If you want to know how to become a travel agent in Berlin, Germany you have come to the right place.

Berlin is not only the capital city of Germany, it's also the largest city in Germany. With a population of 3.5 million people there are plenty of potential customers for travel agents to work with. As a Berlin travel agent you have to be able to search for cheap flights, cheap hotels, cheap car rentals and much more. Good knowledge of computers and the Internet will benefit any aspiring travel agent. If you want to work in Berlin, it helps to familiarize yourself with the city. http://userpage.chemie.fu-berlin.de/BIW/e_berlin.html

Brandenburg Gate, Charlottenburg Palace, Pergamon Museum and the Zoological Gardens are just some of the tourist attractions in Berlin, Germany that you should familiarize yourself with. Besides the local Berlin attractions a travel agent has to be able to provide information about tourist attractions worldwide. Travel agents are often well traveled. This is a good thing especially if you want to work abroad. In Berlin people might want to go to completely different destinations than what you are used to. Be prepared and educate yourself on the latest trends in various travel destinations. Reading a lot of travel magazines and traveling a lot will benefit you. http://www.planetware.com/top-tourist-attractions-/berlin-d-bn-ber.htm

Requirements to work as a travel agent in Berlin, are pretty much the same as they are for travel agents within the United States. Many of the classifieds ask for people with previous experience in selling travel. You also have to be fluent in the German language. Below you will find information on education, training, duties, scams and more.

EDUCATION: If you ultimately want to become a travel agent in Berlin, the best thing to do is to start by finishing high school. You need a minimum of a high school diploma or the equivalent. If you want, you can even get a college degree in tourism and travel. Make sure to pay special attention in school to classes such as geography, world history, math, and computer science. Since your goal is to work in Berlin, you will need to master the German language if you don't already. A language course can help here.

TRAINING: If you want to be a travel agent in Berlin, the United States or anywhere else for that matter, you will need to get some travel agent training. A good place to start looking for information on this is on the Internet. Look into online schools, community colleges and adult education programs. The website citytowninfo.com provides listings of travel agent schools in every U.S. state. They also list online schools if you prefer to do a home study course. Since travel agents work with computers a lot it is important that you have some knowledge of computers and the Internet. If necessary, look into vocational school to polish up on your computer skills. http://www.careeroverview.com/travel-agent-careers.html

WORKING IN THE U.S.: Before making the move to Berlin you will need to get some work experience first. The easiest way to start is by looking for entry level positions at local travel agencies. This can be as a reservations clerk or a receptionist. Get your foot in the door and over time you might get more duties and responsibilities which might lead to that travel agent job. Learn and gain experience by watching other travel agents go about their day to day activities. Offering to work for free as an intern, is optional if you cannot find a job at a travel agency. It will look good on your resume and help with future employment. http://www.careeroverview.com/travel-agent-careers.html

WORKING IN BERLIN: The first thing you need to do when looking for a job is arm yourself with a strong resume. The Mahalo page 'How to write a resume' can be beneficial here. The first place to look for a travel agent job in Berlin is on the Internet. This will give you an idea of what the job requirements are. You will see that travel agent experience and training is required. You should also think about contacting Immigration Services to ask what the requirements are to work in a foreign country. Make sure you find out how to go about getting a visa and working permit? Once you find a job in Berlin, make sure to check if they will help you move. Do they provide housing? What about work papers? Another way to find a job in Berlin is through a job placement service. You can get more information on this on websites such as transitionsabroad.com and jobsabroad.com. When you use a service like this, you don't have to worry about paperwork and finding employment because they take care of all this.

DUTIES: The duties for a travel agent in Berlin are similar to travel agents in the United States. Before deciding that you want to become a travel agent it is always good to know what will be expected of you. Following are some of a travel agent's tasks and duties:

• ■ A travel agent has to receive payment from the customer for the travel arrangements that were made. This can include air fare, cost of accommodation, car rental and such.
• ■ As a travel agent you also have to communicate with customers to find out what their wishes are, where they want to go, what accommodations they want, what kind of transport they need and what their budget is.
• ■ Travel agents have to calculate the cost of the travel arrangements including hotel accommodations. You have to be able to quote pricing of several travel packages to the customer so that they have a choice.
• Booking the air fare, hotel, and rental car is another task of the travel agent. You do this either by phone or using your computer terminal.
• ■ Present the customer with several tour packages and vacation plans offered by various suppliers.
• ■ Brochures and publications need to be given to the customer to provide them with information about their destination. They need to know about attractions, needed vaccinations and travel documents, weather/climate in their travel destination, and local customs.
• ■ Printing tickets is another duty of a travel agent. http://www.careerplanner.com/Job-Descriptions/Travel-Agents.cfm

SCAMS: When you start looking for that travel agent job, you are bound to come across one of the many scams out there. You will find companies that advertise by promoting all the benefits of the travel agent job. They recruit new travel agents by glamorizing the fact that you get to travel and see the world and that you get to work from home, make your own schedule and be your own boss. Some scam companies even require that you recruit new affiliates for them. These are simply multi level marketing companies and have nothing to do with selling travel. Also watch out for companies that ask for a lot of money upfront. Before committing to any company, make sure that you do your research. http://www.homebasedtravelagent.com/scams.htm

There are many travel agencies in Berlin. Following you will find some information regarding some of these agencies. This will give you an idea of what kinds of travel agencies operate in Berlin. Most websites are available both in English and German.

BERLIN TRAVEL AGENCIES:

• ■ Contrast Getaway Adventures, Kreutziger Strasse 7 10247 Berlin, Phone: +49 3028045989. This travel agency focuses mainly on adventurous getaways to Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East http://www.contrastgetaway.de/

• ■ German Historical Tours, Yorckstraße 8 74177 Bad Friedrichshall, Phone:

+49-241 400 89233. This travel agency mainly handles cultural, political or historical study trips within Germany. http://www.gh-tours.com/index_e.html

• ■ Sivali, Krefelder Str. 3 10555 Berlin, Phone: +49 3039741977. This travel agency specializes in adventure and cultural tours of Asia. http://www.sivalitour.com/