Selling vacation packages, researching fun destinations and connecting clients with trips of a lifetime sounds like a dream job to many travel lovers. But many who are curious about a career in travel wonder: What education do you need to be a travel agent? You might be wondering what to do if you are new to the travel space.
Here’s the great news: Becoming a travel advisor is an extremely accessible career if you partner with the right organization. Regardless of what degree(s) you may have, you can earn money by booking other people’s vacations — maybe even while you’re on a beach vacation of your own – by becoming an independent travel agent as a Dream Vacations Advisor.
What Education Do Travel Agents Have?
When becoming a travel agent (also known as a travel advisor), you’ll find that your fellow agents come from a variety of backgrounds. Some travel advisors may have advanced degrees, while others operate just with a high school diploma or GED. Wherever you fall along that spectrum, you can still have an incredibly successful career as a travel advisor. This flexibility is the case whether you want to work part-time for some extra income, or you want to make this your full-time career – and is enabled by the strength of a community like Dream Vacations.
However, while formal education isn’t required, travel advisors do need to go through some training. Like with any career, there are important things to learn on the ground.
For example, at Dream Vacations, we train new advisors on industry essentials like how to sell a cruise package, how to use a travel booking system and how to find clients. We show you the ropes and you’ll be paired with a mentor – a Dream Vacations Franchise Owner – who will guide you as you grow in this exciting industry.
Training opportunities are also ongoing for all advisors, with our library of more than 1,500 on-demand training courses available online. You can take your education at your own pace — and feel confident that if you have questions, you’ll always have a place to find the answers.
What Do You Need to be a Travel Agent?
If you’ve ever asked, “What education do you need to be a travel agent?” you can now rest easy, knowing you can join with any educational background. But, what else do you need in order to become a travel advisor?
Connectivity is, of course, a must. As long as you have internet access and a laptop, you can help book dream vacations for your clients. Work from your home office, poolside in Mexico or even onboard a cruise ship!
On top of the basic logistics, a few other traits will help you excel as a travel advisor. The best part is that Dream Vacations will set you up with the guidance and tools you need to succeed.
Here are a few qualities you should have in this career:
- Love of travel: This one’s a no-brainer! You’re helping connect clients with potentially once-in-a-lifetime trips. So, it helps to understand and appreciate how special travel can be. You likely even want to do more traveling yourself. (If you’re wondering how to be a digital nomad with no experience, becoming a travel advisor is a great way to live your working-while-traveling dreams!)
- Curiosity and willingness to learn: A good travel agent is curious about new places and new experiences — so that you can explain them and sell them to new clients. The travel industry is also always evolving. Being willing to learn about new trends or marketing strategies within the industry can put you a cut above the rest.
- Perseverance: A great travel career isn’t built overnight – it takes a lot of hard work. Being willing to stick with it will pay dividends down the road. Luckily, your franchise owner mentor is there to help you when you need it.
- A self-starter attitude: Being a Dream Vacations Advisor comes with a lot of flexibility. You can work from wherever you like. You choose your clients. You can build your own schedule, choose your own hours and take time off when you need. However, with all that flexibility comes responsibility. Successful travel advisors figure out the system or structure that works best for them, and are able to work in the way that is best for them.
- Communication skills: Most of your job as a travel advisor will involve communicating. Whether it’s performing customer service for your clients, or communicating via your marketing channels, it’s extremely important to be able to clearly say what you mean and offer courteous, helpful service.
How Do You Become a Travel Advisor?
If you’re daydreaming about sitting back in a beach chair, with a glass of fresh pineapple juice and an open laptop in front of you as you work as a travel advisor, we’re here to help turn that vision into reality! Sign up for our webinar or give us a call at 888-400-9827 to get started on your journey today!