Why You Should Consider a Career as A Travel Agent

Thanks so much to everyone for sharing! I got so many responses I limited the ones I used to travel agents, but I really do appreciate your feedback. The story's up at https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/Six-Reasons-To-Become-A-Travel-Agent

Easy accept to alternative plans for escape in case one needs to flee the country ?

I think the opportunity to travel and see the world through FAM trips is an incredible experience. Traveling the world with like minded companions without having to join any military service branch is great. Vacations as a job, what better choice, specially if you enjoy helping others build unforgettable experiences.

Loving these responses! Will write it up on Monday and post it!

I might be a bit biased here, as I would consider myself a lifer - near 30 years working in the travel industry, starting as an agent at a "sell - off house", to recruiting and training travel agents for a large Canadian retailer. Even though I have done a fair amount of corporate in my life, leisure travel is the focus of my work life - it's simply more fun for me. Here is what, in my experience will be the sweet spots for people looking for a career, these are in no specific order, just simply a list of benefits; 1. You get to travel - you will hear stories from old agents that "it doesn’t happen like it used to - but it does - every industry rag has a fam section, the sales reps still do fams, and there is year round agent rates at every product level - you simply have to look. 2. Make money. Because the industry is driven by sales, most vacation sellers work on some form of remuneration based on performance. Even some corporate travel will pay a steady salary based on your performance/production. 3. People - if you are social, genuinely enjoy talking with people, and more importantly, place value on your services & knowledge to those people you will be adored by your clients. It's kind of an ego boost for consumers to say "my travel agent said...", and for the agent, a true sense of accomplishment. And sometimes they bring you back a bottle of wine from their travels :) 4. Learning - If you ever spent time with your head buried in a National Geographic in awe of the world out there, you can learn so much about those places just by researching them for clients - if you have any sort of geek gene in you, it's actually fun! 5. Technology - Manipulating today’s technology is imperative to success as a travel agent. If you have a desire and acumen to use the resources available you would be amazed at what you can source out for your clients. The beauty now is a lot of organizations are building their own software, and other tools that process the information so quickly now. The industry as a whole is much more advanced- it makes me wonder how I ever survived phoning the airlines and hand writing tickets back in the dark ages. Over the last 30 years, I have interviewed, hired, and trained a lot of people - well into the hundreds, if not 1000+. I taught some travel at the college level. I currently recruit, deliver and help develop training to 100+ agents. I am always excited to see young people enter the business, because they typically have a lot of these traits. I also believe when you are younger, the sense of exploration, and discovery about the world, and yourself are at their highest. As someone that never wanted to let of of those feelings, I am so glad I chose travel, it just makes sense to me.