Why Summer Is the Best Time to Become a Travel Agent
Imagine it’s June, your phone is buzzing with notifications. Families all over the country are packing bags, booking flights, and frantically Googling "best Disney World tips for summer" at midnight. They need help. They need you. And if you've been thinking about how you can become a travel agent, then summer is your only real shot at getting off the couch and doing something about it.
The problem is, most people don't understand that the reason you should become a travel agent in the summer is that it's not only the best time to become a travel agent, but it's actually strategic, as you'll be entering the highest-demand season of the entire year while simultaneously positioning yourself to capitalize on the next peak season in six months' time.
The travel industry as a whole made over 1.33 trillion dollars in global agency sales in 2024 alone, and the United States-based travel agency industry sold 99.2 billion dollars in air tickets in 2024, the highest figure ever recorded. And the industry is only growing from here.
In 2026, 5.2 billion people are expected to travel by air, a 4.4 percent increase from the record-breaking figures from the previous year. The industry you're looking to capitalize on is already here, and we should talk about how you can capitalize on it right away.
Families Need A Guide
Summer is the unofficial kickoff to family vacation season in the United States, as school comes to a close, vacation days are approved, and suddenly millions of Americans are faced with the daunting task of planning the most complex trip of the entire year. Disney World, a river cruise to Europe, a relaxing all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean, a multi-generational family reunion in the mountains of Yellowstone, etc.
And here’s the cold hard truth: most people don’t enjoy planning it by themselves. The Internet has given travelers far too many choices and far too little guidance. This is where you come in as a travel agent. Summer travelers are overwhelmed, time-starved, and eager to pass the buck off to someone they trust. And if you're in the right place, that someone is you.
The summer months of June, July, and August represent 35% of all annual hotel check-ins. That’s not a trickle of interest; that’s a deluge. And as travel agents report an increase in sales of 15 to 25 percent year after year, you can bet it’s because of you.
You Don't Need to Be 'Ready' to Start
One of the most pervasive lies told to those who wish to become travel agents is that you need to be "ready" to start your new career as a travel agent. What does that even mean? Do you need to have years of experience, an expensive education, or some backroom industry connection in order to call yourself a travel agent? Of course you don’t.
Most host agencies will get you started quickly. Some allow you to begin making bookings even as you're still in training. Certification programs that teach you everything you need to know to successfully book travel can often be completed in as little as four to six weeks. Summer is an ideal time to get your education in because you're surrounded by live interest as you're learning. What better teacher is there than the busy season?
But here's a thought that nobody discusses in most travel agent guides: you're not only learning theory and practice when you start in the summer. You're also learning from the market's movement. You see what families want. You see what Disney resort promotions are selling out first. You see what cruise itineraries have waiting lists. That's a big difference from learning when you start in a season when not much is happening.
The Summer Booking Rush
Something that other travel agent guides won't tell you is this: the summer season is not only a time for delivering travel. It's one of the best times to deliver travel for the future too. While your clients are soaking up the sun this June, savvy travel agents are planting the seeds for future bookings for this fall, this winter holiday season, and this wave season.
Wave season is the biggest selling season for travel agents, and it occurs from January to March. That's when agents make four times more than they do for the rest of the year. That's the payday. But the setup for that payday occurs this summer. Every client you build this summer, every trust you build this summer, every testimonial you gather this summer is fuel for the wave season rush. By starting this summer, you're not behind. You're ahead.
An example to illustrate this is this: a travel agent starts this summer. By this fall, they've built a warm audience and can market holiday and wave season travel to them. That's almost perfect timing. That's not a runway that agents starting in January will have.
Summer Is Disney Season, and Disney Is Big Business
If you're going to establish yourself as a specialist in the field of travel agency work, there are few niches that are more lucrative and in greater demand than Disney vacations. Summer is Disney's busiest time of the year, hands down. Walt Disney World in Florida has some of its most aggressive pricing promotions for the summer months to fill its hotel rooms.
For the summer of 2026, Disney World is offering up to 30-40% in savings for stays from May 1 to October 4. This includes the Cool Kids Summer program and the Kids Dining Plan. It's the kind of complicated puzzle that a knowledgeable and skilled travel agent can help a family navigate.
Knowing which hotel is included in the promotion, which promotion stacks best, which dining plan is best for a family of five versus a family of two, and when to book those dining reservations at midnight is the kind of specialized knowledge that has real monetary value to clients.
Disney pays a straight 10% commission to travel agents for most vacation products. This can be a significant check for a family vacation that costs $8,000 to $12,000. And the best part is that if you've helped a family have a fantastic time at Disney, they will be back. Disney fanatics don't go to Disney once. They go back time and time again.
Social Media Content Pretty Much Writes Itself in Summer
So here’s the thing that I think is actually kind of underrated in the context of launching a travel business in the summer: the content opportunities are literally off the charts. If you’re building your business through social media like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or through a blog, the summer represents a 90-day firehose of content.
Travel content on Instagram has 83% higher engagement than other types of content. With 48% of people using Instagram to plan their vacation destinations and 52% of Facebook users following the pages of travel companies when planning their vacation, the summer represents the time of year when your target market is the most engaged and the most receptive.
You can write about the Disney deals that are currently available. You can write about the ways in which people can beat the heat at the theme parks. You can write about the different resorts in the Caribbean that are currently offering deals. Every single piece of content you create in the summer represents the opportunity to establish yourself as a credible and trustworthy agent as the fall booking season approaches. You’re not starting cold in the middle of wave season. You have content, you have followers, and you have a reputation.
The content calendar that centers on themes like summer vacation and planning a Disney vacation is one of the best tools that any new agent can develop. Starting it in the summer, when you have the most to write about, makes it one of the best tools you can develop.
What a Travel Agent Can Actually Earn
Now, let's discuss the money part of the equation, because, well, honesty. The average sale amount per booking in 2023 was around $4,375. This means the travel agent made around $438 in commission per booking, assuming the agent has a 10% commission rate. New agents make around $350, while experienced agents make around $870 per booking. Commission rates also vary for the product sold.
Here are some commission rates for the most common travel products sold by travel agents:
Airlines - 0-5%
Hotels - 10-20%
Cruises and tours - 10-16%
Travel insurance - up to 40% on premium policies
The average income for a travel agent in the U.S. is around $60,000. However, the most successful agents make well over $100,000. New agents make between $25,000 and $40,000, while experienced agents make between $45,000 and $70,000. The commission checks are also sent out after the client has taken the vacation. So, your first commission checks for the summer will not arrive until after your clients have returned home in August or September. While not the most fun, it is the honest truth!
The real key here, though, is the sooner you get started, the sooner your pipeline will be full and the sooner the checks will arrive. You Get to Build Around Your Summer Schedule One of the most practical, yet honestly least appreciated reasons for getting started with your travel agent career in the summer is the fact that your lifestyle will likely have more breathing room. If your kids are out of school, well, your world has changed. If you've been thinking about making the leap to a new career, well, the fact your summer has felt open all along has not been an accident.
One of the fastest-growing segments of the travel industry is home-based travel agents. You can do it from your kitchen table, your favorite coffee shop, or even your beach umbrella as long as you can get online. You don't have to worry about commuting time, office politics, or dressing up. Your overhead is very low because most host agencies offer you all of this in exchange for a simple membership fee or commission split.
This is particularly liberating if you're a parent. If you start your travel agent business in the summer, you can use this time to get your business up and running while your kids are still at home. You can then gear up your marketing in time for school in the fall. You don't have to choose between your family and your career. You can have a career that works around your family!
FAM Trips
Let's talk about perhaps one of the most genuinely exciting perks of this career that most "become a travel agent" articles mention in passing in a footnote: FAM trips. Short for "familiarization trips," these are specially planned trips offered by tourism boards, hotels, cruise lines, and tour operators to allow travel agents to visit destinations firsthand.
The whole idea is pretty much along these lines: "Hey, travel agent, come stay at our resort for three days so you can sell it better." Yeah, it's typically heavily discounted or completely complimentary. Summer is obviously the height of FAM trip season because suppliers want to make sure you're well-informed and excited about selling their properties before the season for wave season selling begins. By signing up now, you'll be able to attend your first FAM trip before the end of the year.
But FAM trips aren't just about getting free vacations. FAM trips help you develop product knowledge to effectively promote one resort over another. FAM trips help you develop social media content to share with your audience. FAM trips help you develop networking opportunities within the industry. And when a client asks you, "Is the Grand Californian at Disneyland worth the splurge?" you can give them your own first-hand knowledge and opinions without relying on someone else's review. That's priceless!
The Travel Industry Actually Wants New Agents Right Now
Some information that I hope will genuinely get you excited about this career is that the travel industry is not only tolerating new agents, they're actively trying to recruit them. Host agencies have created training programs to help you get started in this career. The reason for this is pretty simple, cruise travel booked through travel agencies rose 52% from 2022 to 2024. The travel industry needs more agents!
Independent travel agents see yearly increases in sales from 15 to 25 percent. Some Fora travel advisors bring in over a half million dollars per year. Travel agencies in the United States bring in over 146 billion dollars per year. This is not a dying industry.
So, if you're joining a good quality host agency, you're not starting with nothing and having to build everything up yourself. You're walking into a ready-built environment, if you like, and all the infrastructure and all the introductions to the suppliers and all the booking tools are in place. This is particularly important if you're looking to start in the summer because all the deals with the suppliers and all the summer promotions are already in place and ready to market.
The Travel Insurance Angle
One area rarely mentioned in any beginner travel agent guide is the travel insurance angle, particularly for generating income during the summer months. The reason for this is simple. Summer travelers are the most vulnerable to weather-related travel disruptions, hurricane season, and flight delays due to increased air traffic. These are all opportunities for selling travel insurance, which can pay up to 40% commission on premium policies!
A travel insurance sale on a $10,000 Disney vacation for $300 nets you a 120% commission. Factor this into your base commission, and your overall commission on the sale increases substantially. More importantly, the client will appreciate your services so much for helping them out during the travel disruption that they will not only not attempt to book the vacation again without an agent but will remember you as the agent who saved their vacation. They will appreciate your services for the rest of your career!
What Your First 30 Days Should Look Like
You do not have to do everything all at once.
Here is what your first 30 days should look like:
Research host agencies whose niche markets align with your niche interests, such as Disney, luxury, cruises, or adventure travel.
Attend a discovery session with 2-3 host agencies.
Start your certification or onboarding program with your host agency. This will take four to six weeks.
Set up your social media presence on at least one platform, preferably Instagram or Facebook, and start posting content on summer travel.
Let your social media and personal networks know that you're now a travel agent. Your first clients are almost always friends, family, or acquaintances.
Plan and book your first trip, regardless of whether it's for yourself or a family member at a discounted agent rate. Experience is the best teacher.
Start studying your niche intensely. If your niche is Disney, then you should know the current summer deals, the different Disney resort tiers, the reservation windows for dining, and the park hours better than anyone else.
Don't Let This Common Mistake Trip You Up
The biggest mistake that new agents make is that they're so focused on learning and becoming the best agent that they forget the single most important thing: selling. You can study itineraries, read the supplier guides, and know the hotel categories inside and out all summer long. But your first-year income will be determined by how quickly you can start booking trips for real people.
There's a phrase that all experienced agents know well: "Your first year is about building your book of business." Start networking on day one. Get comfortable talking about what you do. Start sharing content on social media. Ask for referrals from every client, including your first one. The agents who treat their travel business like a business and not a hobby are the ones that achieve that 15-25 percent annual growth.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best time of year to become a travel agent?
Summer is a good time to begin as it coincides with the peak season for travel, the peak season for social media engagement for travel-related posts, and the organic opportunity to develop relationships with clients. It also puts you in the best position to capitalize on the wave season booking rush during January, February, and March.
Do I need a license to become a travel agent in the U.S.?
No federal license is needed to become a travel agent in the United States. States that have seller of travel laws are Florida, California, Washington, and Hawaii. In most cases, joining a host agency will satisfy the compliance requirement.
How long does it take to start making money as a travel agent?
It takes most new travel agents between 3 to 6 months to start receiving their first checks. The checks are usually sent to them after the client has traveled. It takes longer to make a livable wage, around 12 months.
What niche should I choose as a new travel agent?
The most lucrative and searched niches for new travel agents are Disney vacations, luxury travel, cruise vacations, and destination weddings. Disney is one of the best niches for new agents because there is so much training available and the client base has a high re-book rate.
Do travel agents make money in the summer?
Yes. Summer is one of the busiest times of the year for travel. In fact, June, July, and August make up 35% of hotel check-ins throughout the entire year. This means that new travel agents can make money in the summer and can also make money in July, August, and September when clients have completed their trips.
What is a FAM trip and can new agents go on them?
FAM trips (Familiarization trips) are heavily discounted trips given to travel agents by hotels, tour boards, cruise companies, and tour operators. New agents can qualify for FAM trips through their host agency, especially after completing their initial training and making their first bookings.
How much do travel agents earn per booking?
Travel agents can earn an average of 10% on every booking. For instance, in 2023, the average booking is $4,375. This means that every booking can earn an agent approximately $438. However, for Disney and cruise vacations, the earnings can be significantly higher.
Is becoming a travel agent worth it in 2026?
Considering that global sales for travel agencies reached $1.33 trillion in 2024 and that air travel is up 4.4% in 2026, along with independent reports from travel agents that sales are on the increase, I believe that becoming a travel agent is worth it in 2026. The new agents that start today are the six-figure income earners in five years.
Can I be a Disney travel agent as a new travel agent?
Of course! Disney is one of the most popular niches for new and experienced travel agents alike. Disney is one of the top destinations for families and is one of the most popular destinations for new and experienced agents alike. Since I am planning to start in the summer, I can market Disney vacations to families during peak season.
What is the difference between working independently and joining a host agency?
Independent agents make 100% commission but bear all infrastructure, supplier, and legal/compliance costs themselves. Agents working for a host agency share commission but get instant access to all booking systems, supplier relationships, training, FAM trip notifications, marketing support, and legal/compliance support. For newbies, working for a host agency is likely to ease entry and risks for most.
The Season Is Short, The Opportunity Isn't
The summer season has a clock on it, and by the time September rolls around and the kids go back to school, the frenzied peak of the season slows to a more relaxing pace. Not for the agents who are using the summer as a springboard, though. They're entering the fall season with a roster of clients, testimonials, booking experience, and a library of content that's building its authority for SEO purposes. They're ready for the wave season, and they're ready for the holidays!
The answer to whether or not the summer is a good time to become a travel agent was never the real question, though. The real question is whether or not you're ready to stop asking questions and start booking. The industry is growing, the clients are waiting, and the tools, training, and support to help you get started have never been more accessible or more effective than they are right now!
The more summers you allow to go by, the more income you'll forfeit, and the agents who are succeeding right now made their first booking call at some point. Your turn can come this summer! If you’re wanting to become a travel agent be sure to check us out here at MainStreet Travel, we offer a one-time membership fee of $99! That includes training and all the tools you need to start booking!
