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

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

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

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.

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

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

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

You may need to wear a uniform.