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The differences between travel counselors 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 counselor and a travel manager. Additionally, a travel manager has an average salary of $66,782, which is higher than the $44,934 average annual salary of a travel counselor.
The top three skills for a travel counselor include reservations, apollo and ground transportation. The most important skills for a travel manager are booking, reservations, and customer service.
| Travel Counselor | Travel Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $44,934 | $66,782 |
| Hourly rate | $21.60 | $32.11 |
| Growth rate | 20% | 20% |
| Number of jobs | 32,840 | 4,078 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 51 | 51 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A travel counselor is a certified travel agent specializing in planning and providing their clients' travel needs, from helping them choose their destination to arranging their accommodation and transportation. Among their duties include performing research and assessments to provide a list of recommendations that suits their clients' needs and preferences, preparing travel arrangements, giving travel tips, and advising them about travel safety, including visa and immunization policies. Additionally, a travel counselor assists clients by answering inquiries, discussing other services, and maintaining an open communication line should there be any issues or concerns.
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 counselors and travel managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Travel Counselor | Travel Manager | |
| Average salary | $44,934 | $66,782 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $70,000 | Between $45,000 And $98,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Idaho |
| Best paying company | - | Morgan Lewis |
| Best paying industry | - | Professional |
There are a few differences between a travel counselor and a travel manager in terms of educational background:
| Travel Counselor | Travel Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between travel counselors' and travel managers' demographics:
| Travel Counselor | Travel Manager | |
| Average age | 51 | 51 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 24.5% Female, 75.5% | Male, 32.5% Female, 67.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 13.5% Asian, 7.9% White, 66.5% 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% |