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PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS Catalog Course Registration Demo Lesson Independent Agents FAQ's Contact Us CURRENT STUDENTS Classroom My TravelCampus Travel Resources Bookstore Job Board TravelCampus Talk EDUCATORS and TRAVEL PROFESSIONALS Training eLearning Development Resources Affiliates Partners Contact Us Independent Agents Nearly 25% of TravelCampus graduates go on to work for themselves as Independent Contractors. TravelCampus offers a complete program for individuals wanting to work as an Independent Contractor. Click here for more information. In order to receive commission on sold travel products, travel professionals have to be registered with IATA and receive an IATA number. IATA registration typically requires registration with the Airline Reporting Corporation (ARC). Registration with ARC requires that a business meet several qualifications, including purchase of a business bond, retaining an employee with a minimum of two years travel accounting experience and purchasing ticket printers and stock. These requirements may be cost prohibitive for most individuals. They choose to begin their travel careers as Independent Travel Agents and sign on with an Independent Contractor. Independent Contracting companies are registered with ARC or affiliated with an ARC approved agency, provide their members with access to their IATA number and may offer other services, including: Computer Reservations Systems (CRS) access through their personal computer, ticket printing and delivery, accounting, travel insurance, help/check support, bulk buying power, etc. for a fee. This fee is typically a percentage (5% - 50%) of the commission of a travel product sold. For example, if the commission on a $100 hotel room is 10%, your commission as the booking travel professional is $10. The independent contractor would charge you 50 cents to $5 of this commission for their service as your host agency. Most independent contractors have an initial registration fee between $250 and $7,000 and a monthly maintenance fee between $35 and $175. Many of these companies provide graduates of our training program a significant discount on the registration fee and a reduction or elimination of the monthly maintenance fee. Our most successful graduates and Independent Travel Agents typically capitalize on a niche. There are two types of marketing niches. The first includes a specific type of vacation or travel, for example Northern European Fjord cruises or biking tours through Mexico. The second would be a specific group of people like divers or chefs. A recent example may be helpful. An owner of an authentic Korean restaurant realized that after many conversations with her customers, many of who were from Korea, were unable to get quality service when making travel arrangements to return to Korea. She discovered that there were no travel agencies in her community that catered specifically to the Korean market. After enrolling and graduating from TravelCampus she opened her office, as an independent travel agent, in her restaurant. She began putting together group trips to Korea at a discount rate to her restaurant clientele. Within a year she was averaging one trip a month with enough passengers per trip to allow her and her husband to fly free. Within two years the income from her travel agency equaled the income from her restaurant, effectively doubling her income in two years.

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