What's it like to be a travel agent?

Whats it like to be a travel agent?

• hi i was wondering whats it like to be a travel agent, like do you travel alot cause i really want a job that makes me travel around Europe and is the pay good.

• Answer:

  Being a travel agent is really amazing. I think many people look at it and picture it to be all glitz and glamour. It is a fun career, but it is also work as well. Today's traveler is more experienced and well informed and they depend on their agents to be experts in their fields of specialty. This means constantly educating ones self on the latest products, trends and destination updates. If you love to learn then it is a great career because you are constantly learning. Typically during busiest times of year for agents (often December-May) you are more often then not at a desk living vicariously through clients and working long hours. A lot of a travel agent's travel is done during the off season. I laugh when my clients tease me about my travel agent trips being work. They often don't realize that it may include 3 islands and 4 resort tours in 2 days and I'm the one in heels taking the photos of the beach versus basking in the sun. No one but a travel agent would think that was enjoyable, but honestly I don't think I could take a trip and not see at least one new hotel or meet with an industry partner. A career in travel has offered me the opportunity to see places and meet people I would have otherwise never experienced or met. It opened my eyes to a world beyond where I grew up and helped shape my world view into what it is now. It has been an amazing career filled with hard work and lots of fun and I can't imagine not being a travel agent.