Travel Agency Managers manage travel agencies. Organises and controls the operations of a travel agency. Registration or licensing may be required.

As a travel agency manager, you may manage a small independent business or a large chain. Some agencies specialise in business travel or offer a detailed knowledge of specific locations or travel products. Your responsibilities will usually include the daily operational management of the agency, sales targets and development, staffing and financial management.

You'll need to ensure the agency delivers specialist, professional travel advice and offers a good range of competitive travel products to meet the demands of the customer. This will usually include an online booking service and tailor-made trips.

ANZSCO ID: 142116

Knowledge, skills and attributes

• good communication skills
• sales and customer-service skills
• diplomacy and tact
• innovation and energy
• commitment to people management
• the ability to lead and motivate a team
• sound judgement with attention to detail
• competent IT skills
• strong organisational skills
• resilience to cope with long hours and pressure at peak times
• a genuine interest in travel
• an awareness of the current trends in travel (e.g. sustainable tourism) and knowledge of popular and upcoming destinations is also important.

 

(Source: Your Career)

Duties and Tasks

• Determines product structure and service standards.
• Formulates and implements purchasing and marketing policies, and sets prices.
• Promotes and advertises the establishment's goods and services sometimes to new or niche markets
• Sells services to customers - travel products and tour packages
• Keeps track of product availability (e.g. tour packages) and financial transactions.
• Undertakes budgeting for the establishment and maintain statistical and financial records
• Controls selection, training and supervision of staff.
• Ensures compliance with occupational health and safety regulations.
• Source products and destinations to meet consumer demands for bespoke travel and sustainable tourism
• Deliver and exceed branch performance and productivity
• Take part in familiarisation visits to new destinations, to gather information on issues and amenities of interest to consumers
• Liaise with travel partners, including airlines and hotels, to manage bookings and schedules, often a year in advance
• Deal with customer enquiries and aim to meet their expectations
• Provide sales reports to head office [if part of a chain of travel agents]
• Implement alternative and innovative ideas for achieving new business
• Oversee the smooth, efficient running of the business
• Motivate the sales team to hit and exceed their targets and ensure company profitability
• Meet regularly with team leaders to give them sales figures and plan how they approach their work
• Meet company directors who advise on strategy and find out about any local issues and future trends
• Oversee the recruitment, selection and retention of staff as well as payroll matters and staff training
• Organise incentives, bonus schemes and competitions
• Deal with disciplinary matters and customer complaints.

Working conditions
    
Working hours typically include a Saturday, which is classed as a normal working day. You'll usually have to coordinate cover over seven days a week, on a five-day day rota system. Part-time work is available. You may occasionally need to work evenings when attending promotions and conferences. The industry can experience downturns and upturns in equal measure, depending on the economic climate. There is an emphasis on meeting sales and productivity targets.
  
Uniforms and a smart appearance are required in most organisations. There is occasional travel within a working day, plus overseas travel.

If the travel agency is located in a call centre, shift work will usually be required.
  
Tools and technologies

Usually, Travel Agencies have an online travel calendar as well as a computer content management system to make bookings for flights and accommodation. They use phones to contact various accommodation and destination places.

   
Education and training/entrance requirements

You can work as a Travel Agency Manager without formal qualifications, however, a Vocational Education and Training (VET) or university course in travel, tourism or another related field may be useful. Employers look for relevant managerial and travel-related experience. It's usual to start in a junior role, such as travel agency clerk or travel consultant, before moving into a management role.

Some of the major travel companies provide graduate training programmes in specific areas of the business. Although you may get placed in a retail travel agency during the training period, ultimately you'll be working in a specific business function. This tends to be at head office or other relevant locations, even overseas.

Additional Information
   
Training is mainly on the job, although large companies may provide off-site training, some of which may be residential. Your training may involve travelling abroad or to other parts of the UK and will include training in sales areas such as insurance and online booking systems.

Skills such as payroll can be learned on the job, as can some management skills, like dealing with staff grievances.

Generally, the role of travel agency manager offers a lot of scope for variety and progression. In larger companies, this may mean moving up the management ladder to area manager roles or to another specific area of the business such as PR, human resources or marketing. Typically, as a new entrant, you'll need to gain two to three years' experience as a sales consultant before being able to apply for a team leader position, and a further two to three years' experience before applying for branch management roles.

You may need to relocate to gain promotion if working for a larger company, or move between companies if you're working for a smaller independent company.

  
Employment Opportunities
  
The experience you gain as a travel agency manager opens up opportunities in the wider tourism industry including hotels and leisure facilities, airlines and cruise ships.

 

Related Jobs or Working with these Jobs

Call Centre Operator	Hotel or Motel Manager	Insurance Agent	Salesperson
Tourist Information Officer

 

Materials sourced from
Jobs & Skills WA [Travel Consultant; ]
CareersOnline [Travel Consultant; ]
WebArchive Only - CareerHQ [Travel Agent/Consultant;]
Prospects UK [Travel Agency Manager; ]
  Your Career [Travel Consultant; Travel Agency Manager; ]