4 answers
Mackenzie
Student
United States
1
Question
Asked
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Are there any tips for working in the Travel Industry?
I'm interested in becoming a Travel Agent. I'd like to know if you have any tips for this particular career or any tips for anything similar to this career. Thanks!
#travel-agency ##travel
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4 answers
Cael Zaslav
Hospitality/Travel
1
Answer
Brighton, Colorado
Updated
Cael’s Answer
Hi Mackenzie
The travel industry is a wonderful field that has a lot of diversity in career paths. One piece of advice I believe in, is to keep your options open. Explore all of the opportunities that fall under the Travel Industry umbrella to find a starting place for yourself. The idea of a Travel Agent has changed dramatically in the last 30 years and will continue to change as you enter the workforce. There are Travel Agents who work directly with the public, Travel Agents who work for the government, or for private companies, Travel Agents who specialize in certain regions of the world. While there are many options for a candidate seeking work in the travel industry, common threads you will see will be working with people and customer service. Travel can be about adventure and excitement. Travel industry professionals must be excited about helping others build memories, craft adventure as well as work within deadlines. Conversation skills, mediation skills as well as empathy can all be traits to understand when working with people and travel.
While Travel Agent is one option with the Travel/Tourism industry, there are hundreds of options that you may not have considered. Exposing yourself to all of the possibilities in this field will help you hone in on what brings you passion. Travel/Tourism careers are found in the airline industry, government, property management and rental, transportation and others. Working in a field that energized and excites you is a building block of a successful career. Is the goal to travel yourself? If so, look at the industry from the consumer side. What support do you need and expect from the travel industry to make your trip successful. What services do you require when planning a trip, and where do you turn to find those services?
Keep putting in the work. Research how to use your education, and what to do to prepare yourself for positions post education that will get your career started and expose you to all of the options in the travel industry. Good luck
The travel industry is a wonderful field that has a lot of diversity in career paths. One piece of advice I believe in, is to keep your options open. Explore all of the opportunities that fall under the Travel Industry umbrella to find a starting place for yourself. The idea of a Travel Agent has changed dramatically in the last 30 years and will continue to change as you enter the workforce. There are Travel Agents who work directly with the public, Travel Agents who work for the government, or for private companies, Travel Agents who specialize in certain regions of the world. While there are many options for a candidate seeking work in the travel industry, common threads you will see will be working with people and customer service. Travel can be about adventure and excitement. Travel industry professionals must be excited about helping others build memories, craft adventure as well as work within deadlines. Conversation skills, mediation skills as well as empathy can all be traits to understand when working with people and travel.
While Travel Agent is one option with the Travel/Tourism industry, there are hundreds of options that you may not have considered. Exposing yourself to all of the possibilities in this field will help you hone in on what brings you passion. Travel/Tourism careers are found in the airline industry, government, property management and rental, transportation and others. Working in a field that energized and excites you is a building block of a successful career. Is the goal to travel yourself? If so, look at the industry from the consumer side. What support do you need and expect from the travel industry to make your trip successful. What services do you require when planning a trip, and where do you turn to find those services?
Keep putting in the work. Research how to use your education, and what to do to prepare yourself for positions post education that will get your career started and expose you to all of the options in the travel industry. Good luck
Gloria Ortiz
Instructional Designer
845
Answers
Irving, Texas
Updated
Gloria’s Answer
Hi Mackenzie,
I cannot speak to being a travel agent directly, but I did work with a online travel provider, Expedia Inc, so I wanted to post on your question. I would ask you - why being a travel agent? There are a variety of options in the travel industry. I think the options are from being a tour guide to working for an airline or a hotel. I would offer that working anywhere in travel and hospitality can give you the gift of traveling yourself and engaging with a wide variety of cultures. The role I played in travel was in learning and development. I created and taught individuals who took customer calls after booking on the website. So here you see two jobs - learning and development and customer service - that are not just unique to the travel industry.
Also, I would offer that however you engage in the travel industry, you should consider cultural differences about countries around the world. You as a travel agent may need to have to interact with people in other countries to work through any problems that come up for your customers. The first way to do this is to travel. Even within a country, there are a variety of cultures that can be confusing. I grew up in Las Vegas, NV, USA and moving to Texas was like moving to a foreign country. Going East to places like New York, Boston, or Jacksonville made me feel like I didn't live in the same country. It got worse when I visited London, Berlin, and Kuala Lumpur.
Some advice for you - learn about other cultures ahead of traveling. You and your customers should learn about cultures to which they visit. There is a cool app from Culture Wizard (https://www.rw-3.com/) that can give you some cultural insights that you might want to consider when traveling. It asks for your home country and the country you will be traveling to. It gives you a comparison of the countries on certain factors and how you may need to change your behavior to be successful in that country. It has a cost, but it is very worthwhile when you begin traveling. I would also recommend that you study cultural differences and learn about them regularly. Some books you might want to read include: Global Dexterity by Andy Molinsky, Managing Across Cultures by Solomon and Schell, and Cultural Agility by Paula Caliguri among many others.
Many of the challenges that I have had working internationally come from cultural misunderstandings. It can be easy to offend in other cultures with the ways that Americans do things. You need to avoid misunderstandings as much as possible and understand how to apologize when it inevitably happens.
Good luck with your career in Travel. It will be incredibly rewarding.
Gloria
I cannot speak to being a travel agent directly, but I did work with a online travel provider, Expedia Inc, so I wanted to post on your question. I would ask you - why being a travel agent? There are a variety of options in the travel industry. I think the options are from being a tour guide to working for an airline or a hotel. I would offer that working anywhere in travel and hospitality can give you the gift of traveling yourself and engaging with a wide variety of cultures. The role I played in travel was in learning and development. I created and taught individuals who took customer calls after booking on the website. So here you see two jobs - learning and development and customer service - that are not just unique to the travel industry.
Also, I would offer that however you engage in the travel industry, you should consider cultural differences about countries around the world. You as a travel agent may need to have to interact with people in other countries to work through any problems that come up for your customers. The first way to do this is to travel. Even within a country, there are a variety of cultures that can be confusing. I grew up in Las Vegas, NV, USA and moving to Texas was like moving to a foreign country. Going East to places like New York, Boston, or Jacksonville made me feel like I didn't live in the same country. It got worse when I visited London, Berlin, and Kuala Lumpur.
Some advice for you - learn about other cultures ahead of traveling. You and your customers should learn about cultures to which they visit. There is a cool app from Culture Wizard (https://www.rw-3.com/) that can give you some cultural insights that you might want to consider when traveling. It asks for your home country and the country you will be traveling to. It gives you a comparison of the countries on certain factors and how you may need to change your behavior to be successful in that country. It has a cost, but it is very worthwhile when you begin traveling. I would also recommend that you study cultural differences and learn about them regularly. Some books you might want to read include: Global Dexterity by Andy Molinsky, Managing Across Cultures by Solomon and Schell, and Cultural Agility by Paula Caliguri among many others.
Many of the challenges that I have had working internationally come from cultural misunderstandings. It can be easy to offend in other cultures with the ways that Americans do things. You need to avoid misunderstandings as much as possible and understand how to apologize when it inevitably happens.
Good luck with your career in Travel. It will be incredibly rewarding.
Gloria
Maria Merrill
Luxury tour operator
4
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Maria’s Answer
The travel industry is such a great industry in which to work! I've worked in Travel & Hospitality my entire career and I have never ever doubted it was the right path for me. There are SO many options within the industry. I worked for a Destination Club out of university and now I work for a Luxury Tour Operator. I have worked with many travel agents throughout my career and they too love their jobs. I recommend going to a college or university that offers a major in Hospitality/Tourism/Travel and then exploring all of your different options from there. Marriott has a great training program where they rotate you between all of the different positions and various Marriot hotels around the country, so you can get a great background on the different positions at hotels and it's a great resume booster. I know a lot of other hotels and brands, even Disney, offer these kinds of programs as well. Working for an airline, hotel, etc. also would give you a great background and understanding of how these parts of the industry work prior to becoming a travel agent. I recommend exploring all options within the industry! Also, if you do decide to go right into a travel agency, there are tons of great agencies that hire candidates right out of school as an agent's assistant so you can learn the trade before becoming an agent yourself. Check out the following travel agencies for vacancies when you graduate: Travel Edge, Protravel, Valerie Wilson, Direct Travel and Amex travel. You should also look into online travel companies like Expedia, Booking. com, Trip Advisor, etc.
Susan Waldau
Vice President Global Account Management at
7
Answers
Houston, Texas
Updated
Susan’s Answer
Mackenzie, Travel is a great field - and not just because I've been in it my entire career. There are many options from airlines to hospitality, to agency, to travel insurance/assistance, etc. If you are planning on college, see if you can find a program specializing in Travel, Tourism, Trade, or Hospitality as this will give you a solid background across fields. If not, there are also 1-2 year travel programs and you can always try interning during summer at an agency or hotel or similar. If you are willing to start at entry level and work your way up, you can have an amazing career. The pay may not be at the top, but the job can be very fulfilling. Best of luck.