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The differences between travel agents and travel managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a travel agent and a travel manager. Additionally, a travel manager has an average salary of $66,782, which is higher than the $33,128 average annual salary of a travel agent.
The top three skills for a travel agent include reservations, booking and AAA. The most important skills for a travel manager are booking, reservations, and customer service.
| Travel Agent | Travel Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $33,128 | $66,782 |
| Hourly rate | $15.93 | $32.11 |
| Growth rate | 20% | 20% |
| Number of jobs | 34,166 | 4,078 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 51 | 51 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Travel agents help plan, choose, and organize travel schedules. Generally, they ensure that clients can efficiently process their travel plans and get the best travel experience possible. Primarily, they assist individuals, groups, and business travelers in booking their flights and hotel accommodations, buying tickets to events, and arranging their transport from one place to the other. They also provide recommendations for itineraries and offer travel packages from different airlines, hotels, or cruise lines. Travel agents can work as freelancers or mostly be employed by travel agencies.
The duties of a travel manager depend on their industry or place of employment. In general, they are in charge of making travel plans and arrangements for an organization's work-related trips. Their responsibilities include setting objectives, managing budgets and schedules, preparing travel accommodations and itineraries, gathering employee information, preparing and processing travel documents, and performing research and analysis to find the ideal travel services. Moreover, a travel manager must monitor the progress of all procedures and resolve issues should any arise.
Travel agents and travel managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Travel Agent | Travel Manager | |
| Average salary | $33,128 | $66,782 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $41,000 | Between $45,000 And $98,000 |
| Highest paying City | Madison, WI | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Wisconsin | Idaho |
| Best paying company | Perkins Coie | Morgan Lewis |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Professional |
There are a few differences between a travel agent and a travel manager in terms of educational background:
| Travel Agent | Travel Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between travel agents' and travel managers' demographics:
| Travel Agent | Travel Manager | |
| Average age | 51 | 51 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 21.9% Female, 78.1% | Male, 32.5% Female, 67.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 8.7% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 7.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 8.6% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 17% | 17% |