When choosing travel agent courses, you should consider your career situation, your goals, your budget and the reputation of the course provider. Other considerations include the convenience of taking a particular course or series of courses as well as the topics about which you need or want to learn. In some cases, you might be able to take travel agent courses as part of travel familiarization trips or during industry conventions, which can make taking necessary continuing education courses both convenient and cost-effective.
If you are interested in becoming a travel agent, you should take travel agent courses that can prepare you for this career. You typically will need at least a high school diploma or its equivalent before you can enroll in a travel agent education program. The types of schools that offer travel agent courses include vocational schools, proprietary travel agent schools and community colleges. It also might be possible to receive an undergraduate degree or even a graduate degree in travel and tourism from universities that offer these majors.
When considering your course options, think about whether you would eventually like to get a college degree. If you take your travel agent courses through a vocational school or specialized training program, your course work might not count for college credit. On the other hand, if you complete your training through a community college, you might be able to transfer your travel agent courses to an associate's or bachelor's degree program. This can save you both time and money if you do decide to pursue additional education.
Before enrolling in a program that offers travel agent courses, do some research on the school and find out whether it has a good reputation in the travel community. You also could talk to travel agents to get their opinion of the program or programs that interest you. Ask the school whether it offers career placement services for its graduates. You also should ask the school whether it has any statistics on how many graduates obtain jobs in the travel industry after graduation. If the school can't give you this information, or if its representative indicates that many students don't go on to a career in travel, you might reconsider attending the school.
In addition to courses for people who want to become travel agents, there also are courses for travel agents who want to improve their skills. Some vocational and proprietary schools might offer these courses, but you might find that you can get a better deal by taking classes and workshops while on familiarization trips or at conventions. These courses typically are taught by industry professionals, and you might be able to get a tax deduction for the cost of attending such courses. If you need to take travel agent courses as part of a continuing education requirement for your employer or a certification organization, before you enroll, be sure to verify that the courses are recognized by your employer or certifying agency.
