Travel Agents still book 90% of all travel despite the Orbitz and Expedias of this world. The Internet is growing rapidly and everyone has an opportunity to do well selling travel. Travel technology is growing all the time with new and exciting programs becoming available to the Travel Agent.

The Travel Agent provides personal service and support that the giant booking agencies can't touch. Our technology also allows us to compete in many ways with price. We have more options, with our many booking engines to find the right vacation, than the big guys.

There are several ways you can enter the Travel Business.

OWN A STORE FRONT TRAVEL AGENCY

You could also invest over $200,000 to own a store front travel agency, however if you do not have at least two years experience in the travel industry you cannot get accredited. If you owned a store front travel agency you would receive 100% of the commissions paid by the suppliers however those commission levels will be substantially lower than the commissions that are paid to the larger volume agencies or Host Agencies. You may need to hire staff and join the many travel organizations. You would probably spend most of your time operating the business rather than concentrating on just selling. The days of the independent store front agency have been disappearing at the rate of 10% a year leaving only the National Brands operating locations.

TRAVEL AGENT SCHOOL

You could spend several thousand dollars to go to a travel agent school. This of course gives you the right to do nothing more than work for someone else and unfortunately travel agents working in an agency are on the lower end of the pay scale, usually earning very small commissions or working for not much more than minimum wage. The travel agent schools have plenty of graduates every day so there is never a shortage of people willing to work on this basis. The only way to make money in the travel industry is to have your own business. Travel agent schools can be important training but use it wisely. Many of them now have courses specifically for the Home-Based Travel Agent.

AFFILIATING WITH A MULTI-LEVEL-MARKETING FIRM OR "CARD MILL"

Herei is an easy way to get into the travel business. Join an MLM company that offers rewards for bringing in other agents. You can call your bookings into a centralized "call center" and earn a very low commission rate. This is a good choice for the "hobbyist" agent but a terrible choice for the serious travel agent. IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT BECOMING A TRUE TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL, STAY AWAY FROM THESE FIRMS.

CORAL SANDS TRAVEL'S CONCEPTS

With Coral Sands Travel you OWN and operate your own Independent Travel Business. You operate under the license and bonds of a fully certified Host Travel Agency and you do not need the two years experience in the industry to be accredited. You can name your business anything you would like and you can offer every service a store front Travel Agency offers.

You run your business from your home so there is very little overhead, and you receive the lion's share of the commissions. Coral Sands Travel pays independent agents 80% of all commissions and overrides received from the suppliers. We now have programs for the more experienced travel agent who want to earn 90% and 100% of all commissions. See our PROGRAM COSTS and BENEFITS PAGE for details