How much do travel agents in Canada make?

[Whitneysara]

How much do travel agents in Canada make?

[Paul Motter]

About the same as they make in America - it all depends on how well you work it. The truth is that it is a hard job and most agents do not devote the kind of time that is needed to really build up a big clientele, so you can't go by the "average"

[cruise planner]

Neal has stated it well, but I have to ask; when you're asking about how much they make, are you referring to how much they make per reservation or are you asking about how much they make per year as a job?

If you're asking about it based on your interest in working as a travel agent, it all depends on how much effort and time you want to commit to the job. We make a commission on each sale, so obviously our income is based on how much we sell; the more we sell, the more we make. Some agents work part-time and some work full-time. Some work in a store, some work at home, some work for themselves, some work for others, and others belong to a consortium, while others do not. Some sell to the average income clients, while others only sell to luxury-minded clients. (The bigger the sale, the higher the commission.)

I know agents who only make a couple of hundred dollars a year and I know agents who make over $100,000 a year.

In other words, it's not a simple question to answer.

Pete

[Manuel]

Originally Posted by jamesfarnando

i never knew that being a travel agent i could make so much money.
$100,000 is a great deal of money.

You would have be a very hard working, very efficient and extremely knowledgeable plus very friendly and patient to make anywhere near that much.

TM

[Kamloops Cruiser]

Originally Posted by jamesfarnando

i never knew that being a travel agent i could make so much money.
$100,000 is a great deal of money.

To make that amount they have to work independently. The agency makes a certain amount on each booking (whether a cruise or other booking). The balance is given to the agent . Many agents make a min salary each month.

[cruise planner]

VERY few agents ever make anywhere near that kind of money. In fact most of them make less than a good full-time job pays. For an agent to make $100,000 they would have to be very hardworking, work alot more hours than a full-time job, and sell alot of luxury cruises.

I would estimate the chances of an agent making that kind of money is maybe about 1 in 100. Problem is when they are that busy, they can't spend the time with each client that needs to be spent, plus they have alot of overhead - probably even have an assistant or two working for them. So while they may make $100,000, their take home pay is probably less than half that amount.

Pete

[felix_the_cat]

I can tell you, as a Canadian travel agent, that number is so far out to lunch. I can just wish.

I started this when I still worked for the government, knowing it wasn't going to pay piles of money. When I retired I continued with it because I enjoy it, certainly not for the money.

I work for cruiseshipcenters (I think I can say there here.) It's now owned by Expedia.ca. I work with a franchise but very seldom go into the office. I have a number of clients I have worked with over the last number of years.

I do this because I enjoy it and the bit of extra money supplements my pension.

I don't want more clients than I can handle on a personal basis. I am available to them about 18 hours a day, 7 days a week. If I had too many clients I just couldn't give them the service they have a right to.

I still take on more clients because I have the time. But for the original question, there is not a lot of money to be made.

[cruise planner]

I'm like you, Felix! I don't want to get too big because then I can't provide my clients with the service I feel they deserve. When an agent tries to grow too big, they tend to get too aggressive and too busy so that they become more about making the sale than in providing good service. There's a very fine line between the two.

Plus, like you, I own a franchise - mine's with Cruise Planners.

And as like you, I like working about half time on the business, so I don't want to get too big. If I wanted a full-time job, I would have kept my other job - paid more and had better benefits!

But I agree, I do this because I enjoy it, not because I have to. And when it ceases to be fun or bigger than I want, then it's time to get out of the business. At least for now, I'm still very much enjoying the job and I have some awesome clients - totaling more than 2700 around the world. We've even had the opportunity to visit many of our foreign clients in their home towns, which really makes it wonderful.

I really do feel sorry for some of these bigger agents because they have to work too hard and don't have the time to enjoy it the way we do. Yeah, they make more money, but as they say, money isn't everything.

Pete