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Role hub · Travel Agents

Travel Agent: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of travel agents earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$50,160
Hourly
$24.11
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Travel Agents plan and sell transportation and accommodations for customers. The median pay is $50,160 a year ($24.11 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is an associate's degree (37% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$50,160
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
55,110
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 3 of 5
medium preparation
Most common education
Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree
37% of workers
Explore the role

Every page for Travel Agents

SalaryTravel Agent salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →How to becomeTravel Agent how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

Open →Career changeTravel Agent career change

Where these skills transfer, with skill match and pay change.

Open →Free toolCheck your resume

Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

Open →
The work

What travel agents do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Collect payment for transportation and accommodations from customer.
  2. Plan, describe, arrange, and sell itinerary tour packages and promotional travel incentives offered by various travel carriers.
  3. Converse with customer to determine destination, mode of transportation, travel dates, financial considerations, and accommodations required.
  4. Compute cost of travel and accommodations, using calculator, computer, carrier tariff books, and hotel rate books, or quote package tour's costs.
  5. Record and maintain information on clients, vendors, and travel packages.
  6. Book transportation and hotel reservations, using computer or telephone.
  7. Print or request transportation carrier tickets, using computer printer system or system link to travel carrier.
  8. Provide customer with brochures and publications containing travel information, such as local customs, points of interest, or foreign country regulations.
Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Service OrientationcoreActive ListeningcoreReading ComprehensioncoreSpeakingSocial PerceptivenessPersuasionJudgment and Decision MakingCoordinationNegotiation

Knowledge areas: Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Sales and Marketing, Geography, Computers and Electronics, Administrative.

Tools and technology

Software travel agents use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareIn demand
  • Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareIn demand
  • Microsoft OutlookElectronic mail softwareIn demand
  • Amadeus CRSData base user interface and query softwareIn demand
  • Sabre Central CommandEnterprise resource planning ERP softwareIn demand
  • Intuit QuickBooksAccounting softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft AccessData base user interface and query softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft PowerPointPresentation softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft WordWord processing softwareHot technology
  • SAP ConcurAccounting softwareHot technology
  • ZoomVideo conferencing softwareHot technology
  • Apollo Reservation SystemCalendar and scheduling software

Also called: Auto Travel Counselor, Beach Expert, Corporate Travel Consultant, Destination Specialist, International Travel Consultant, Tour Coordinator.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).