A travel agent’s role is to help people plan, choose, and organise their holiday. They will usually stick to the budget set by the person in charge of organising the trip. They also provide travel suggestions, ideas, and information on local tourist attractions, festivals, and customs.
Responsibilities
Throughout your apprenticeship, you may help:
- talk to customers to understand their needs
- help customers find a suitable package holiday or plan independent travel
- make bookings and payments using online computer systems
- 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
- keep up to date with developments in the travel industry.
Salary
- Starting salaries for an apprentice is £18,000 per year.
- Experienced travel agents can earn up to £28,000 per year.
Working hours
You will typically work 37 to 39 hours per week, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays on a rota.
Working environment
You could work in a contact centre or at a store.
You may need to wear a uniform.
Qualifications
Qualifications you can achieve as an apprentice travel agent include:
- Level 3 Travel Consultant – Entry requirements for this level include 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship. This qualification will take 12 months to complete.
Skills
On a travel agent apprenticeship, you’ll learn:
- 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.
Employers
Typical employers of travel agents include:
- Tour operators
- Package holiday operators
- Cruise lines
- Independent travel agents.
Career path and progression
With training and experience, there may be opportunities to progress into senior roles like:
- branch or call centre manager
- operations director
- regional director
You could also move into other roles in the travel sector, like tour operating.