This Mahalo page titled How to become a travel agent in Florence provides information on travel agent duties, travel agent education, travel agent scams and much more.

Florence is the capital of the Tuscan region in Italy and has a population of 374,500 people. The city is known for its art and culture. A Florence travel agent can refer visitors to The baptistery of St. John, Cathedral Museum, Boboli Gardens, and Palazzo Pitto. If the customer prefers to travel to another country, the travel agent must again be able to provide tourist attraction information. Travel agents constantly have to educate themselves on the changing trends in various travel destinations. Reading travel magazines and traveling a lot are two ways to stay up to date. http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/florence-i-to-f.htm

A travel agent has to be able to provide customers with cheap air fare, cheap hotels, and cheap rental cars. They have to find out what the customer's budget is and make sure that the travel arrangements made for them are affordable. Travel agents have to be experts when it comes to travel nowadays, especially with the rise of travel websites such as Travelocity.com, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com and Priceline.com, and Hotwire.com. These travel websites enable people to become their own travel agent and book their own air fares, accommodations and rental cars.

If you are aspiring to become a travel agent in Florence, Italy there are certain steps you will have to take. Below you will find step by step information about this.

WORKING IN THE U.S.: Before making that move to Florence, Italy it is a good idea to gain some work experience in your own hometown. Employers in Florence prefer hiring people with some work experience. When looking for work as a travel agent you will most likely get hired for an entry level position such as a reservations clerk or receptionist at a travel agency. This is a good way to learn the business and gain work experience. Over time you might get more responsibilities and eventually become a travel agent. If you cannot get that entry level job, try offering to work for free as an intern. This is a great way to gain work experience and it will look good on your resume. http://www.careeroverview.com/travel-agent-careers.html

WORKING IN FLORENCE: The Internet is a good place to start looking for travel agent jobs in Florence. This will give you an idea of what the job requirements are. You will see that many overseas employers prefer hiring people with travel agent work experience and some form of travel agent training. You should also think about contacting Immigration Services to ask what the paper requirements are and how to go about getting a visa and working permit? Once you find a job in Florence, Italy make sure you ask if they will assist you with your move. Do they provide housing? What about work papers? If you find a job in Florence through a job placement service such as transitionsabroad.com and jobsabroad.com you don't have to worry about all this because they take care of all the paperwork. Also keep in mind that it's important to be well traveled. You want to be able to provide your customers with information they are not able to find themselves. The needs of customers in Florence might be different compared to the needs of American customers. You need to be prepared for this. http://www.jobsdb.com/HK/EN/Job.asp?R=JDB233971594 http://www.jobsabroad.com/search.cfm

HIGH SCHOOL: Before you can start working as a travel agent there are several educational requirements you will need to meet. You will need a minimum of a high school diploma or the equivalent. Make sure to pay special attention in school during classes such as geography, math, computer science and world history, since these may benefit you during your travel agent career. http://careerplanning.about.com/od/occupations/p/travel_agent.htm

ADDITIONAL TRAINING: Employers will not hire anyone without some form of travel agent training and foreign employers usually prefer previous work experience in the travel industry. There are many classes and programs you can take that are geared towards becoming a travel agent. These can either be in classroom settings or taken right from home. You can study full time or you can work it into your schedule and follow a part time study. The website citytowninfo.com provides a list of travel agent schools in every U.S. state. You will also find some online schools here if you prefer home study. Since you want to work in Florence, you will have to speak the Italian language. If you don't master the language, make sure to take a language course since not speaking Italian will be an obstacle. http://www.citytowninfo.com/employment/travel-agents

DUTIES: Whether you are a travel agent in the United States or abroad, the general duties of a travel agent are all the same. The only difference is that you may be dealing with different kinds of customers with different demands and wishes. Before deciding to become a travel agent, make sure you know what is expected of you. The following summary of tasks and duties might give you an idea:

• ■ An travel agent needs to consult with and advice the client about various destinations, transportation, travel dates, financial considerations, and accommodations. The travel agent should be available to answer questions and provide information where needed
• ■ The travel agent has to provide brochures and publications about the customer's chosen destination. Additional information regarding local customs, points of interest, necessary travel documents, or foreign country regulations should also be provided.
• ■ You should also be able to calculate costs of the fares, hotel stay, transportation and quoting various travel package prices is also a requirement.
• ■ Travel agents should be able to book hotel reservations and transportation either by using their terminal or the telephone.
• ■ A travel agent should be able to research online sources and publications for information on flights, fares, group discounts and quality of hotel accommodations.
• ■ If you work for a tour operator it might be required that you arrange, develop, promote and sell the company's own package tours or travel services. This is usually done through direct mail, presentations and the Internet. http://www.careerplanner.com/Job-Descriptions/Travel-Agents.cfm

TRAVEL AGENT SCAMS: Regardless of where in the word you plan on working, scam companies operate everywhere. They mostly advertise on the Internet and often focus on all the fun benefits of being a travel agent. Their advertisements usually say you can be your own boss and work from home, travel the world for pennies, work either full or part time and still make lots of money. To start, all you will have to do is pay a few hundred dollars which will give you your own website to start selling travel. There are legitimate agencies that recruit people to independently sell travel for them; however, some of these advertisements are scams. They only want to take your money for something that sounds too good to be true. Make sure you are dealing with a reputable agency before getting involved. http://www.homebasedtravelagent.com/scams.htm

FLORENCE TRAVEL AGENCIES: There are many different kinds of travel agencies. Some focus on certain kinds of travel such as cruise travel or travel to certain destinations. Following you will find some of the travel agencies in Florence so you get an idea of what you can expect find when looking for a job in Florence:

• ■ Primavera Viaggi, Via Ricasoli, 29r, Florence, Italy, Phone: +39 055 282042, Fax: +39 055 217643. This travel agency handles mostly educational holidays. They also have various summer camp programs available. http://www.primaveraviaggi.it/

• ■ Custom Travel Service Srl, Via il prato 86r, 50123 Florence, Italy, Phone: +39 055 2382477. This travel agency was established in 1988 and deals mostly with incoming tourists by booking culture and art tours and other specialized tours within Italy. http://www.customtravel.it/pages/page.asp?lang=2&idcontent=125

• ■ Universal Turismo, Via Cavour, 180r, Phone: +39 05550391, Fax +39 0555039211. This travel agency was founded in 1947 and focuses mainly on arranging corporate business travel. http://www.universalturismo.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=53