If you love travel, enjoy helping people create memorable experiences and have ever imagined turning that passion into a career, the travel industry can offer an exciting range of opportunities.
You might see yourself working as a travel consultant, helping clients plan holidays and complex itineraries. Perhaps you would love to specialise in cruises, luxury travel, adventure holidays or particular destinations. Or maybe your long-term goal is to build your own travel business and work independently.
Whatever direction you choose, developing strong industry knowledge and practical travel skills is an important place to start.
The travel industry recommends formal training
The Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA), Australia’s peak industry body for the travel sector, specifically identifies qualifications in travel as one of its key considerations for people looking to establish a travel business.
ATIA states that formal training provides a strong head start for people beginning or developing their careers in travel and endorses the Certificate III in Travel as the entry-level qualification for travel consultants and frontline travel-selling staff. ATIA Travel
That makes the SIT30222 Certificate III in Travel an excellent starting point whether your goal is to gain employment in the industry, build your professional knowledge or eventually explore running a travel business of your own.
What does it take to start a travel business?
There is much more to establishing a successful travel business than simply knowing great destinations.
ATIA recommends that anyone considering starting a retail travel agency, tour operation, online travel business or other tourism-related enterprise carefully research the requirements before getting started. Its major considerations include:
A strong business plan should also consider your target market, competitive advantage, staff skills and experience, initial funding, business objectives and financial forecasts.
In other words, a passion for travel may inspire the idea, but industry knowledge, professional skills and good business planning help turn that idea into something much more substantial.
Why a Certificate III in Travel matters
The importance of formal training becomes particularly relevant for anyone who may want to operate an ATIA Accredited travel business in the future.
ATIA advises that for a new travel business to become accredited, at least 50% of staff working in travel-selling positions must hold a Certificate III in Travel or equivalent, or have at least two years’ experience in a travel-selling position. ATIA Travel
While completing a Certificate III in Travel does not by itself establish or accredit a travel business, it can provide an important foundation of industry knowledge and recognised training from which to build your career.
And even if owning a travel business isn’t your goal, the qualification develops practical skills that can prepare you for a variety of roles across the travel and tourism industry.
Study travel with Suzan Johnston Australia
The SIT30222 Certificate III in Travel at Suzan Johnston Australia is a nationally recognised qualification designed for people who want to develop practical skills for today’s travel industry.
You’ll develop knowledge across important areas of travel, including customer service, researching and providing travel information, preparing quotations, booking tourism products, processing travel-related documentation, Australian and international destinations, airfares and computerised reservation systems.
Most importantly, you’ll be supported by an experienced travel trainer who understands the industry and can help connect what you’re learning with the realities of working in travel.
Our course has been developed with a strong focus on practical, job-relevant skills, helping students build the knowledge and confidence they need to pursue opportunities within the travel industry.
Study online and around your existing commitments
Changing careers doesn’t necessarily mean putting the rest of your life on hold.
Our Certificate III in Travel is delivered online and self-paced, allowing you to work through your studies around employment, family and other commitments.
Students progress through the course one unit at a time and receive individual trainer support throughout their studies. Pre-recorded classes can be accessed at a time that suits you, with additional trainer support available when you need it.
Regular course commencements mean you can get started without waiting months for the next intake.
An optional one-week industry placement is also available, providing another opportunity to experience a real travel workplace, put your developing skills into practice and gain valuable exposure to the industry.
Where could a career in travel take you?
A Certificate III in Travel can help prepare you for opportunities across retail and wholesale travel agencies, airlines, cruise companies, hotels, car rental businesses and other travel and tourism organisations.
And for some people, employment is just the beginning.
After gaining skills, confidence and industry experience, you may decide to specialise in an area of travel you love or investigate establishing a travel business of your own.
Whether your dream is helping clients plan unforgettable holidays, becoming a cruise or destination specialist, working within a travel agency or eventually becoming your own boss, there are many directions a career in travel can take you.
The important thing is to build the right foundations first.
Ready to turn your passion for travel into a career?
Suzan Johnston Australia has been providing professional training since 1959, and our flexible online delivery means you can start developing your travel career from wherever you are in Australia.
If you’ve been thinking about working in travel, changing careers or perhaps even running your own travel business one day, the SIT30222 Certificate III in Travel could be your first step.
Start your journey with Suzan Johnston Australia and turn your love of travel into professional skills that can take you places.
For further information about establishing a travel business and ATIA Accreditation, visit the Australian Travel Industry Association’s Starting a Travel Business guide.
