Travel

If you love traveling to different places to experience different life, then to become a travel agent may sound like an exciting opportunity for you. However, you must have the travel agent license; you need to pass your study in travel agent school first. Today, we will provide you brief information related to how to become a travel agent who is capable of doing various travel agent jobs.

Well, what are actually skills necessary to be a perfect travel agent? There are plenty of things you can learn by attending the travel agent school. After all, travel and tour is a business now and every company has its own system. Thus, it is important for next travel agent to learn how to book accommodations such as motel, resort, and hotel. Apart from that, tourism is always related to transportation mode, which makes it necessary to learn about arranging all modes of transportation appropriate for travel. Then, it is important to have your customers attracted to your service and tour packages. How will you recommend and promote your products to them?

However, to be a proper travel agent, passing those classes are not enough. When you have graduated from your travel agent school and are said to be qualified to take certification exam named as Travel Agent Proficiency or TAP, you must pass that exam first. This proficiency exam is developed by ASTA or American Society of Travel Agents. The purpose of this exam is to measure your basic knowledge, in addition to proficiency of travel agents in entry level.

There may be plenty of travel agent school choices. You can make your decision based on various criteria. Few reputable universities even offer travel and tourism degree too. This way, it is possible for you to find whether any nearby university which is suitable for you. Even though you have limited resources or are unable to leave your current city, you can take online course which will be much more convenient for you. If you plan to have your own travel agency, instead of being just an agent, business courses become important to attend too.

When you have finished your study in your travel agent school, you can start getting your business license. Pay close attention to every state’s regulations and laws related to tour and tourism. For example, California appears to be the strictest city with most complex procedure if you want to establish your business there. It becomes even more important even though you do not live there, but you plan to sell to residents there, however. Then, do not forget about your credentials too. This way, you can prevent yourself from being thought as a fraud, thus you can gain your customers’ trust at the same time.

However, you may find graduated from travel agent school is not adequate. Your skills, in turn, may play a vital role to determine your business. Do not forget to develop your personality and establishing a professional network to make your business works smoothly. Last but not least, join a formal and reputable association just like ASTA. The organization you’re in may offer you channels along with business opportunities important for your growing agency.