Learn Practical Skills At Home

Your comprehensive lessons are clear and well-organized; easy to follow, yet challenging and engaging at the same time. Each lesson begins with an introductory note from your instructor, plus a preview outlining the subject matter and study objectives.

Next comes the reading assignment from your beautifully illustrated textbook, lesson book or supplemental references. Practice exercises help you check and review the key concepts you’ve learned. Then, turn in your open-book exam for the lesson, whenever YOU are ready.

As a special bonus, you’ll receive numerous travel planning and tour materials, official travel guides and other supplements. Published by trade organizations and travel professionals, they will greatly enhance your learning. These are all included with your course, at no additional cost to you.

Enroll online or call 1-800-535-1613 to speak with an Admission Advisor!

Meet Your Instructor

Jan Wilder is chief instructor of The Professional Travel Agent Program. A seasoned travel expert with over 20 years in the business, she currently serves as the quality assurance, training and ticketing manager of a large travel firm. She also teaches refresher courses for current corporate and vacation consultants. Ms. Wilder earned her B.A. in Social Work from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland.

She, along with our staff of courteous, knowledgeable career tutors, will give you careful guidance through your studies. If you have questions or need help along the way, just write, call, fax or E-mail us 24 hours a day. We'll give you prompt, personal assistance.

What You’ll Learn Lesson By Lesson in this Course

LESSON 1: People and Places: Destination Geography. More than a sale Ñthe importance of service; marketing; market research; tourists, day-trippers and discretionary travelers; the role of technology; the changing world of travel; place names; reading maps; land and water features; measuring distances, time and population; climate and weather; local customs: politics, the arts, language, food and beverage, religion and recreation; sources of information: guidebooks, TV, radio, videos, the Internet, trade publications, tourist boards, trade shows and familiarization trips; ecotourism; adventure travel.

LESSON 2: North American Aviation and Airports. Evolution of the aviation industry; airline classification; full service, regional and supplemental carriers; rules and regulators; airline routes; product distribution; codes and jargon; automation: Apollo/Galileo, Amadeus, Sabre, Worldspan and Orbitz; domestic airline fares; yield management; airline reservations; the disappearing paper ticket; airport access and design; flight operations; airport management; airplanes; baggage handling; special requests; arrivals and departures.

LESSON 3: International Travel. Rules and regulations for international travel; passports and visas; other documentation; travelerÕs health and safety; travel advisories; customs regulations and procedures; declarations; duty-free exemptions; prohibited and restricted articles; airport duty-free shops; foreign currency exchange; ways to carry money; international aviation: routes and schedules, airport codes, airline fares, consolidators, reservations and ticketing; fare principles; International Air Transport Association.

LESSON 4: Road and Rail Travel. Evolution of the rail industry; domestic passenger trains and regulation; Amtrak: accommodations, routes, fares and reservations; VIA Rail Canada; international passenger trains and train stations; rail passes; great train trips of the world; reference materials; the future of rail travel; the car rental industry; domestic car rentals; motoristsÕ organizations; international rental.

SUPPLEMENT: Time Management Guide. How to be more productive and use your time efficiently Ñ both as a student and when you start your new career.

LESSON 5: Cruising. Evolution of the cruise industry; the cruise product; traditions of the sea; life aboard ship: dining, accommodations, security, food and beverage service; dress, personal services, port calls and debarkation; passenger profiles; popular cruise areas; coastal cruises; specialty expedition cruises; freighters; rules and regulations; management on ship and shore; cruise sales; cruise reference books.

LESSON 6: Travelers At Rest: The Hospitality Industry. Evolution of the modern hotel; industry pioneers; hotel classification; unique properties; corporate structure; price tiers and branding; hotel staffing; food and beverage service; rules and regulators; hotel sales and reservations.

LESSON 7: World Tours. Evolution of the tour; the grand tour; the cookÕs tour; the golden age; tauck tours; mass tourism; independent tours; hosted tours; escorted tours; niche marketing; touring areas and destinations; theme parks; museum villages; parks, forests, campgrounds and trailer parks; international, national and regional tour organizations; tour development; determining costs; tour sales and operations; establishing reservations and documentation procedures; operating the tour; the tour director; follow-through; tourism and the environment; nature tourism.

LESSON 8: Meetings and Marketing. Evolution of the modern meeting; meeting development: site selection, negotiating with suppliers, pricing, payments, promotion and handling reservations; operating the meeting: registration desk, meal functions, room setup and equipment; trade shows; rules and regulators; incentive travel: setting objectives, measuring performance, choosing rewards and celebrating achievement; marketing strategy; sales outlets; the travel agency; the Internet; promoting; qualifying prospects; presenting; closing the sale; trade associations and educational organizations.

LESSON 9: The Computer Reservations System. Computer basics; how travel industry computers communicate; how the CRT performs it functions; basics of the keyboard; entering computer commands; agent identification; agent assembly areas; encoding; decoding.

LESSON 10: Building The Itinerary. The fare shopper display; how to display and interpret a city pair availability screen and a return flight availability screen; selling from availability displays; the direct sell entry; how to sell a flight from the city pair availability screen; how to direct sell a flight segment.

LESSON 11: Building The Passenger Name Record. Mandatory PNR fields; creating a passenger name record (PNR); adding optional data fields and multiple name fields; modifying existing PNR data; how to retrieve an existing PNR and display all or part of the PNR; how to price, ticket and end a PNR; automated ticketing; format review.

SUPPLEMENT: Career Search Guide. Preparing for a travel career; interviewing techniques; writing your rˇsumˇ and letters of inquiry; locating opportunities; presenting yourself.