Travel agent

As a travel agent you would:

• talk to customers to understand what they need
• help customers find a package holiday or plan independent travel
• make bookings and payments online
• advise customers about passports, insurance, visas, vaccinations, tours and vehicle hire
• inform customers of changes like cancelled flights
• arrange refunds and handle complaints
• meet sales targets and report to head office

• customer service skills
• excellent verbal communication skills
• the ability to sell products and services
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• administration skills
• active listening skills
• persuading skills
• a desire to help people
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

You can get into this job through:

• a college course
• an apprenticeship
• working towards this role

With training and experience, there may be opportunities to progress into senior travel roles like:

• assistant manager or manager
• branch or call centre manager
• operations director
• regional director

You could also move into other careers in the travel sector, like tour operating or become self employed.