Travel agency careers rekindled?

Recently I’ve been very critical of “instant travel agent” opportunities and “card mills” credentialing schemes as a means to enter the travel agency business. Please don’t get me wrong there are still some very legitimate and inexpensive ways for you to get involved in travel sales & earn money and possible free travel.

Today is actually one of the best times to consider becoming a travel agent. We have a generation of experienced agents retiring and there are not many trained replacements out there in the job market. In addition to these store front agent positions the personal computer and the Internet has changed the way the travel products are being sold it and has also helped develop a new distribution niche of the home based travel agent.

Yes people are buying some travel products online but research indicates that these are simple travel plans easy for the do-it-yourselfer to accomplish. Research also shows that for the more complex trips and itineraries many travelers are relying on the knowledge and expertise of a human being, namely a travel agent. A few of the CEO’s of the large online mega travel agencies have recently confessed to using the services of a live, professional agent instead of their own online site for their reservations. Interesting revelations and what does that say about the real value of booking on their sites!