Career change as a travel agent

Career change paths

• Travel agency manager

  Also: Manager of a tourist information office

  With on-the-job trainingPromotion

  As manager of a travel agency or tourist information office you lead the team, plan shifts and promotions, are responsible for revenue and customer satisfaction, and keep in contact with tour operators and partners.

  What you bring:

  You know advice, booking systems, tour operators and customers from everyday life in a travel agency.

  How to get there:

  This is usually an internal promotion after a few years, often through the deputy role. Alongside your job, the further training course for certified senior tourism specialist (Tourismusfachwirt) strengthens your application and can be funded through Aufstiegs-BAföG (state funding for advanced vocational qualifications). If you are a tourism clerk (Tourismuskaufmann), you are admitted after one year of work experience.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Physically lightLots of contact with people

  €3,740gross per monthMedian salary

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• Travel guide

  Also: On-site guest host

  With on-the-job training

  As a travel guide at the destination or on round trips you look after guests on site, organize transfers and excursions, solve problems with hotels, and explain the country and its people.

  What you bring:

  You know destinations, hotels and tour operator products, and you can advise and reassure guests when something goes wrong.

  How to get there:

  Tour operators train their travel guides themselves, usually for a few weeks before the season. Good foreign language skills and flexibility are expected. Jobs can be seasonal and abroad. For city and guided tours, tourism associations and adult education centers (Volkshochschulen) offer their own courses.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Often at weekendsLots of contact with people
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• Event manager

  Also: Conference and congress planner

  With on-the-job training

  In event planning you organize conferences, congresses and company events, book rooms, hotels and service providers, and look after participants on site.

  What you bring:

  You organize trips with flights, hotels, transfers and program, and you keep appointments, budgets and customer wishes in view.

  How to get there:

  You can switch to congress agencies, conference hotels or event agencies, with on-the-job training (Einarbeitung) that usually lasts a few months. Experience with group or business travel is the best bridge. You can earn a recognized qualification alongside your job with the further training course for certified senior event specialist (Veranstaltungsfachwirt). To be admitted to the first part of the exam, you need commercial training plus one year of event-related work experience.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Lots of contact with people

  €4,165gross per monthMedian salary

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• Sales representative of a tour operator

  Also: Key account manager business travel

  With on-the-job training

  In field sales for a tour operator you look after and train travel agencies, and at business travel providers you win and look after corporate customers and negotiate terms.

  What you bring:

  You know the tour operators' products, the concerns of travel agencies and the wishes of business travelers first-hand.

  How to get there:

  You get on-the-job training (Einarbeitung) at the tour operator or business travel provider, usually lasting a few weeks. A driving license and willingness to travel are expected. Experience with corporate customers or group travel improves your chances, and sales targets are part of the job.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically lightLots of contact with people

  €3,291gross per monthMedian salary

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• Online marketing manager in tourism

  Also: Content manager for travel offers

  With on-the-job training

  In the online marketing of a tour operator, portal or hotel you maintain offers and content, plan campaigns and newsletters, and evaluate booking figures.

  What you bring:

  You know how customers choose trips, which images and information convince them, and how bookings come about.

  How to get there:

  You start with on-the-job training (Einarbeitung), often first in product maintenance or editing. Online marketing courses at training providers take a few weeks to a few months and can, under certain conditions, be funded through an education voucher (Bildungsgutschein). You can earn a recognized qualification with the further training course for certified senior specialist for marketing (Fachwirt für Marketing). With three-year commercial vocational training, you are admitted after one year of marketing-related work experience.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically lightLittle customer contactIn an officeHome office possible

  €5,385gross per monthMedian salary

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• Receptionist

  Also: Hotel reservations agent

  With on-the-job training

  At the reception or in the reservations department of a hotel you check guests in and out, manage bookings, handle billing, and help with questions and complaints.

  What you bring:

  You work with booking systems, prices and guest wishes and stay friendly and confident in customer contact.

  How to get there:

  Hotels usually give applicants with tourism training a few weeks of on-the-job training (Einarbeitung). At the reception, shift work (Schichtdienst) with evening, weekend and holiday work is common. From there, you can move into reservations or revenue management.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Often at weekendsShift workPhysically lightLots of contact with people

  €3,034gross per monthMedian salary

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• Executive assistant to the managing director

  Also: Corporate travel management clerk

  With on-the-job training

  In the assistant's or travel office of a company you plan business trips and appointments, organize meetings and events, and handle correspondence and travel expense reports.

  What you bring:

  You organize trips with flights, trains, hotels and rental cars quickly and reliably, know booking systems, and stay calm when plans change at short notice.

  How to get there:

  Companies hire tourism clerks with experience in travel agencies for assistant and travel management roles and give them a few weeks of on-the-job training (Einarbeitung). Confident office skills and good English are expected. For jobs as an assistant to the management, courses in office organization or the further training course for certified senior specialist for office and project organization (Fachwirt für Büro- und Projektorganisation) help.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Mostly no weekendsFixed daytime hoursPhysically lightLittle customer contactIn an office

  €3,810gross per monthMedian salary

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• Destination manager

  Also: Tourism manager

  With further trainingPromotion

  At tourism associations, spa town administrations or tourism companies you develop offers for a region, market them, look after hosts and partners, and plan campaigns.

  What you bring:

  You know what guests look for, how travel offers are sold and which service providers have to work together.

  How to get there:

  You often start at the tourist information office or in the marketing department of a tourism organization. For management tasks, the further training course for certified senior tourism specialist (Tourismusfachwirt) is a recognized path and can be funded through Aufstiegs-BAföG (state funding for advanced vocational qualifications). Some organizations, however, require a tourism degree for management jobs. With further training and experience, promotion is easier in smaller towns and regions.*

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Fixed daytime hoursPhysically light

  €3,740gross per monthMedian salary

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• Flight attendant

  With training or an exam

  As a flight attendant you look after passengers on board, ensure their safety and service, and work in changing shifts, also at night and on public holidays.

  What you bring:

  You deal with travelers in a service-minded way, know air travel processes, and stay friendly and calm even with complaints.

  How to get there:

  The airlines train new flight attendants themselves, usually with a few weeks of safety, first aid and service training. The exam at the end is a requirement for the mandatory cabin crew attestation (Flugbegleiterbescheinigung). You need good English, the ability to swim, aviation medical fitness and a reliability check.*Regulated by law (Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 Annex V (Part-CC)).

  * No guarantee of accuracy.

  Often at weekendsShift workPhysically demandingLots of contact with people

  €3,307gross per monthMedian salary

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Salary: median of all full-time employees in the job, gross per month excluding special payments, as of April 2025. Half earn more, half earn less. Source: Federal Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis), table 62361-0030, license dl-de/by-2-0. Assigned to the jobs by quereinsteiger.de. No guarantee of accuracy.