Travel consultant jobs are in great demand to adhere to the growing travel needs of the global tourists. They can work in travel agencies or even function as individual agents providing solutions to various kinds of travel needs of the individual.
A travel consultant plays the role of a travel guide for the customers providing valuable travel tips and suggestions. The consultants have to ensure that they provide solutions for individual travel needs. It is their job to provide tailor made or customized solutions for vacations and business purposes. Apart from specialized knowledge of traveling deals, they also provide informational details to their clients. Hence, they assist their customers in the entire process of traveling from their home location to other destinations and back. They may suggest the best options for food packages, accommodation and transportation facilities.
The travel consultant should be well informed about various cultures and languages. He/she needs to be ready to travel and work at the oddest of hours. Their main motive is to ensure complete customer satisfaction, which pertains to the tiniest needs. A travel consultant's responsibilities range from customizing specific purpose travel like scuba diving or trekking to arranging world cruises. They have to make arrangements for tickets, reservations, payment and other such itinerary details of the clients. Arranging the visa, currency exchange, and other similar international regulations are also a part of the job profile.
The skills of the travel consultants include the ability to formulate travel packages as per individual needs. They need to understand the travel preferences of the clients, and then formulate a package as per their budget. They need to have excellent organizational and planning skills and at the same time act as convincing communicators. You also need to be patient in handling clients, and deal with those who retaliate due to unsatisfactory packages. A lot of traveling, and criticism has to be handled in the job too.
To be a successful travel consultant you should have a certificate in travel consultancy. Having bilingual skills and a lot of knowledge about traveling can help. Those with degrees in the hospitality and tourism industry are apt for this job. The Certified Travel Associate or CTA, and the Certified Travel Counselor or CTC ensures a higher position.
The salaries of travel consultants range from $1,500 to $3,500 per month. However, there is a lot of scope for promotions and better pay packages, along with the added advantage of visiting new destinations as well.
