Travel Agent
Travel agents research, price and book flights, accommodation and itineraries for clients, then handle the changes when plans shift mid-trip.
- Median salary
- $69,200
4.2%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 8,900
1.1%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +9.3%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- High
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 40/wk
matches all-jobs average
- Shortage status
- In shortage
national
Travel agents compare fares, accommodation and routes for leisure and corporate clients, booking through global distribution systems such as Amadeus, Sabre and Galileo. They also advise on visas, travel insurance and seasonal conditions, and step in when something goes wrong after departure, which is what separates the job from booking a trip directly online. Most work for travel agencies, online travel companies or cruise and tour operators, and a smaller share operate as independent consultants.
How much do travel agents earn?
The median full-time salary for a travel agent is $69,200 per annum, before tax, up $14,500 since 2018.
Pay depends heavily on how the agency is set up: corporate travel and specialist leisure agencies tend to pay a steadier base, while retail and online agencies lean more on commission, so two agents on the same award can take home quite different amounts. A book of repeat clients and a destination specialty move earnings more than years of service do. Independent consultants carry their own costs and are paid almost entirely on what they sell.
What does a travel agent do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Piecing together multi-leg itineraries and comparing fares, routes and suppliers a client would otherwise spend hours on
- Fielding calls and messages outside business hours when a flight is cancelled or a booking needs fixing mid-trip
- Talking clients through changing budgets, dates and destinations as their plans shift
- Chasing visas, insurance documents and supplier confirmations before departure dates lock in
- Reconciling commissions and invoices with suppliers between bookings
What skills do travel agents need?
Employers look for selling and negotiation, account and relationship management, backed by Amadeus GDS fluency and strong customer service.
Specialist skills
- Selling and negotiation
- Account and relationship management
Software and tools
- Amadeus GDS
- Sabre booking system
- Galileo
- Microsoft Excel
- Skyscanner/Google Flights API
General skills
- Customer service
- Written communication
- Problem solving
- Attention to detail
- Stakeholder management
Is the job growing?
About 8,900 people work as travel agents in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 9.3% over the decade to 2035. That's modest growth: demand is steady rather than booming.
How do you become a travel agent?
Here's the path most travel agents take, step by step.
- 1Finish Year 12 or an equivalent
There is no degree requirement, and about a quarter of travel agents hold Year 12 or below as their highest qualification. Employers look at customer service experience and destination knowledge at least as closely as school results.
- 2Study a Certificate III in Travel or a Diploma of Travel and Tourism Management
TAFE and private providers cover fares and airfare rules, destinations and booking systems, and usually include some industry placement. The diploma is the largest single qualification held by people already in the job, at 24% of the workforce.
- 3Learn a booking system
Agencies run on Amadeus, Sabre or Galileo, and being able to hold a booking and work a queue is what makes you employable. Some courses include it, and employers and suppliers also run their own training, which matters more than which course you did.
- 4Start where the hiring is
Retail agencies, corporate travel firms, cruise and tour operators and online travel companies all hire entry-level consultants, often with a base salary plus commission while the client base builds. Reservations, box office sales and visitor information roles are also common ways in.
- 5Build a specialty
Agents who know a destination, a type of trip or an industry sector in depth get asked for by name, whether that is school groups, Japan, or a corporate account. That knowledge is what drives repeat bookings and referrals later.
Ready to apply as a travel agent?
Whether you're working toward becoming a travel agent or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a travel agent move to?
Moving into Sales Manager typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $70,000 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales Manager Travel agents can progress into sales management, building on targets and client relationships while adding team leadership and forecasting skills.Known move | +$70,000 | 32% | reskill |
| Customer Experience Manager A travel agent's client care and problem solving suit customer experience management, though formal leadership and strategy study is needed.Known move | +$45,500 | 22% | reskill |
| Travel Agency Manager Travel agents can step up to manage an agency, using booking and destination knowledge while learning team leadership and budgets. | +$20,800 | 25% | reskill |
| Key Account Manager Travel agents with corporate client relationships can move into account management, applying sales and service skills with little retraining. | +$18,200 | 69% | minimal |
| Store Manager Travel agency sales and customer service translate into retail store management, with extra training in staff and stock control.Known move | +$15,000 | 24% | reskill |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a travel agent?
The typical travel agent is 43 years old; 78% are women, 53% work full-time, and full-timers average 40 hours a week.
- 43
- Median age
- 78%
- Female share
- 53%
- Full-time
- +0h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a travel agent?
The work runs on the calendar of the trips being sold, so the weeks before school holidays and the end of the year are the busiest, and problems tend to arrive outside office hours. Much of the day is spent on the phone or at a screen comparing options and holding a queue of bookings, which suits people who like detail and do not mind searching until the routing works. Full-time agents average around 40 hours a week, though a disrupted booking can stretch that unexpectedly.
What people like
- Trips you built actually happen. A client comes back from a honeymoon or a first family trip that only worked because someone booked the right connection, the right seat and the right hotel. You see the result of your work in other people's holidays.
- Deep knowledge of a place or a type of trip. Agents who specialise, whether in Japanese rail, Antarctic cruises or school groups, become the person colleagues and clients ring. That expertise builds up over years and does not go stale the way general fare knowledge does.
- Repeat clients and referrals. Once a few families trust you with their annual trip, work comes to you rather than being chased. It also softens the effect of quiet booking periods, because a regular client base books steadily.
- Sorting out a mess someone else made. Rebooking a family stranded by a cancelled flight, or finding a room in a sold-out city during a conference, is the part clients remember. The pressure is real, and so is the satisfaction when it lands.
What people find hard
- The job keeps the hours of the trips you sell. A client whose flight is cancelled at 2am on a Sunday is your problem, and peak booking periods mean long days at the desk. Agencies handle this differently, so ask how after-hours support is shared before taking a role.
- Income moves with commission. A quiet month or a cancelled group booking shows up in your pay. Agents on a lower base feel that more than those at corporate agencies, which is why the salary and commission split matters as much as the headline figure.
- Supplier changes you cannot control. Airlines move schedules, hotels change rates, and the client hears it from you. You spend time fixing something you had no part in causing, and the explanation is often the hardest part of the call.
- The simple bookings go online. Most people now book a straightforward return flight themselves, so what reaches an agent is often the complicated trip: multiple stops, a cruise with tight transfers, or a group with different needs. That keeps the work interesting but rarely easy.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ travel agents?
Administrative and Support Services employs the largest share of travel agents, followed by Transport, Postal and Warehousing.
Top employing industries
- 1Administrative and Support Services
- 2Transport, Postal and Warehousing
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 24.3% | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 12 or below | 23.5% | |
| Bachelor degree | 21.2% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 19.4% | |
| Postgraduate | 4.2% |
Will AI replace travel agents?
This is a highly exposed job, because comparing fares, drafting itinerary options and issuing airfares are exactly what booking engines and AI trip planners now do quickly and cheaply. What keeps a share of the work human is the messy end: a client stranded by a cancelled flight, a visa rule that has just changed, or a corporate account that expects to be looked after. Agents who stay close to those parts of the job use the same tools to work faster rather than losing work to them.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Rescuing disrupted trips and holding client relationshipsRebooking a family stuck overnight after a cancellation means negotiating with an airline, knowing the client's constraints and often doing it at 6am, which no booking tool does on its own.35%low
- Comparing fares and building itinerary optionsSearch engines and AI planners can pull together route and fare options in seconds, so this part of the day is shrinking to checking and refining what the software returns.25%high
- Issuing airfares and working the booking queuesAmadeus, Sabre and Galileo already automate most fare issuance and reissue, and agents mostly supervise the queue and fix the exceptions that fail.20%high
- Handling visas, insurance and entry requirementsRules and advisories change constantly and tools keep the reference material current, but someone still has to decide what a client's circumstances require and explain it.20%moderate
Common questions about becoming a travel agent
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do travel agents earn?
Travel agents earn $69,200 per annum, before tax, as a median for full-time work. Treat that as a guide: the split between base salary and commission, the type of agency and the size of your client book move it either way. Corporate and specialist agencies generally pay a steadier figure than retail or online ones.
How do you become a travel agent?
Most people start with a Certificate III in Travel (SIT30222) or a diploma, then learn a booking system such as Amadeus or Sabre. Agencies hire on customer service and destination knowledge as much as qualifications, and train new consultants on their own systems. Reservations, box office sales and visitor information roles are common entry points too.
Are travel agents in demand?
Travel agents are currently in shortage nationally, and employment is projected to grow 9.3% over the decade to 2035. For someone looking for work, that means openings exist in corporate travel, cruise and specialty leisure agencies, which are harder to automate than simple itinerary booking. The jobs are concentrated in agencies and travel companies rather than spread evenly across the country.
Will AI replace travel agents?
AI already handles the simplest part of the job: comparing fares, suggesting routes and drafting itinerary options. What it does not do well is rebook a stranded family at short notice, read the risk in a tight connection or hold a corporate account together over years. Agents whose work centres on those things are using the tools rather than competing with them.
What can travel agents move into?
Many step up to travel agency manager, where booking and destination knowledge carry over and pay is $20,800 more than a travel agent's. Agents with corporate accounts often move into key account management, which uses much of the same client work and pays $18,200 more. Running your own agency or working as an independent consultant is also a common path, and often where earnings grow, though you carry the overheads and the quiet months yourself.
Do you need a degree to be a travel agent?
No. About 24% of travel agents hold a Diploma / Advanced Diploma, and around a quarter finished at Year 12 or below, so a degree is not the standard entry route. What employers ask for is a booking system skill, supplier knowledge and a record of looking after customers.
Related roles
- Travel Agency Manager
- Store Manager
- Customer Experience Manager
- Key Account Manager
- Sales Manager
- Reservations Agent
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