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Summary

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Video transcript available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GEPp0P4Yto.
Quick Facts: Travel Agents
2023 Median Pay $47,410 per year
$22.79 per hour
Typical Entry-Level Education High school diploma or equivalent
Work Experience in a Related Occupation None
On-the-job Training Moderate-term on-the-job training
Number of Jobs, 2023 68,800
Job Outlook, 2023-33 3% (As fast as average)
Employment Change, 2023-33 2,300

What Travel Agents Do

Travel agents sell transportation, lodging, and entertainment activities to individuals and groups planning trips.

Work Environment

Travel agents typically spend much of their day sitting, working on the phone and on the computer. Most travel agents work for travel agencies; many are self-employed.

How to Become a Travel Agent

A high school diploma typically is required for someone to become a travel agent. However, employers may prefer to hire candidates who have sales experience or relevant certification or education. Good communication and customer service skills are essential.

Pay

The median annual wage for travel agents was $47,410 in May 2023.

Job Outlook

Employment of travel agents is projected to grow 3 percent from 2023 to 2033, about as fast as the average for all occupations.

About 8,200 openings for travel agents are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

State & Area Data

Explore resources for employment and wages by state and area for travel agents.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of travel agents with similar occupations.

More Information, Including Links to O*NET

Learn more about travel agents by visiting additional resources, including O*NET, a source on key characteristics of workers and occupations.

What Travel Agents Do About this section

Travel agents
Travel agents offer advice on destinations, plan trip itineraries, and make travel arrangements for clients.

Travel agents sell transportation, lodging, and admission to entertainment activities to individuals and groups planning trips. They offer advice on destinations, plan trip itineraries, and make travel arrangements for clients.

Duties

Travel agents typically do the following:

  • Arrange travel for business and vacation clients
  • Determine clients’ needs and preferences, such as schedules and costs
  • Plan and arrange tour packages, excursions, and day trips
  • Find fare and schedule information
  • Calculate total travel costs
  • Book reservations for travel, hotels, rental cars, and special events, such as tours and excursions
  • Describe trips to clients and advise about local customs and attractions 
  • Give details on required documents, such as passports and visas, and on complying with cross-border entry requirements, such as health and safety protocols
  • Make alternative booking arrangements if changes arise before or during the trip

Travel agents sort through vast amounts of information to find and arrange the best trip options for travelers. In addition, resorts and specialty groups use travel agents to promote vacation packages to their clients.

Travel agents may visit destinations to get firsthand experience so that they can make recommendations to clients. They visit hotels, resorts, and restaurants to evaluate the comfort, cleanliness, and quality of establishments. Self-employed travel agents may have additional responsibilities related to running their business, such as recordkeeping, managing staff, and marketing. However, travel agents most of their time talking with clients, promoting tours, and contacting airlines and hotels to make travel accommodations.

The following are examples of types of travel agents:

Leisure travel agents sell vacation packages to the public. They are responsible for arranging trip itineraries based on clients’ interests and budget. Leisure travel agents often focus on a specific geographic area or type of travel, such as adventure tours. Some cater to a specific group, such as students or single people.

Corporate travel agents, also called travel coordinators, primarily make travel arrangements for businesses. They book transportation and accommodations for an organization’s employees who are traveling to conduct business or attend conferences.

Work Environment About this section

Travel agents
Travel agents work in an office environment where they spend much of their time on the phone.

Travel agents held about 68,800 jobs in 2023. The largest employers of travel agents were as follows:

Travel arrangement and reservation services 70%
Self-employed workers 15

Travel agents typically spend much of their day sitting, working on the phone and on the computer. Agents may face stress during travel emergencies or unanticipated schedule changes.

Work Schedules

Most travel agents work full time, although part-time work is common. Some work additional hours during peak travel times or when they must accommodate clients’ schedule changes and last-minute needs.

How to Become a Travel Agent About this section

Travel agents
Good communication and computer skills are essential for travel agents.

A high school diploma typically is required to become a travel agent. However, employers may prefer to hire candidates who have sales experience or relevant certification or education. Communication and customer service skills are essential.

Education

Travel agents typically need at least a high school diploma to enter the occupation, but employers may prefer to hire candidates who have a college degree or who have taken courses related to the travel industry.

Community colleges, vocational schools, and industry associations may offer technical training, certificates, or continuing education in professional travel planning. In addition, some 4-year colleges offer degrees in travel and tourism. Courses usually focus on reservations systems, marketing, and regulations regarding international travel.

Training

Employers in the travel industry typically provide on-the-job training that lasts at least 1 month. This training covers topics such as how to operate computer systems that are used in the industry. For example, a travel agent could be trained to work with a reservation system used by several airlines.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations

High school graduates with limited experience may demonstrate competence by taking the Travel Agent Proficiency (TAP) test. The test has no eligibility requirements, but study and preparation may be required. The test is administered by The Travel Institute.

The Travel Institute also provides training and professional credentials for travel agents at three different experience levels. These credentialing programs are the Certified Travel Associate (CTA), Certified Travel Counselor (CTC), and Certified Travel Industry Executive (CTIE). To maintain the credential, each program requires continuing education annually.

The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) offers credentialing and educational programs for those seeking to become a travel agent. ASTA offers the Verified Travel Advisor (VTA) program and the ASTA Roadmap to Becoming a Travel Advisor.

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) offers four levels of certification: Certified (CCC), Accredited (ACC), Master (MCC), and Elite Cruise Counselor (ECC). Each level requires a certain amount of training and product knowledge.

Some states require travel agents to have a business license, to register with the state, or to meet other conditions. Requirements vary by state. Contact individual state licensing agencies for more information.

Other Experience

Some agencies prefer to hire travel agents who have extensive traveling experience. These agencies especially prefer travel agents who focus on particular destinations or types of travelers, such as groups with a special interest or corporate travelers. Agencies also may prefer to hire travel agents who have sales experience.

Important Qualities

Communication skills. Travel agents must listen to clients’ travel needs and offer travel advice and information that meet those needs.

Customer-service skills. Travel agents must be able to interact with clients and respond to questions and complaints in a friendly, professional manner.

Detail oriented. Travel agents must ensure that the reservations they make are for the dates, times, and locations that match travelers’ schedules.

Organizational skills. Travel agents often work on itineraries for many clients at once. Ability to keep information in order and to ensure that bills and receipts are processed in a timely manner is essential.

Sales skills. Travel agents must be able to persuade clients to buy transportation, lodging, or tours.

Pay About this section

Travel Agents

Median annual wages, May 2023

Sales representatives, services

$63,150

Total, all occupations

$48,060

Travel agents

$47,410

 

Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U.S. Economy.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

The median annual wage for travel agents was $47,410 in May 2023. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $30,580, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $69,640.

In May 2023, the median annual wages for travel agents in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

Travel arrangement and reservation services $47,010

These wage data include money earned from commissions. Earnings for many travel agents depend on commissions and service fees.

Most travel agents work full time, although part-time work is common. Some work additional hours during peak travel times or when they must accommodate clients’ schedule changes and last-minute needs.

Job Outlook About this section

Travel Agents

Percent change in employment, projected 2023-33

Total, all occupations

4%

Sales representatives, services

4%

Travel agents

3%

 

Note: All Occupations includes all occupations in the U.S. Economy.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program

Employment of travel agents is projected to grow 3 percent from 2023 to 2033, about as fast as the average for all occupations.

About 8,200 openings for travel agents are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Employment

Demand is projected to increase for travel agents’ expertise in recommending options to clients seeking personalized travel experiences. People are expected to continue relying on travel agents for their advice on popular or unique destinations and for their ability to handle travel issues.

However, the ability of travelers to use online resources to research vacations and book their own trips may limit demand for travel agents.

Employment projections data for travel agents, 2023-33
Occupational Title SOC Code Employment, 2023 Projected Employment, 2033 Change, 2023-33 Employment by Industry
Percent Numeric

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program

Travel agents

 41-3041 68,800 71,200 3 2,300 Get data

State & Area Data About this section

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program produces employment and wage estimates annually for over 800 occupations. These estimates are available for the nation as a whole, for individual states, and for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The link(s) below go to OEWS data maps for employment and wages by state and area.

Projections Central

Occupational employment projections are developed for all states by Labor Market Information (LMI) or individual state Employment Projections offices. All state projections data are available at www.projectionscentral.org. Information on this site allows projected employment growth for an occupation to be compared among states or to be compared within one state. In addition, states may produce projections for areas; there are links to each state’s websites where these data may be retrieved.

CareerOneStop

CareerOneStop includes hundreds of occupational profiles with data available by state and metro area. There are links in the left-hand side menu to compare occupational employment by state and occupational wages by local area or metro area. There is also a salary info tool to search for wages by zip code.

Similar Occupations About this section

This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of travel agents.

Occupation Job Duties ENTRY-LEVEL EDUCATION Help on Entry-Level Education 2023 MEDIAN PAY Help on Median Pay
Information clerks Information Clerks

Information clerks perform routine clerical duties, maintain records, collect data, and provide information to customers.

 See How to Become One $40,540
Meeting, convention, and event planners Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners

Meeting, convention, and event planners arrange all aspects of events and professional gatherings.

 Bachelor's degree $56,920
Secretaries and administrative assistants Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

Secretaries and administrative assistants do routine clerical and organizational tasks.

 High school diploma or equivalent $46,010
Suggested citation:

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Travel Agents,
at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/sales/travel-agents.htm (visited November 15, 2024).

Last Modified Date: Thursday, August 29, 2024

What They Do

The What They Do tab describes the typical duties and responsibilities of workers in the occupation, including what tools and equipment they use and how closely they are supervised. This tab also covers different types of occupational specialties.

Work Environment

The Work Environment tab includes the number of jobs held in the occupation and describes the workplace, the level of physical activity expected, and typical hours worked. It may also discuss the major industries that employed the occupation. This tab may also describe opportunities for part-time work, the amount and type of travel required, any safety equipment that is used, and the risk of injury that workers may face.

How to Become One

The How to Become One tab describes how to prepare for a job in the occupation. This tab can include information on education, training, work experience, licensing and certification, and important qualities that are required or helpful for entering or working in the occupation.

Pay

The Pay tab describes typical earnings and how workers in the occupation are compensated—annual salaries, hourly wages, commissions, tips, or bonuses. Within every occupation, earnings vary by experience, responsibility, performance, tenure, and geographic area. For most profiles, this tab has a table with wages in the major industries employing the occupation. It does not include pay for self-employed workers, agriculture workers, or workers in private households because these data are not collected by the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, the source of BLS wage data in the OOH.

State & Area Data

The State and Area Data tab provides links to state and area occupational data from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, state projections data from Projections Central, and occupational information from the Department of Labor's CareerOneStop.

Job Outlook

The Job Outlook tab describes the factors that affect employment growth or decline in the occupation, and in some instances, describes the relationship between the number of job seekers and the number of job openings.

Similar Occupations

The Similar Occupations tab describes occupations that share similar duties, skills, interests, education, or training with the occupation covered in the profile.

Contacts for More Information

The More Information tab provides the Internet addresses of associations, government agencies, unions, and other organizations that can provide additional information on the occupation. This tab also includes links to relevant occupational information from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET).

2023 Median Pay

The wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. Median wage data are from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. In May 2023, the median annual wage for all workers was $48,060.

On-the-job Training

Additional training needed (postemployment) to attain competency in the skills needed in this occupation.

Entry-level Education

Typical level of education that most workers need to enter this occupation.

Work experience in a related occupation

Work experience that is commonly considered necessary by employers, or is a commonly accepted substitute for more formal types of training or education.

Number of Jobs, 2023

The employment, or size, of this occupation in 2023, which is the base year of the 2023-33 employment projections.

Job Outlook, 2023-33

The projected percent change in employment from 2023 to 2033. The average growth rate for all occupations is 4 percent.

Employment Change, 2023-33

The projected numeric change in employment from 2023 to 2033.

Entry-level Education

Typical level of education that most workers need to enter this occupation.

On-the-job Training

Additional training needed (postemployment) to attain competency in the skills needed in this occupation.

Employment Change, projected 2023-33

The projected numeric change in employment from 2023 to 2033.

Growth Rate (Projected)

The percent change of employment for each occupation from 2023 to 2033.

Projected Number of New Jobs

The projected numeric change in employment from 2023 to 2033.

Projected Growth Rate

The projected percent change in employment from 2023 to 2033.

2023 Median Pay

The wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. Median wage data are from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey. In May 2023, the median annual wage for all workers was $48,060.