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How to Start a Travel Agency in Canada | eHow.com

How to Start a Travel Agency in Canada

Starting a travel agency takes only a few steps.

The travel industry is growing constantly. A travel agency is a viable business, since it includes person-to-person contact and real selling. You can share your love of travel, make people aware of what is available and awaken a desire for a trip by starting a travel agency. With more individuals interested in traveling for personal or business reasons, you can succeed with a good client base. In Canada, you will need a postsecondary education along with industry-specific certificates to start a travel agency. To start a travel agency in Canada, you must become a Certified Travel Counselor.

Obtain the appropriate educational degree. This can be a degree or diploma from an accredited institution specializing in travel and tourism or a hospitality program. This will help you familiarize yourself with the recent trends and practices of the travel industry.

Register with a travel agent program after obtaining the educational degree. There are many courses offered on-line or in career colleges. The travel agent programs will help you expand your knowledge and expertise around current software programs, legal procedures and obligations of the industry.

Register with a provincial association of travel agents as well as the Canadian Association of Retail Travel Agents. Soon after obtaining your degree, you can apply to this regulatory body to inform them that you have the necessary credentials for starting a travel agency in your province. Many of these associations have their own websites and you can submit your applications on-line.

Write a business plan. Include your mission and vision statements, start-up and operating expenses, projected revenue, funding sources, and ways to make profits in the plan. Identify your competitors and assess how you can fit in. Keep the business plan updated to help you start the agency off on the right foot.

Start your own travel agency. You can also choose to work for a retail travel agency or an airline before starting your own. Apply on the Association of Canada Travel Agencies website, and join them for information about the latest trends. This is mandatory in Canada.

Get your Certified Travel Counselor designation through the Canadian Institute of Travel Counselors. You will need to complete a knowledge exam, have a minimum of 1,000 hours of occupational experience, pass a performance checklist and finish a performance evaluation to get this designation. In order to get a full member status, you will need to pay a fee (Check the resources section of this article).

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