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What Does a Trainee Travel Agent Do?

B. Miller
B. Miller

A trainee travel agent is a person who is receiving on-the-job instruction to eventually become a travel agent, and it represents a great job opportunity for people who are looking to pursue this career. Most trainees in travel agencies will divide their time fairly evenly between performing general office administration duties and actually learning the finer points of working as an agent. They might assist agents in researching and booking trips to gain experience in this important aspect of the job, and begin developing a rapport with regular clients. A trainee travel agent might also be responsible for helping in maintaining a website and researching travel deals online.

There are some educational programs available to teach people how work as travel agents; however, a trainee travel agent is an actual job with a travel agency, in which the employee gets hands-on work experience from the first day. As a result, many find this to be a more useful and practical method of learning this career. Travel agencies will often be willing to hire trainees because the pay is usually pretty low, but the trainees are willing work hard and learn, and are then available for promotions if they are doing well in their jobs.

A trainee travel agent may conduct research for their firm.
A trainee travel agent may conduct research for their firm.

In many cases, a trainee travel agent will begin by simply performing general office tasks. This may include answering the phone, preparing mailings, and providing overall administrative support to the travel agents as needed. They may also perform some data entry, do research to find good deals on travel opportunities online, or help to keep a website updated, among other tasks. This type of work will allow them to get a basic grasp of the idea of how the office runs, and how to maintain the business. They will also begin learning how certain airlines are routed, how fares on other modes of transportation are charged, and so on.

A trainee travel agent may help arrange air travel for clients as part of a vacation package.
A trainee travel agent may help arrange air travel for clients as part of a vacation package.

Eventually, a trainee travel agent will actually get to participate in trip planning. They may begin by shadowing a travel agent, and may then get to work one-on-one with clients. A senior travel agent will likely check their work to make sure it is acceptable and correct. The trainee travel agent will be responsible for listening to the customer's requests, however, and then researching and planning the trip from start to finish to be sure it meets all the customer's needs, and stays in budget. For many people, working as a trainee in this manner is an invaluable way to launch a successful career as a travel agent in the tourism industry.

Discussion Comments

pleonasm

@Fa5t3r - I'd make sure the job wasn't about to disappear before I got one. Even if the company was being upfront about wanting to hire someone as a trainee, I can't help but notice that travel agents don't have the same popularity that they used to.

People are more capable of finding their own deals online. I'm sure that travel agents won't disappear altogether, but it wouldn't surprise me if the pool of available jobs was going to shrink.

Fa5t3r

@irontoenail - This is particularly true because it is a really great job and people would be willing to work for less than they should be getting in order to try and get a foot in the door.

I know a travel agency that basically sends everyone who works for them on a free trip every year so that they can promote the places they've been to more authentically.

They have amazing conventions as well, which makes sense since everyone working for the company has contacts in the travel industry!

If I didn't already love my own job I'd jump at the chance to be a travel agent.

irontoenail

This is a really great opportunity if you want to be a travel agent (which is a really cool job if you get it with the right company) but I would make sure that you understand the terms of the work agreement going into the job.

There are definitely some shady companies out there who try to take advantage of hiring laws when they can. I know of places where they take on trainees at half pay, make them do all the grunt work and then fire them before they become eligible to get full pay.

Travel agents are quite dependent on reputation, so I doubt there are many that would do this, but you still need to be careful and protect yourself.

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    • A trainee travel agent may conduct research for their firm.
      By: Angelika Bentin
      A trainee travel agent may conduct research for their firm.
    • A trainee travel agent may help arrange air travel for clients as part of a vacation package.
      By: Pavel Losevsky
      A trainee travel agent may help arrange air travel for clients as part of a vacation package.
    • Trainee travel agents often help research and book trips.
      By: Alexey Stiop
      Trainee travel agents often help research and book trips.
    • Travel agents might familiarize themselves with popular cultural festivals.
      By: CedarchisCociredeF
      Travel agents might familiarize themselves with popular cultural festivals.
    • A trainee travel agent may eventually be required to make travel arrangements for business travelers.
      By: Andres Rodriguez
      A trainee travel agent may eventually be required to make travel arrangements for business travelers.
    • Trainee travel agents may research popular dining choices in areas frequented by tourists.
      By: Andres Rodriguez
      Trainee travel agents may research popular dining choices in areas frequented by tourists.