Life As a Travel Agent
Occupation Description Plan and sell transportation and accommodations for travel agency 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.
Daily Life Of a Travel Agent
- 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.
- Book transportation and hotel reservations, using computer terminal or telephone.
- Converse with customer to determine destination, mode of transportation, travel dates, financial considerations, and accommodations required.
- Collect payment for transportation and accommodations from customer.
- Compute cost of travel and accommodations, using calculator, computer, carrier tariff books, and hotel rate books, or quote package tour’s costs.
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Travel Agent Skills
When polled, Travel Agents say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Persuasion: Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Types of Travel Agent Jobs
- Tour Agent
- Auto Travel Counselor
- Corporate Travel Agent
- Travel Counselor
- Certified Corporate Travel Executive
Travel Agent Job Outlook
There were about 81,700 jobs for Travel Agent in 2016 (in the United States). There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Travel Agent. The BLS estimates 7,800 yearly job openings in this field.
The states with the most job growth for Travel Agent are Washington, Alaska, and Maryland. Watch out if you plan on working in Wisconsin, Ohio, or North Dakota. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Average Travel Agents Salary
The typical yearly salary for Travel Agents is somewhere between $22,370 and $66,080.
Travel Agents who work in District of Columbia, Washington, or Arizona, make the highest salaries.
How much do Travel Agents make in each U.S. state?
| State | Annual Mean Salary |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $45,070 |
| Alaska | $42,060 |
| Arizona | $48,980 |
| Arkansas | $37,580 |
| California | $47,460 |
| Colorado | $44,750 |
| Connecticut | $48,780 |
| Delaware | $41,800 |
| District of Columbia | $56,790 |
| Florida | $41,630 |
| Georgia | $35,190 |
| Hawaii | $42,170 |
| Idaho | $38,280 |
| Illinois | $41,100 |
| Indiana | $40,640 |
| Iowa | $41,330 |
| Kansas | $45,940 |
| Kentucky | $41,470 |
| Louisiana | $38,060 |
| Maine | $34,510 |
| Maryland | $36,300 |
| Massachusetts | $49,920 |
| Michigan | $42,530 |
| Minnesota | $45,530 |
| Mississippi | $34,120 |
| Missouri | $40,100 |
| Montana | $45,810 |
| Nebraska | $41,650 |
| Nevada | $56,590 |
| New Hampshire | $44,420 |
| New Jersey | $49,330 |
| New Mexico | $40,970 |
| New York | $40,000 |
| North Carolina | $40,690 |
| North Dakota | $33,600 |
| Ohio | $36,250 |
| Oklahoma | $36,940 |
| Oregon | $38,520 |
| Pennsylvania | $42,700 |
| Rhode Island | $37,280 |
| South Carolina | $33,150 |
| South Dakota | $36,140 |
| Tennessee | $42,600 |
| Texas | $39,670 |
| Utah | $43,590 |
| Vermont | $44,000 |
| Virginia | $44,970 |
| Washington | $52,790 |
| West Virginia | $35,420 |
| Wisconsin | $37,350 |
| Wyoming | $47,440 |
What Tools do Travel Agents Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Travel Agents may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft Access
- Data entry software
- Intuit QuickBooks
- Travel Agent CMS
How do I Become a Travel Agent?
Education needed to be a Travel Agent:
What work experience do I need to become a Travel Agent?
Who Employs Travel Agents?
The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.
Related Careers
Those interested in being a Travel Agent may also be interested in:
References:
Image Credit: Nick Nijhuis via Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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