New Hampshire residents who are passionate about travel and enjoy helping others create unforgettable experiences can find fulfillment in starting a travel agent career. The state’s straightforward career steps also make this career option highly attractive.
Residents can follow the guide below to carve out their unique approach and enjoy benefits such as comprehensive education and the opportunity for rapid career growth.
The guide also reveals a few training packages and programs for aspiring travel agents in New Hampshire, what these programs offer, and the possible annual earnings they can expect based on their career journeys.
How to Become a Travel Agent in New Hampshire
Residents of New Hampshire can follow the approach below to launch a successful travel agent career in the state.
Step 1: Interpersonal & Other Soft Skills
Travel agents in New Hampshire and virtually everywhere else in the country need some soft skills to succeed on the job. Naturally, having strong interpersonal skills is vital as professionals are expected to relate with several clients, sometimes at the same time.
Other notable skills are communication, customer service, planning, and budgeting.
Step 2: Completing a Training Program
Completing a training program is a major part of launching a travel agent career. It ensures that candidates are properly skilled in relevant areas of the field and helps them acquire valuable certificates and degrees for professional appeal.
Not all travel agents attend technical institutions or community colleges to earn degrees and certificates. Some simply receive training on the job and attain the right level of expertise to start working professionally.
Step 3: Joining a Host Agency
There are several reasons why fresh travel agents are advised to join a host agent. These include an existing system to tap into, access to marketing tools and resources, provision of an IATA number, and networking opportunities, among others.
Step 4: Career Advancement
Even well-trained travel agents are expected to continue to improve their knowledge of the travel industry along with their planning and budgeting skills to grow on the job. Networking and marketing skills are also absolutely vital and need to continue to improve.
The following section explores how candidates can leverage certification for career advancement.
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Licensure & Certification Requirements
The state of New Hampshire allows travel agents to start their careers after they’ve been properly trained. Thus, there is no reason to register with a state board or local municipality.
Candidates will only need to bother with registration when they decide to start their own business, in which case they will go through all the regular steps that are required for starting a business in the state.
For a professional edge and career advancement, travel agents in the state typically pursue certification to establish credibility and stand out. Being certified also comes with other perks, including the opportunity to participate in continuing education and keep up with advancements in the field.
Top Travel Agent Schools in New Hampshire
The entries below are among the best programs for future travel agents in New Hampshire.
NHTI Concord's Community College - Online
Online, NH Online Only
The Center for Training and Business Development of NHTI Concord Community College offers an online travel agent program.
Tuition
$2,265 per ProgramContact
(855) 520-6806
NHTI Concord's Community College - Campus
Concord, NH Campus Only
Apart from the online program, NHTI Concord's Community College also offers campus-only training for future aspiring travel agents in the state.
Tuition
$215 - $290 per CreditContact
(603) 271-6484 Ext: 4143
aconn@ccsnh.edu
Great Bay Community College
Portsmouth, NH Campus Only
New Hampshire residents may start their careers by completing a hotel, restaurant, or event management training program at Great Bay Community College.
Tuition
$215 - $290 per CreditContact
(603) 427-7600 Ext:7500
gbadmissions@ccsnh.edu
Explore travel agent schools in New Hampshire by city:
Salary & Career Outlook
It is possible to group the annual average salary of travel agents in New Hampshire by location. Data obtained from the employment platform Zip Recruiter showed that the annual average salary of a travel agent in Lancaster is $48,486, making them the highest-paid in the state.
It also shows that the top three in the state consist of Claremont, coming in at second, with an annual average salary of $45,585, and Stratham, with an annual average salary of $45,162.
Without choosing to focus on a specific criterion, the annual average salary of travel agents in New Hampshire is $23,826 if they are just starting and are still among the lowest-paid and $68,563 if they are well-established and are among the highest-paid.
The majority of travel agents in the state will fall among the median earners, though, whose annual average salary is $41,755.
Looking ahead, the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 3% year-on-year increase in demand for travel agents across the country in the next 10 years.