Learning how to become a travel agent in Barcelona, Spain is not difficult if you just know the correct steps to take. On this page you will find information on travel agent education, training, duties and much more.

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain and has a population of over 1.5 million people. The Mediterranean city lies between Europe and Africa and is the capital of Catalonia. If you want to work as a travel agent in Barcelona there are several things to consider. First of all work experience. Employers in Barcelona prefer to hire people with some form of training and work experience in the travel industry. Besides this you are also expected to speak fluent Spanish. You will find more about various travel agent requirements below. http://www.aboutbarcelona.com/

Columbus Monument, the Fredric Mares Museum, the Textile and Clothing Museum and the Picasso Museum are all tourist attractions in Barcelona that you will have to be able to refer your customers to once you are a Barcelona travel agent. Besides local attractions, you should be able to refer customers to attractions worldwide. This is why it's important for a travel agent to keep up to date of the changing trends in various locations. http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/barcelona-e-cat-bar.htm

If you aspire to become a Barcelona travel agent, you probably have a lot of questions. Hopefully the information below will help answer some of them.

HIGH SCHOOL: If you want to become a travel agent in Barcelona, make sure to finish high school. You will need a high school diploma or the equivalent to continue on to further education and/or training. Make sure to pay special attention in school during geography, world history, math and computer science since these will benefit you as a travel agent.

TRAINING: After high school many people go on to get an associate's or bachelor's degree in travel and tourism. To find schools that give classes geared towards becoming a travel agent you can look into online classes, community colleges and adult education programs. You can also go to the website citytowninfo.com. Here you will find a listing of schools in your area where you can take classes. The website also provides information about online schools for those who prefer a home study course. The official languages spoken in Barcelona are Catalan and Castillian Spanish. If you don't already speak fluent Spanish, it's recommended you take a course in the language, since not speaking the language will be a major obstacle when looking for work in Barcelona. Aside from education and training, travel agents should be professional, courteous, well organized, detail oriented and accurate. http://www.aboutbarcelona.com/ http://careerplanning.about.com/od/occupations/p/travel_agent.htm

FIRST JOBS: Before making the move to Barcelona you are better off to get some work experience first. Start by looking for entry level positions at local travel agencies. This can be as a reservations clerk or a receptionist. You will get your foot in the door and over time you might get more duties and responsibilities which might lead to that travel agent job. Meanwhile you can learn and gain experience by watching other travel agents go about their day to day activities. If you cannot find a job at a travel agency, offering to work for free is another option. You can become an intern and learn as you go. It will look good on your resume and help with future employment.

WHEN IN BARCELONA: After gaining some work experience at a local travel agent you can slowly start to venture out and look at what it takes to work as a travel agent in Barcelona. You can start online by searching for travel and tourism jobs abroad. There are many companies that advertise for experienced travel agents in Barcelona. It's up to you to find out more about them. Before getting the job, check if they will help you move. Do they arrange the required visa/permits? Do they arrange housing? If you don't get a job and want to move to Barcelona first, you will also need to check with Immigration Services about work permits and visas. Another option you have is to utilize a company that assists in providing jobs abroad, for instance transitionsabroad.com and jobsabroad.com. They will also take care of the required paperwork you need to be able to work. http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/index.shtml

The duties of a travel agent in the United States and a travel agent in Barcelona are basically the same. They might deal with different travel destinations and different types of customers, but the duties and tasks remain the same. Following is a summary of some of the duties of a travel agent. You can go over this list and see if you need additional training in one or more areas.

• ■ A travel agent has to advise, inform, and assist customers when deciding on where to travel. You have to provide brochures and publications of their travel destination. Inform your customers about their location's weather, customs, attractions, vaccinations, visa requirements etc.
• ■ Booking air fare, accommodation, transportation and any desired tours is another travel agent task.
• ■ If you work for a tour operator you might have to arrange, develop and do presentations to sell and promote the company's travel packages.
• ■ Printing tickets for the clients is another task.
• ■ Researching online to get favorable pricing and additional information. Make sure you have multiple vacation packages to offer the client.
• ■ Try gaining as much knowledge about foreign places by reading travel magazines and publications and traveling often.

Travel agencies vary all over the world. There are agencies that specialize in travel to certain locations, others focus more on group travel or cruise travel. Following you will find information on some travel agencies in Barcelona so you get an idea of what kinds of agencies are currently operating in the city.

• ■ TECNIC VIAJES SA, Carrer Joan Guell 147-148, 08028 BARCELONA, Phone: +34 933633951. This independent travel agency mainly deals with arranging business travel for various companies. http://www.tecnicviajes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74&Itemid=82&lang=en

• ■ StudyGlobal Language Travel, Pl. Francesc Macià 7 08029 Barcelona, Phone: +34 934441181. This company has programs where you can study foreign language such as Spanish, French, German, English, Italian, Russian, Portuguese or Chinese abroad. They make all the travel and accommodation arrangements. http://www.studyglobal.net/index.php?sprache=en

• ■ Viajes Suitours, Avda. Montserrat, 5 E-08397 Pineda de Mar, Phone: +34 93 7671441. This travel agency handles both incoming travelers and outgoing travel arrangements. They offer many package deals such as cruises, student/group travel, business travel and local excursions.