If you have good communication skills and are well organized, accurate, and professional, you possess all the qualities needed to become a travel agent. If you are wondering how to become a travel agent in Michigan, you might want to continue reading. This page might be able to answer some of the questions you have.

A Michigan travel agent should be able to tell any client that Belle Isle, Detroit Institute of Fine Arts, Matthaei Botanical Garden, and Mackinac Island are all tourist attractions in Michigan. Just how they are able to provide this information, they should be able to provide information about tourist attractions at various travel destinations all over the world. http://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/detroit-us-mi-d.htm

The Internet has partially taken over the travel agents job. Websites like Expedia.com, Priceline.com and travelocity.com enable people to book their own air fares, accommodations and rental cars. The Internet is 'open' 24 hours a day and can be accessed from the comfort of your own home. 30 Percent of the population of the United States goes online for travel information. The best thing a travel agent can do to maintain their business is to educate themselves on travel destinations so they become travel experts. You want to be able to provide your customers with information that they cannot find themselves. Besides this you can also inform customers that you often have access to special discounts and offers that are not available to the general public. Some travel agents even specialize in certain areas. Some areas of specialties include cruises, business trips, honeymoons, travel geared towards a certain demographic and more. http://career.qandas.com/jobs/what-are-the-job-duties-of-a-travel-agent.html http://career.qandas.com/jobs/what-are-the-job-duties-of-a-travel-agent.html

Before deciding that you want to become a travel agent, it's best to learn about how to get the job and what is expected of you once you have the job. The following page might help with this.

HIGH SCHOOL: The minimum requirement to become a travel agent in Michigan is a high school diploma or the equivalent. If you are lucky enough to be able to travel a lot, it will also come in handy once you are a travel agent. Many employers will not hire people without any training geared towards becoming a travel agent. http://careerplanning.about.com/od/occupations/p/travel_agent.htm

ADDITIONAL TRAINING: After high school, look into travel agent classes/courses online, in community colleges and in Public adult education programs. Some people even go on to get their associates or bachelors degree in tourism and travel. In Michigan some schools offering travel agent classes include Lansing Community College and Western Michigan University. Some online schools are Strayer University Online, Penn Foster Career School, Central Pennsylvania College, and Stratford Career Institute. http://www.citytowninfo.com/employment/travel-agents/michigan http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos124.htm

A travel agent also has to know how to work on computers because you will spend a lot of time researching rates and various deals. This is where a vocational school might come in handy. Additional classes that might benefit you include world history, geography, computer science and foreign languages. Keep in mind that you always keep learning as a travel agent. You have to stay up to date of changing trends in various travel destinations. You need to know about new hotels, new attractions and such.

IS A LICENSE REQUIRED?: To sell travel in Michigan, you will not need a license or certificate of any kind. There is no state administered test you will have to pass as you would to become a real estate sales person. Anyone can basically become a travel agent. You can have business cards printed saying you are a travel agent and you are in business. However, if you decide to start your own home based business selling travel, some states do have Travel Seller's registration programs that you might want to join. If you don't join, suppliers will not recognize you as a legit entity.

RECOGNIZING A SCAM: Once you start looking for job as a travel agent you might come across companies offering to serve as a host company allowing you to sell travel using their web portal. Make sure you are dealing with a reputable company because some of these companies are scams only out to take your money. You can recognize these scams by the following signs:

• If a company promises immediate free or discounted travel, it's most likely a scam. (Everyone would sign up if that was the case) Most scam companies put emphasis on the benefits of the so called job. They glamorize it.
• If they tell you they will pay you a commission to recruit other people to join the company, it's probably a scam. (You want to sell travel, not become a multi level marketer)
• Companies bragging about their success are probably not successful at all.
• If you have to pay hundreds of dollar to become an affiliate, walk the other way. http://www.homebasedtravelagent.com/scams.htm

BENEFITS: Once you are a Michigan travel agent, don't expect to be able to start visiting various travel destinations right away. It usually takes a minimum of 6 months before your employer will add you to the list of employees registered with IATAN. IATAN is the company that issues the travel agent ID cards which allow you to get special discounts on travel, rental cars, hotels and such. Your employer might have you travel to various destinations, so you can experience it yourself and are able to sell it from a personal point of view to your customers. If your employment with the travel agency is terminated you will have to turn in your travel ID card.

TRAVEL AGENT DUTIES: If you want to become a travel agent, make sure you know what the job entails. What is expected from you and what can you expect. Maybe there are still areas that you might need some training in. As a travel agent you will have the following duties:

• ■ You will have to assist, communicate with, and inform customers about their desired travel destinations. A travel agent should be able to inform them about air fares, accommodations, rental cars, climate/weather, points of interest, required vaccinations, travel documents and customs regulations.
• ■ When working for a tour operator your duties might include promoting, developing, arranging and selling the company's own travel services and package tours through direct mail, the Internet and presentations.
• ■ Travel agents provide brochures and publications to the customer about their chosen destination.
• ■ You will have to book hotel reservations and transportation either by using their telephone or terminal.
• ■ Researching publications and online sources for information on flights, fares, group discounts and quality of hotel accommodations is another task at hand.
• ■ You have to be able to calculate costs of the fares, hotel stay, transportation and you should be able to quote various travel package prices.
• ■ Travel agents also print tickets and answering the customer's questions.