Travel agency manager

Travel agency managers work in retail travel outlets, promoting and selling holidays and travel-related products

As a travel agency manager, you may manage a small independent business or a large chain. Some agencies specialise in business travel or offer a detailed knowledge of specific locations or travel products.

Responsibilities usually include the daily operational management of the agency, sales targets and development, staffing and financial management.

You'll need to ensure the agency delivers specialist, professional travel advice and offers a good range of competitive travel products to meet the demands of the customer. This will usually include an online booking service and tailor-made trips.

Responsibilities

As a travel agency manager, you'll undertake a range of activities in several areas of the business, including:

Office management

You'll need to:

• oversee the smooth and efficient day-to-day running of the travel agency, including administration and operations
• manage budgets
• measure the financial performance of your staff to ensure they're working productively and identify areas for improvement
• oversee the recruitment, development and retention of staff as well as payroll matters and staff training
• organise incentives, bonus schemes and competitions
• deal with disciplinary matters and customer complaints
• meet regularly with team leaders to give them sales figures and plan how they approach their work
• meet company directors who advise on strategy and find out about any local issues and future trends.

Sales and targets

You'll usually need to:

• sell travel products and tour packages, providing a personalised service to customers both face-to-face and over the phone so that they will book with you again
• understand your customers' travel needs and provide tailored holiday recommendations and advice
• source products and destinations to meet consumer demands for bespoke travel and sustainable tourism
• liaise with travel partners, including airlines, hotels, cruise liners and tour operators, to manage bookings and schedules, often a year in advance
• lead and motivate the sales team to achieve and exceed their sales targets and ensure company profitability, providing sales reports to head office
• encourage team working and support members of the staff team
• implement and review effective sales strategies to maximise profitability
• take part in familiarisation visits to new destinations, to gather information on issues and amenities of interest to consumers
• keep up to date with the latest travel and holiday trends.

Marketing and promotion

You will also need to:

• promote and market the business, sometimes to new or niche markets
• develop local marketing initiatives and campaigns to increase sales
• develop relationships with customers and suppliers
• implement alternative and innovative ideas for achieving new business
• attend events and conferences.

Salary

• Salaries for travel agency managers range from around £26,000 to £35,000, depending on the company's size, location and market.
• In senior-level positions, salaries typically range from £40,000 to over £50,000.

Salaries vary greatly between agencies, with larger chains normally paying higher rates. You can enhance your earnings through commission, and various incentives and performance bonuses. Concessions for personal holidays and travel are also common.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

Working hours typically include a Saturday, which is classed as a normal working day. You'll usually have to coordinate cover over seven days a week, on a five-day day rota system. Part-time work is available.

You may occasionally need to work evenings when attending promotions and conferences.

If you're working at a contact centre, shift work will usually be required.

What to expect

• Jobs are available in most areas of the UK. Self-employment or freelance work is an option due to the rise in popularity of online bookings and tailor-made package tours.
• The industry can experience downturns and upturns in equal measure, depending on the economic climate.
• There is an emphasis on meeting sales and productivity targets.
• Uniforms and a smart appearance are required in most organisations.
• There is occasional travel within a working day, plus overseas travel for familiarisation visits to new destinations, for example.

Qualifications

Although you don't need a degree, HND or foundation degree to become a travel agency manager, subjects that include travel, business and management modules are useful, particularly if they have a practical work placement.

The following subjects may increase your chances:

• business/marketing/financial management
• business with languages
• human geography
• social/economic/business studies
• travel/tourism/leisure studies.

Employers look for relevant managerial and travel-related experience. It's usual to start in a junior role, such as travel agency clerk or travel consultant, before moving into a management role.

Some of the major travel companies provide graduate training programmes in specific areas of the business. Although you may get placed in a retail travel agency during the training period, ultimately, you'll be working in a specific business function. This tends to be at head office or other relevant locations, even overseas.

Hays Travel offers a New to Travel training scheme for people with targeted sales and management experience from any sector, who want to move into travel agency management.

Entry into a retail travel agency without a higher education qualification is possible. You'll usually need GCSEs in maths and English, as well as experience in travel and tourism.

It's also possible to take a Level 3 Travel Consultant apprenticeship. Apprenticeships combine paid work with part-time study meaning that you can learn on the job. Large travel companies such as TUI Group and Hays Travel offer apprenticeships.

Find out more about travel and tourism courses.

Travel Weekly, in partnership with ABTA (the trade association for UK travel agents, tour operators and the wider travel industry), have produced a useful guide to careers in the travel and tourism industry. Find out more at Take off in Travel.

Skills

You'll need to have:

• excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• excellent sales and customer service skills
• strong negotiation and problem-solving skills
• diplomacy and tact
• innovation and energy
• listening skills to help customers book the right holiday for them
• commitment to people management and the ability to lead and motivate a team
• sound judgement with attention to detail
• competent IT skills
• strong organisational skills
• resilience to cope with long hours and pressure at peak times
• a genuine interest in travel and a good understanding of the industry
• an awareness of the current trends in travel (e.g. sustainable tourism) and knowledge of popular and up-and-coming destinations.

Work experience

Some degree courses include a placement year option. This provides the opportunity to gain practical experience, increase your skills and develop a network of contacts. There may also be options to undertake shorter placements during your course.

Vacation or part-time work in a sales and/or customer service role is valuable. Experience of foreign travel (e.g. as part of a gap year or summer placement) will also enhance your application. Foreign language skills are useful.

Relevant management experience in other areas of the leisure or tourism industry, such as hotels or airlines, is likely to increase your chances.

Experience in a marketing, retail or IT role is also helpful.

Student membership of the Institute of Travel and Tourism (ITT) is available for students on a recognised travel and tourism course, and provides the opportunity to build a network of contacts.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

Most of the brand-name travel agents are owned by a few large groups, made even larger in recent years by high-profile mergers.

However, there are a number of independent agencies, some small and some with branches throughout the UK, and other specialist agencies. Such travel agents may deal with particular destinations or products, for instance, golf holidays, sailing holidays or niche locations. Check the list of members on the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) website to get an idea of typical employers.

Online travel bookings play a significant role in the industry and there are job opportunities in all aspects of online travel management. Search for members of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) on their website.

Self-employment is also possible, particularly when providing specialist travel options. The internet has created many opportunities due to demand from people wanting more tailored holidays at the best prices.

TV travel shops are another source of employment, with several of the major travel agencies owning their own satellite and cable TV channels.

Look for job vacancies at:

• Travel Jobs
• Travel Weekly
• TTG Media Jobs

You can also check websites of travel agencies, companies and tour operators.

Specialist recruitment agencies such as C&M Travel Recruitment and Travel Trade Recruitment also handle vacancies.

Vacancies are also advertised on LinkedIn.

Professional development

Training is mainly on the job, although large companies may provide training programmes. Employers will often encourage you to take up learning and development opportunities in areas such as digital marketing, and coaching and mentoring.

Continuing professional development (CPD) via training from their travel industry partners is encouraged by ABTA and the Institute of Travel and Tourism (ITT).

ABTA provides a range of events and conferences in areas such as travel trends, marketing and social media, selling travel, customer service and sustainable travel. View ABTA events.

Professional qualifications are also provided by a range of bodies, including:

• Confederation of Tourism & Hospitality (CTH) - offers tourism management qualifications ranging from Level 3 (junior/trainee level) to Level 7 (senior level)
• International Air Transport Association (IATA) - offers the Foundation in Travel and Tourism Diploma, the Travel and Tourism Consultant Diploma (self-study) and the Managing the Travel Business Diploma (self-study).

It's also possible to do postgraduate study in areas such as international tourism and hospitality management and sustainable tourism, as well as an MBA focusing on tourism management. Search postgraduate courses in tourism.

Membership of the ITT is useful for networking with other professionals. Membership is available at different levels, depending on your skills and experience.

You can keep up to date with the latest industry news through websites such as Travel Weekly, TTG Media and Travel Gossip.

Career prospects

The role of a travel agency manager offers a lot of scope for variety and progression. It may be necessary to relocate or switch companies to achieve this.

In larger companies, it's often possible to move up the management ladder to area manager roles or move into another area of the business such as PR, human resources or marketing.

Typically, as a new entrant, you'll need to gain two-to-three years' experience as a sales/travel consultant before applying for a team leader position and a further two-to-three years' experience before applying for branch management roles.

By specialising in a few chosen destinations, opportunities may arise to relocate or spend time working abroad where you could forge links with travel partners overseas. Alternatively, you could move into education tourism, helping students learn skills and gain knowledge in educational institutions around the world. Alternatively, you could teach tourism at an FE college or university.

The experience you gain as a travel agency manager also opens up opportunities in the wider tourism industry including hotels and leisure facilities, airlines and cruise ships.