Travel agent as a profession could be rewarding if you have the required skills and a keen interest in visiting places both known and unknown.
The job of a travel agent is not simple and demands tremendous patience and courteousness. Travelling is a love for most people and passion for some of them. A passionate traveler would love to spend his spare time in moving around, even if it is within his native place. It is a matter of great surprise that even your city of domicile could be a treasure house for tourists.
Humans by nature love travelling, and if this grows into a profession then the involvement reaches an unsurpassable level. Love for visiting new places and a keenness to know about peoples’ culture, lifestyle, and customs is the basic necessity to become a professional travel agent. However, more important than interest in people and places is a pleasing nature and easy approachability.
Travel agency is a service industry, and the basic characteristic of any such industry is that satisfaction is purely a mental state and solely dependent on human perception. To become a successful travel agent, it is essential to have a cordial character and a pleasing disposition.
Early signs of becoming a travel agent
Every child shows some early promise of a profession. It is not always that a child grows up with childhood traits, but develops newer preferences and mannerisms. However in the adolescent stage mannerisms, traits, and beliefs start taking definite shape. To make a career in travel agency you should ideally have:
- An undivided interest fortravelling– To enjoy this profession, you must have an undivided attention for travelling.
- A salesperson–You should be a natural sales person, if you want to become renowned as a travel agent.
- Interpersonal relationship– For any service oriented industry, strong interpersonal relationship is of primary importance. No business or relationship could be nurtured without sufficient interpersonal skills. These skills help in gaining the confidence of others and also becoming dependable.
- Curiosity- It is another important characteristic that underlines a sales person. Acurious mind assists in exploring hotel booking arrangements, special discount offers,tour packages, etc.
- Thorough knowledge– Knowledge is the power to any business. Without sufficient knowledge about travel industry, travel destinations, andtravel deals it is not advisable to become a travel professional. Continuous updating offacts and knowledge of contemporary and past travel trends is an inseparable part of keeping yourself well-informed.
- Service capability– Sales skills could help acompany or professionalin the first year of itsoperation. In subsequent years the contribution of repeat business tototal business gradually increases. Repeat businessis indicative of the sustainability factor of a business, while new businessindicates its growth capability.
- Confidence-For becoming successful if is essential to stay self-motivated. Confidence and self- motivation are two characteristics that stay with you forever. These two traits form the success of a travel agent.
Travel industry is always a buoyant economic activity and always contributes handsomely to national income generation
Job Creation in Travel Industry
Travel Industry, has great potentiality in creating job opportunities and raising revenues. There are umpteen opportunities throughout a year to lure travelers to a particular destination. Tourism had now become focused with classification of ‘medical tourism’, ‘adventure tourism’, ‘religious tourism’, and ‘heritage tourism’. Each of these is designed keeping specific destination in mind. Innovation is a prime work in creating holiday packages with a definite clientele in mind.
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