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Customer services

Travel agent

Travel agents find and book flights, accommodation and holiday packages for business and leisure customers.

Annual Salary

£18,000 to £34,000

Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

37 to 40 a week

You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; on a rota

0.5%
Future employment

There will be 0.5% fewer Travel agent jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

As a travel agent you would:

  • talk to customers to understand what they need
  • help customers find a package holiday or plan independent travel
  • make bookings and payments online
  • advise customers about passports, insurance, visas, vaccinations, tours and vehicle hire
  • inform customers of changes like cancelled flights
  • arrange refunds and handle complaints
  • meet sales targets and report to head office

Working environment

You may need to wear a uniform.

You could work at a store or in a contact centre.

You can get into this job through:

  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
College

You could do course in travel and tourism to give you some of the knowledge and skills needed for this job.

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Travel Consultant Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.

This takes around one year to complete, and combines work experience in a travel business with learning through a training provider.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide
Work

You can start as a trainee travel agent and receive on-the-job training from your employer.

There are no set entry requirements, but a good general standard of education is expected. Some employers may ask for English and maths GCSEs or equivalent. Good geographical knowledge will also be helpful.

More information

Career tips

It may help if you have customer service experience and can speak a second language.

Further information

You can find out more about careers and training in travel from the Institute of Travel & Tourism.

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With training and experience, there may be opportunities to progress into senior travel roles like:assistant manager or manager; branch or call centre manager; operations director; regional director

You could also move into other careers in the travel sector, like tour operating or become self employed.

You can find out more about careers in travel from the Institute of Travel & Tourism and Careers that Move.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • customer service skills
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • the ability to sell products and services
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • administration skills
  • active listening skills
  • persuading skills
  • a desire to help people
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
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