Being a travel agent can be a challenge in our electronic world, but there will always be a place for professionals with all the information literally at their fingertips.
That's what Linda Skehor, a recent graduate of North Island College's Travel Counselling Program, has discovered.
Skehor had been a homemaker for 15 years before enrolling at NIC in September 2004. She was interested in the travel industry because of her experiences planning her own round-the-world vacation. Nevertheless, the program was an eye-opener and packed a great deal of information into its 27 weeks. She was especially grateful for the insights into the industry from an instructor with personal knowledge.
Courses cover world geography, travel fundamentals, automation, ticketing and tariffs - and students also test drive their skills in a practicum. Skehor was surprised at how much she needed to learn to be a travel agent.
”It has a whole different language," she confessed.
The NIC program is accredited by the Canadian Institute of Travel Counselors and Skehor won a cash award and a one year membership in the organization for receiving the highest mark in the province on her final exam. Since leaving the program, Skehor worked as a salaried agent for a while and last October became an outside agent, working on a commission-only basis, at Global Destinations TravelPlus in Courtenay.
Thanks to the NIC program, her job is now second nature. Details are essential in the business, Skehor revealed, as is the personal touch. She reads a lot of travel journals, keeps up on the travel advisories and is always researching new travel destinations that might interest her clients. All this information makes a good travel agent and ensures travelers get the vacation they want, she remarked. It also explains why many people still prefer to use a travel agent rather than do it all themselves.
Being a travel agent gives Skehor what she loves best - detail, web-surfing, personal knowledge, "plus I am allowed to get to know my clients in order to serve them better," she declared.
Picture: Linda Skehor, Graduate of the NIC Travel Counselling Program
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