Online Tourism & Travel Degrees
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Working as a travel agent is a dream job for students who love traveling, learning about other cultures, and experiencing new places. They should be well-informed on packages to destinations they're selling, and advise clients on everything from local customs to laws and popular attractions. However, it can be unstable field, as demand waxes and wanes according to economic and political climates. Those who position themselves as experts or specialize in specific types of travel will be at an advantage.
Do you dream of traveling to exotic destinations at a deep discount? Does planning a dream trip for clients sound like a rewarding career? Then being a travel agent is a viable route to choose. Being a travel agent is more than just making reservations. Those with connections to hotel, tour, and cruise providers have an advantage and be able to offer lower rates for customers and obtain a larger commission. The ability of travel agents to plan the perfect trip will be tested, and they'll receive praise if the trip goes well or the brunt of criticism if things fall through.
Formal training in the field is an absolute must. For those with dreams of opening their own agency, considerable experience is required before it can become a reality. Travel agents will also need to roll with the punches, as earnings will be high during peak travel seasons and low during economic hardships.
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What are some of the specializations within this degree program?
- Group Travel Agents: These specialists focus on booking complete packages or groups, like families, school students, and church groups.
- Destination Travel Agents: These travel agents are experts on one particular country or region of the world, and book vacation packages solely for the particular area.
- Cruise Agents: Whether vacationers are looking for a weekend break to the US Virgin Islands or an expedition to Antarctica, cruise agents find what they're looking for.
- Luxury Travel Specialists: From five-star hotels to customized, private tours, these travel agents are high class all the way.
- Senior Travel: Senior citizens are becoming more and more active, and they need specialist travel agents who can design a trip experience while considering their special needs.
What degree levels are available?
- Certificate: 1 year to complete
- Associate Degree: 2 years to complete
- Bachelor's Degree: 4 years to complete
- Master's Degree: 2 years to complete
What are the educational and certification requirements?
There are several degree programs available for those interested in the travel and tourism industry. Many vocational schools and community colleges offer certificates and associate degree in travel and tourism. Courses included in the degree include geography, travel sales and customer service, and planning. Certificates usually last one year, while associate degrees are two years in length. The bachelor's degree program includes courses similar to the associate degree, though subjects are covered more in depth. Global perspectives, hotel/resort management, and internships are all covered. The bachelor's degree program in travel and tourism takes an average of four years of full-time study. The master's degree program is more comprehensive. Students will take classes on a wide range of relevant subjects, such as international travel law, reservation systems, and accounting, as well as a primer on world cultures.
While there are no certificates required to legally work as a travel agent, there are some organizations that act as approval bodies in order for travel agents to receive a commission. The Airlines Reporting Corporation offers two types of participation levels: the verified travel consultant and the ARC-accredited agency. Only the latter can issue tickets for affiliated airlines, rail, and bus providers. To be eligible, agencies must: provide a deposit of $20,000; employ at least one person who has passed the ARC Specialist exam; and employ at least one manager.
Another option is to apply for accreditation via the International Airlines Travel Agent Network, an internationally recognized body. The benefits of IATAN accreditation are online validation, professional recognition, and networking opportunities. To be eligible, applicants must have errors and omission insurance, or have worked as a travel agent for five years, or be certified and licensed by local and state agencies, and show commitment to the industry via proof of sales and finances.
What kinds of classes will I be expected to take?
- Business: Travel agencies, hotels, and other tourism institutions are all businesses that capitalize on a growing global connectivity. Therefore, learning the basics of business will aid you in making your agency, hotel, or other travel establishment profitable.
- Computer-Based Information Systems: Hotels and cruise lines use special computer systems to book rooms and keep tabs on customers who may require assistance. These classes will teach you how to use these highly specialized systems.
- Hospitality Law: There are a myriad of standards that must be met in the food and lodging industry. A class in hospitality law will help to educate you on what your duties are to your guests.
- Cultural Studies: When traveling to another country, it is important to remember that many cultures function and communicate in different ways. This is essential to understand when working in the travel industry, where people from different cultures come to learn and interact. Classes in cultural studies will give you the valuable interpersonal skills necessary for working in the tourism and travel professions.
- Accounting: Like business classes, accounting will teach you how to profit from a career in tourism and travel. Accounting, however, emphasizes a knowledge of technical economics in the business world.
If I pursue this program online, will I be required to complete any on-site training?
Some tourism and travel degree programs require the completion of an internship. What does an internship in tourism and travel look like? You may act as an assistant to a travel agent, aid visitors at a destination center, or work on a recreation team on a cruise line. Check with your school about possible internship opportunities for your program.
What are some other degrees that are related to this program?
There are a number of different programs that are related to a bachelor's in tourism and travel. If you are interested in hotels in particular, then you may want to consider a degree in hospitality/restaurant management. This degree may give you the opportunity to work in a place of management in a hotel or restaurant immediately after you graduate, rather than working up from a lower position in a given establishment. If you would like a more flexible degree within the same area, consider a management degree. While a hospitality/restaurant management degree gives you the special training to work in a hotel or restaurant, a Management degree will give you the flexibility to work in any managerial position, usually in a corporate environment.
You may also be interested in obtaining a degree in international business. Those who work in international business are the globetrotters of the professional world, traveling to other countries to arrange business transactions. If the specialized, international sector doesn't interest you, but you are still drawn to economic aspects of the degree, then you may seek a more general degree in business, where you will be trained in the buying and selling of goods and services in the professional world.
Perhaps you are drawn most to the cultural and sociological aspects of travel. Then a degree in the social sciences would allow you to capitalize on that interest. The social sciences include subjects of study such as anthropology, economics, geography, history, and sociology.
