Travel Agent Career Guide and Counseling

Question: TRAVEL aGENT? What's the difference between me planning a trip threw a travel agent or going online and booking it myself.

Answer: The answer pretty much depends on your needs. If you have the time to search out the internet for travel specials then you will be ok with booking yourself. If you want to use a travel agent, he/she can find special deals that you may not be aware of. The travel agent will take all of the information regarding your travel details and find the deals for you.

Question: How do I become a legitimate travel agent? Has anyone ever been a travel agent or known a travel agent that made alot of money or that owned any kind of travel business and was successful? I would like to know what kind of license I need in order to be a legitimate travel agent. I am based in New York. Is there are school I need to go to or training online. What company should I affiliate myself with? Any travel agents, please give me the low down. Thanks.

Answer: I am a travel agent with YTB. The company provided me with a website that people can go on to and book there travel. They also provide all the training and support I need to be a successful travel agent. It is really a great program and I've already booked travel for some friends of mine and seen the commission. When you sign up with the company you get your creditials in a couple weeks after signing up. This is a very legitimate and trustworthy company that has been in the business for over 5 years. Also publicly traded. Watch this presentation for a little more information: http://www.travelproinsider.com my personal site is http://www.ytbtravel.com/kuhlber Contact me and I will answer any questions you may have and give you more information. -Dane

Question: How does one become an independent travel agent? How does a person become an independent travel agent? I am looking for the following information: General cost of courses Length of courses The amount of money (generally) a travel agent makes yearly Is there a high and low season for travel agents? When you are independent, do you work through an established agency for a fee? Last but not least, if you have any websites that go into good detail, that would be helpful. My husband brought it up and I'm checking it out. Thanks.

Answer: All you have to do is go to your college. You can get either a diploma or a degree, but a degree will better help you to achieve this. I am a travel agent and I graduated in December with my degree. It takes about 2 years, depending on how much time you put into it and how many classes you take. If you want to, you can try to do it between 6 months and a year if you can, but it will be very hard. It will cost you about $10,000 for everything, tuition, books, classes everything. Apply for scholarships, especially if you had great grades in high school. I kept a 4.0 GPA throughout my academic history, and scholarships and grants got me through college and whatever was left over was like a gift, to do as you wish with. I must have gotten refunds of up to $3000 in that first year. It's easy, just apply for Financial Aid. Good luck and I wish you well. You can do it. If I was able to, you most certainly can.

Question: How much can you make as a travel agent? Thinking of taking an online course through Penn & Foster for the travel industry to become a travel agent. Thinking of stopping by a local travel agency to ask them questions. But thought I would ask here first. Any travel agents out there? How much do you make?

Answer: Hello, I am a travel agent. First, I will say that in this industry, your success depends on you. A travel agent has an unlimited earning potential. My husband and I together are travel agents and we love it. We've been travel agents since January, and already, we haven't looked back! We work out of our home, and we set our own hours!! You know what, I'm going to save you some of the $$$ that you were about to dole out to Penn Foster, click this link, and when you're on the front page, click "view the company presentation" http://www.cassandralane.org

Question: Can a parent or travel agent turn in your application and pickup your application for a visa to Brazil? Can a parent or travel agent turn in your application and pickup your application for a visa to Brazil? I am about 3 hours from the Brazilian Houston based consulate. They say it takes 15 days to process, I don't have 15 days until my trip to turn it in on time. So can a parent or travel agent turn it in and pick it up for me?

Answer: Yes, travel agents, relatives, or friends may do the visa application on behalf of you. An additional handling fee of $20.00 is to be paid in this case. http://www.brazilhouston.org/ingles/visa… ..

Question: What are the pros and cons of using a travel agent to plan a vacation to Brazil? Hello Everyone! My girlfriend wants to travel to Brazil next year for carnival, and would like to use a travel agent to plan our arrangements, while I would much rather plan everything on my own using the internet as a primary resource. Could anyone tell me the benefits and negative aspects of using a travel agent to plan a vacation of this type? Also, I would really appreciate it if anyone who recently traveled to Rio De Janiero could share some opinions and perhaps "insider" tips on traveling to this destination. Thank you.

Answer: Hello, I can give you some tips, first of all, you really don't need to use a travel agent to come here. Everything here is very cheap. The people normally don't speak English, but you will fell welcome in almost places you go. Try to search another place to go, Rio de Janeiro is the most dangerous town in our country. Recife is a very Beautiful place and it has a famous carnival parade, "o galo da madrugada". Where there are almost 2 million people walking, dancing and singing trough the streets for 3 miles. The beaches around this town are marvelous. "Porto de Galinhas"..."Tamandare"....."Boa Viagem"....You will apreciate. Good luck and be wellcome.

Question: How does one become a travel agent - What kind of testing? I am nearing retirement and have traveled a bit. I would like a job during retirement. How does one become a travel agent? What type of schooling or training is necessary? Is there a certification needed?

Answer: I'm a travel agent with YTB International. It's a publicly traded company that has allowed me to become a Referring Travel Agent without any training. They provide all the tools you need when you sign up. My site uses the same booking engine as travelocity. It's awesome because I can write off all of my travel on my taxes and I collect commissions when someone books travel on my site. It's an incredible opportunity. Check out my site when you get a chance. http://www.danestravel.com click on "book travel" to see the booking engine it uses. Please email me I can answer any questions you have and show you much more about this.

Question: How does one become a travel agent? What does it take to become a travel agent? Schooling? I would be great at the job, since I know so much about traveling and requirements. I do a lot of research since traveling is something I wish I could do more of. How much does a travel agent usually get paid?

Answer: I work for a travel wholesaler. Technically you do not need any experience. Sales experience is helpful. Some more upscale agencies may require experience and Sabre or Galileo experience. Knowing your geography helps. I had an agent call that said she wanted to book the Greek Isles but she didnt know where they were, one wanted the parking cost at a hotel in Venice (no cars in Venice all boats), and one wanted to pick up a car in Los Angeles and drop it in Maui. If you have little experience you may have to sell yourself. It is fun and exasperating. People come in and want to go somewhere warm, but not any destination you recommend, and dont want to spend any money to get there but it is a honeymoon in 2 months during spring break.

Question: Can a travel agent get a better deal on a cruise than the internet sites? I've found a specific cruise that I want and every single "discount" travel website offers the same exact fare $549.00 as the actual cruise ships website. This seems as though the discount websites aren't discounts at all. So my question is, can I get a better price than carnival has on their site by going to a brick and mortar travel agent? Also, we plan to cruise at the end of June or early July of 07

Answer: Not in every situation, but in many cases they can. Sometimes your rate is going to be the same price, but an agent may offer you some onboard credits, or other specials that may be available to them. I would definitely book with an agent or directly with Carnival. The discount sites, which as you have seen aren't really discounted, can cause a lot more problems than they are worth, so if there is no savings, I would definitely avoid them. There are a lot of travel agencies that you can use online as well. If going to a travel agent office and working on things doesn't really fit in your schedule, which is what I have found to be true for myself, online works so much better. I can e-mail my agent whenever I need, when I'm no the road, etc. I have actually found my online agent to be a lot o better than my old agent that in my local town, since they seem to be more specialized. So you may consider checking into an online travel agent, which is not to be confused with the online discount sites like Expedia, Oritz, etc. So anyhow, you can't always get a lower rate with an agent, but you may be able to get some extra benefits by booking with an agent, such as onboard credit or upgrades. Also, you always get the service from the agent, very rarely, if ever do I find that my agent is higher than Carnival. Hope this helps!

Question: What type of education does a travel agent need? What type of education do you need to be a travel agent? Where can you study the program (like what type of schools/where, etc.)? Do you get a certificate, degree, diploma? Are there any publications that might have job openings available in this field, or do you have to open your own business? (I never really see advertised travel agency job openings.) I have already graduated college but am considering a career change. This is something I'm curious about, so any info would be helpful.

Answer: Nothing as far as I know But are you sure about going into an industry where over 50% of it is now done online, and the numbers are moving away from travel agents in favour of online every day? I would look to go into a very niche area of travel, like luxury tours, where the odds of it going online are lower. Get in there before all the other travel agents need new jobs!