How to Become a Travel Agent: 5-Step Guide
If you enjoy learning about new places and want to help people explore the world for both work and pleasure, consider becoming a travel agent. This growing field is open to anyone, even those without a college degree.
What’s more, training is affordable, especially compared to the cost of college. Learn how to become a travel agent and help connect people and places around the world.
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How to Become a Travel Agent in 5 Steps
Your path to becoming a travel agent starts with basic credentials, like a high school education. You can then earn certifications to expand your network, deepen your skills, and show employers and clients you’re a trusted professional capable of planning trips to even the farthest corners of the globe.
Step 1: Earn a GED Certificate or High School Diploma
Most travel agents have at least a high school diploma. If you didn’t complete high school, a GED certificate will also suffice.
Employers also often look for candidates with sales and customer service experience, as well as communication skills. Additional work experience, industry certifications, and training can make you more competitive in the job market.
Step 2: Get a Certificate or College Degree (Optional)
Many prospective travel agents showcase their skills with additional credentials, such as an associate or bachelor’s degree or a business certificate.
While a college degree isn’t required to become a travel agent, employers often prioritize candidates with undergraduate education. The best areas to study for aspiring travel agents include business, sales, hospitality, and marketing.
Ultimately, though, any major can prepare you to work in travel. Students studying geography or global studies, for example, can develop the relevant knowledge and skills to become a certified travel agent.
Step 3: Pass the TAP Test
The Travel Agent Proficiency test, or TAP, is a critical step toward gaining professional recognition as a travel agent.
A passing TAP score shows employers you’ve mastered the basics of the travel industry, including sales, geography, and an understanding of travel-related products and purchases.
The proctored exam consists of 100 multiple-choice questions. You’ll have two hours to complete the test and must score 70% or higher to pass. The exam costs $95, and you are responsible for securing your own proctor.
The Travel Institute, a nonprofit organization that provides training and certification to travel industry professionals, offers a TAP Test Review Session webinar for around $20 to help prepare test-takers. You can also find free study materials online.
Step 4: Get Certified
Professional certification adds an endorsement to your resume that builds trust and credibility among prospective employers and clients.
Here are some popular programs for becoming a certified travel agent:
The Travel Institute
This nonprofit offers a self-paced online certified travel associate (CTA) program to people with one year of experience selling travel, or to those who’ve passed the TAP exam with a score of 80% or higher. Alternatively, you can become a certified travel counselor (CTC) or a certified travel industry executive (CTIE).
American Society of Travel Advisors
ASTA offers a highly regarded verified travel advisor (VTA) certification for mid-career professionals. Eligibility requirements are more stringent — you must have 2-5 years of advisory experience and consistent annual sales in the range of $250,000-$500,000. Participants must also complete a self-paced online curriculum.
Cruise Lines International Association
CLIA provides four options for travel agents interested in cruise certification, such as cruise counselor certification and cruise executive certification. Travel agents with at least $5,000 in total agency commissions from cruise bookings in the past 12 months also qualify for CLIA’s Individual Agent Membership program, which offers listing services and ongoing professional development.
Step 5: Maintain Certification
Regularly renewing your skills is an important part of being a travel agent. Continuous professional development allows you to stay up to date with trends in the field and maintain your certifications.
Here’s how to maintain various travel agent certifications:
- The Travel Institute: Asks members to complete 10 continuing education units every year to maintain certification.
- ASTA: VTA recertification is required every two years and includes ongoing education and a membership fee of $179.
- CLIA: Requires members to pass a State of the Industry course and quiz each year and pay a $400 annual membership fee. The amount of ongoing training to maintain certification in the cruise industry will vary based on your certification level.
What Does a Travel Agent Do?
Offers advice and recommendations on travel logistics and trips- Plans itineraries for individuals, families, and groups
- Makes arrangements for work and leisure travel, helping people go to and from destinations and explore particular sites and cities
- Sells lodging, tickets to attractions, and transportation, including airfare, train, and bus travel
- Explains international travel rules and helps clients comply with cross-border regulations, like passport and visa requirements and health and safety protocols
- Assists clients during travel to make alternative arrangements or troubleshoot if problems arise
Travel Agent Salary: How Much Can You Make?
Travel agents earn, on average, $50,040 a year, according to May 2023 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Travel agent salary can be highly variable, however, depending on your specialty, sales commissions, and location. In 2023, the lowest-earning 10% of travel agents earned $30,580, while the top 10% made $69,640. Travel agents working in air transportation, consulting, and insurance tend to earn the most money.
In terms of location, travel agents in Colorado, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C., boasted the highest average salaries of any state — over $63,000 in 2023.
Additionally, many travel agents earn a commission of 10-20% of the total cost of a booking. As such, travel agents planning high-end international trips, or adventure or business travel to more obscure places like Antarctica, are likely to earn more.
Finally, certification can affect how much you earn. Payscale reports an average hourly rate of $18.74 for travel agents as of August 2024. This rate jumps to just under $23 an hour for certified professionals (based on limited user data).
Should You Become a Travel Agent?
Travel agents help create lifelong memories by connecting people and places around the world.
There are many pros and cons to becoming a travel agent. Take time to weigh these before deciding whether becoming a travel agent is right for you.
Pros of Becoming a Travel Agent
Opportunities to travel and learn more about diverse places and cultures- Ability to provide clients with lasting memories and expose them to new experiences
- Potential for high commission or job advancement, especially if you have industry certification
- Steady work and reliable wages without needing a college degree
- Possibly remote work
Cons of Becoming a Travel Agent
Travel not a guaranteed perk of the job- Helping clients through travel emergencies and trip changes can be stressful
- Nontraditional work hours as trip changes arise, which can require you to coordinate across time zones
- Commissions might fluctuate with the economy and political climate
- Advancement could be limited for those without degrees
Frequently Asked Questions About How to Become a Travel Agent
Travel agents typically make a solid, middle-class living. With travel agent salaries spanning $30,580-$69,640 in 2023, most travel agents should be able to live comfortably. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology calculates the living wage in the U.S. to be just under $40,000 for a single adult, though this can vary widely by location.
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