Certification is necessary and sometimes mandatory depending on the geographic details of where you plan to conduct business. While there is no formal university program or degree required for you to start your career as a travel agent, some jurisdictions will have a standard training guide and a formal exam that you must complete before you can start selling travel. Even though we all hate doing exams and taking courses, having a formal certification can prove to be very beneficial to the success of your business.

Training

Where certification is a requirement, this will also mean that you will have to go through a standard training program for you to have the knowledge needed to successfully complete your certification exam. This training will provide you with a lot of very valuable information that you can use to improve the quality of the service you provide to your clients as a travel agent. Most training courses or manual should be no longer than two to 12 weeks. If you choose to enroll in a college program that offers a travel agent course, then that is totally up to you. However, the information that you are required to learn should not take you more than a few weeks.

Credibility

When you have some sort of formal certification to show to your clients or to place on your website for site visitors to view, that adds credibility to your business. This will give consumers more confidence and reason to do business with you. This is especially important when you are brand new with no other accreditation nor past customer testimonials to add credibility to your business.

Do your research to find out if there are any local regulatory body that governs the trading of travel products and services in your area. Find out what their certification process and requirements are before you choose to enroll in any program that may charge large and unnecessary fees.