How to Train to Be a Travel Manager

Travel managers have a very important job to do within large companies and they are usually referred to as travel managers or corporate travel managers, depending on how large the company is. As the travel manager, you basically supervise and help coordinate the travel department within the company, such as planning out of town travel arrangements for seminars and conferences, planning relocations for new employees, adhering to a budget and establishing specific policies for the travel department and employees within the company in regards to travel.

Instructions

1

Receive your bachelor's degree. This is a pre-requisite to work as a travel manager in most companies. Your degree should be in tourism, hospitality or a related field.

2

Gain experience working in the travel industry. Before you can start manager training, you need to be familiar with the nature of the industry, and you can gain this experience by working as a travel agent or in the tourism business for at least a two or three year span, which is long enough to make you appear established on a resume.

3

Get a job within a travel department of the type of company you want to work for. Travel arrangements for a marketing firm will be different than those of an event planning company, for example. Competition amongst travel managers is high, so your best chance of becoming a manager is to be promoted from within an organization or at least have experience in the same industry.

4

Acquire membership through the American Society of Travel Agents, which ranges from $247 to $2500 in cost, as of 2011, depending on the level of your membership. Through this organization,you can receive certifications by completing online courses, most of which only take an hour or two to complete. Courses will be fit to the specific type of travel manager you plan to be.

5

Complete any on the job training required by the company once you are promoted to a management level. Most companies will have their own training program in place and some will expect you to learn on the job by simply doing the job. Either way, make the most of advice and guidance from senior staff members while training to be a travel manager.