilities, flight times and tourist excursions. You can't become a travel agent overnight, but the process is fairly straightforward.
Contact local travel agents and enquire if they have any trainee programs for shadowing an experienced travel agent and learning skills on the job. Alternatively, apply for a position as a reservation clerk or receptionist and you can gain a full agent role with experience and additional training. This is probably the quickest route into the travel industry, but most travel agents require qualifications, in addition to enthusiasm.
Learn a foreign language. This can be a daunting process, but due to the nature of the industry, being fluent in another language gives you a huge advantage in sorting out foreign hotel bookings and liaising with foreign tour operators. You can study a new language either through a community college or by enrolling in a home-study course. Home-study courses have the advantage of allowing you to learn at your own pace. So if you put the hours in, you can learn a new language fast.
Check with your local community college to see if they have a course to learn travel agent skills. These courses are usually short in duration (2-3 months) and will familiarize you with the intricacies of the travel agency business. Vocational schools also run full-time travel agent programs, usually lasting a year. However, a degree in travel and tourism or business may be required by larger travel agencies, and these can take up to three years to complete.
Improve your computer skills. Computers play a key role in the travel industry for booking hotels via online databases, navigating airline websites, or simply learning how to optimize search results to find the right vacations for your customers. Take a computer skills course at your local community college (usually lasting a month or two), or simply enhance your skills in your own time by taking online tutorials related to the travel field. The quicker you become computer savvy, the quicker you can enter the industry.
Keep abreast of developments in the travel industry. Buy travel magazines so you are familiar with changing trends, such as the types of people who travel the most and the destinations they prefer. Improving your knowledge means you are much more likely to impress in an interview and gain employment quickly.
