Photo: Eduardo P (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Job description
Agents talk through a client's plans in detail: where they want to go, when, what they can spend, and what kind of accommodations they need, then use carrier tariff books, hotel rate books, and booking software to price it all out. Selling pre-built tour packages and promotional travel deals is a regular part of the job, alongside collecting payment and keeping accurate records on clients, vendors, and the packages they've booked. Agents also act as a resource before departure, handing over brochures on local customs or entry requirements. The work is desk-based and highly procedural, with real time pressure and frequent contact with travelers who are anxious about getting the details right.
Pros
- Only vocational training or an associate's degree needed, not a four-year degree
- Pay can reach up to $76k for experienced agents, well above entry level
- Varied, detail-oriented work planning itineraries and troubleshooting client travel problems
Cons
- Above-average hours, typically exceeding a standard 40-hour work week
- Relatively small field with only 7,100 positions nationwide, limiting opportunities
- Requires precise, highly structured work while managing frustrated clients over travel issues
A typical day
The queue at 9am holds a retiree pricing an Alaska cruise, a family of five needing spring-break flights that don't connect twice, and a corporate client's conference block to manage. Each booking is a small optimization puzzle -- dates flexed a day here, an airport swapped there -- solved live in the reservation system. Midday brings supplier training on a cruise line's new ships, because knowing the product cold is the edge. The afternoon ends with proactive care: a schedule change hit tomorrow's Denver departure, and every affected client gets a call before the airline's email confuses them.
Tasks at the job
- 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.
- Compute cost of travel and accommodations, using calculator, computer, carrier tariff books, and hotel rate books, or quote package tour's costs.
- Record and maintain information on clients, vendors, and travel packages.
- Provide customer with brochures and publications containing travel information, such as local customs, points of interest, or foreign country regulations.
Workplace & working conditions
Most of the day is spent sitting at a desk.
There's a regular, moderate amount of time pressure, and you're expected to exercise significant independent judgment day to day. Precision and accuracy are essential to the work, and the work is highly structured, following set procedures. You'll regularly deal with frustrated or upset people as part of the job.
Education necessary or common
Vocational training, apprenticeship, or associate's degree
Licenses & certifications
- CTA (Certified Travel Associate)
- TICO or state seller-of-travel registration (where applicable)
Career path
Related fields
Courses to take
- Geography -- destination fluency is table stakes
- Business math -- fares, commissions, and budgets
- English -- clear client communication
- A world language -- serves more travelers
- Computer applications -- reservation system fluency
Clubs, activities & competitions
- Plan group travel for a club or team trip
- FBLA or DECA hospitality events
- A part-time customer-service job
- Geography bee
First steps you can take now
- Learn how airline fare rules work -- basic economy versus refundable is a real education
- Plan a full trip for someone else, including backup options
- Ask a travel agency about part-time or seasonal assistant roles
- Study one destination until you could sell it honestly
