Travel Agent Jobs

These are most exciting times for the tourism industry. It is growing at an exponential pace. And you can benefit by starting your home-based travel agency. If you wish to do well, you need to keep a keen eye on customer preferences. To become a travel agent, you should develop a portfolio of skills. This could translate your venture into quite a profitable one. So, why not work towards becoming a successful home-based travel agent?

The world is surely discovering itself. More and more people travel to destinations, old and new. The purpose could be leisure, family outing, business meeting or adventure. Whatever the motivation, the customer looks for a unique and personalized experience at the end of the trip. When you become a travel agent, you need to put yourself in the customer's shoes and approach a solution in that perspective. You need to set out all the factors that could affect the client's satisfaction. You should then work collaboratively to make the most out of the available factors. This calls for clear thinking and great organizing abilities.

The idea of a home-based travel agency is not so intimidating after all. The travel and tourism sector is people-centric and small operators can actually make a big difference. As a home-based travel agent you might be able to create and develop longstanding customer relationships.

With a home-based travel agency, you can focus on a niche area and provide better service. Large agencies often grapple with pressure on shrinking margins and rising administrative costs. The casualty in such circumstances is, oddly, the customer interface. The front desk usually has only disinterested and downright rude folks. In contrast, as a home-based travel agent, you do not have to fight huge office overheads. You can invest time in researching new places that could interest prospective clients. Often, clients present only their expectations and choosing a place or an itinerary depends on the travel agent's persuasive skills and knowledge about new and interesting destinations.

Finding new places alone does not make your travel agency successful. One needs to network with other reliable service providers. This ensures a seamless sequence resulting in total customer satisfaction. Develop a genuine interest in helping clients achieve their travel goals. Be empathetic to the unique needs and strive for a collaborative approach. Be an unobtrusive yet knowledgeable partner in devising travel plans.

When you become a travel agent, you need to constantly add to your kitty of service offerings. The secret is not just adding new places. You need to be aware of changing customer expectations. Diversify steadily from travel planning into organizing family or group tours and corporate events. Move on from simple leisure travel into exploration or adventure travel.

A home-based travel agent needs to be a dedicated travel professional with the right mix of business and networking skills. He or she needs to assume total responsibility for the client's program. Being a good taskmaster with the discipline to manage every detail of the travel plan ensures repeat loyalty. You do not need loads of money to start a home-based travel agency; but there is a need to invest time and effort in following up with customers and service partners and looking up great destinations.

Business and Marketing coach Eddie Rodriguez is president and CEO of Travel Agency Business Systems (a consulting firm) and of Vacations Internationale (a full service travel company). He specializes in helping individuals turn their passion for travel into fun and profitable home-based travel businesses. http://www.become-a-travel-agent.net

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Labels: helping people see the world

As an online travel agent, you will be taking travel bookings for clients from across the world through bigger travel companies. You will be responsible to explain these travel-seekers everything about their travel arrangements and to get their requirements met from the booking companies. Some home travel agents also work by collaborating with different providers for accommodation, transport, tours, etc. and create a whole customized package for their clients.

Thus, a travel agent's job is to plan out a package in such a way that the traveler doesn't have to face any difficulty during the journey. The work of the travel agent is to make sure any miscommunication doesn't occur and that the trip turns out to be a pleasurable experience for the people who book through them.

Right now, these travel agent jobs are turning out to be quite popular over the Internet. Their online status ensures that people can work from their homes. So, you can actually try your hand out at this, making good money on the way.

You don't need any special educational qualification if you are thinking about becoming an online travel agent. Just a high school diploma is sufficient in most cases. However, if you are applying for work through a large travel booking office, you need to be prepared to show some better skills. Language skills do help and so does computer knowledge. You must also have great skills for surfing the Internet and finding information. It is great to have these skills on the resume.

One more thing that you will need is good communication skills. Being a travel agent is more about advising people on what traveling options they have and less about actually booking for these options. You have to tell them how they can make 'package' vacations for themselves before actually going ahead and doing the bookings. In order to make people understand all these things, and to convince them for particular destinations, accommodations, food packages, etc., you need to be good at communication skills.

It is also a great thing if you are good with geography. You don't need to know the whole world's geography, but if you are dealing in travel for a particular part of the world, you should at least know well about the geography of that place.

So, how do you get one of these travel agent jobs? The direct way is to visit a local travel agency and see if they hire travel agents that can work online. These people will be affiliated for that travel agency and will be working exclusively for that. Or, you could also do a regular search on the Internet and see what options you have for being a travel agent. You will have to choose from among the options you have and decide upon the one that suits you best.

This is a great career, or even a supplementary job, whichever way you look at it. You make money doing something you will really love. However, as in any other job, you will need to learn the ropes first.

Kelly Hunter owns and operates LPN Travel Nurse and also writes about Lpn Travel Assignments

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Labels: online travel agent jobs - tips for success

Working as a travel agent appeals to almost anyone. You open doors to the world, interact with delighted customers, and receive large discounts to the best locales on Earth. In fact, employers often push you to go gain experience. Perhaps most encouraging, travel agents can set up on the internet, allowing freedom of location.

Here are some basic skills and qualities vital to becoming a travel agent:

Passion: In the travel industry, it no doubt pays to have a passion for travel, though experience is not a necessity. Fortunately, travel is not difficult to become passionate about.

Education: Most agencies merely require a high school diploma, but larger agencies sometimes demand degrees, and a bachelor's in public relations, computers, or sales always looks good on a resume. The American Society of Travel Agents presents courses and trips designed for this dynamic field, whether you plan to work for an agency or yourself. Also, check with your local community college to see if they offer programs. These days, there are even many great online programs teaching how you become a travel agent.

Language: Consider learning a second language if specializing in international travel.

Certification: Check the Department of Commerce in your area to be sure there are not requirements for certification, and you may want to take a course regardless to learn the basics of the industry. If working for yourself, you will need to be certified.

Learn: Read industry material--not only to inspire passion but to keep up to date with this evolving and constantly changing market.

Computer Literacy: Strong computer skills are an asset when applying and on the job. Online bookings are a growing trend, and even with offline customers your work is computer-based. Some schools offer special courses for this software, but most smaller employers are willing to train the right person. If you want to go out on your own-an increasingly viable option in the new millennium--computer skills are even more of an asset.

Naturally, if you have asked yourself, "How do I become a travel agent," it is because you are looking for a career or business you can run from your own home (or whatever other world destination you have imagined). If that is the case, going out on your own may be your best option, and these days it has never been easier.

Chris W. Sutton offers a helpful program (http://www.travelagentprogram.blogspot.com) which not only walks you through the certification process for running your own online travel agency but step by step through the process of setting up multiple websites, generating traffic to your pages, and online marketing. He even gives you over 300 articles for adding content to your sites.

The author of this article, James Druman, is an entrepreneur, writer, and world traveler currently living in Southeast Asia. He runs a blog called The Chiang Mai Holiday, offering advice on living in traveling in the enchanting city known as the culture center of Thailand. Go to http://www.thechiangmaiholiday.com to find out more

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Labels: 6 Important Skills, how do I become a travel agent?