Become a Home Based Leisure Travel Consultant

Today's economy seems to have everyone depressed these days and there does not seem to be a lot of choices in the marketplace as far as having a thriving job. Unless you live in a major metropolitan area, your job and career choices will be limited.

Travel, believe it or not, is the biggest industry in the world second only to the "war machine". According to experts, travel pulls in a whopping 7 Trillion dollars per year. That is Trillion, with a Capital "T"! The biggest reason for this enormous explosion in this industry is the baby boomer generation, the 76 million people born between 1946 and 1964 (in the United States alone) are retiring at an unprecedented rate and the number one activity they wish to engage in is, yep you guessed it: Travel!

This is a direct quote from Wikipedia, regarding the Post World War II Baby Boom Generation:

"Baby Boomers control over 80% of personal financial assets and more than 50% of discretionary spending power. They are responsible for more than half of all consumer spending, buy 77% of all prescription drugs, 61% of OTC medication and 80% of all leisure travel."

So being armed with the knowledge that baby boomers are currently responsible for 80% of the wealth and consuming 80% of all leisure travel, wouldn't you agree that this is perhaps, a good industry to get into, despite current economic trends?

In addition, Travel is a really fun industry. When people travel, they are leaving all their cares and worries behind them. They want to enjoy themselves and relieve stress, which is a huge need that travel fulfills for people. Exploring the world and other cultures increases you as a person on all levels: spiritual, mental, emotional and physical.

Travel is always on everyone's mind, and in our Psyche as a whole. To illustrate this statement, observe the following: no matter what movie you go to see, travel is always mentioned, I would easily guess, about 95% of the time. At least one character is coming back from a trip, going on a trip or currently on a trip. Once this is pointed out to you, you will always notice this. Seriously, go ahead. Name a movie. Name three. Watch them and see if travel is mentioned.

Travel is good for your body. Stress is the number one killer in this country as it results in heart attacks and strokes in not kept in check. People need to release more stress in their lives. When on vacation, people seek out pleasurable ventures such as golf, snorkeling, massage, and laying out in the Sun. For people that go on cruises, they are surrounded by the blue ocean and the blue sky overhead. The color blue is the best color to relieve anxiety and reduce stress. Laying in the Sun or listening to the surf at night further relieves people's tensions and worries. The negative ions generated by a roaring surf can be especially healing. Gathering with traveling companions can be stress relieving too as people relax in each other's company and share big laughs together.

These are all good reasons why travel is a great industry to be a part of and also why now is the perfect time as the baby boomers continue to retire in mass numbers every year. So why travel? Why not?!

Would you believe that you would be required to travel and have fun? That is the most amazing part of this fun business! In addition, it is wise to start reading the travel section of the newspaper, watching the Travel Channel, and reading books and guides on travel. Familiarize yourself with everything travel related that you can get your hands on so that you seem more knowledgeable to your clients.

While traveling, you are meeting people and having new experiences and learning about the world around you. You take this back with you when you are home and share this information with others. Do you do this already, anyway?

Did you know...

You are already a Travel Consultant but you are currently a volunteer!

When consulting people, you just let them know the best hotels, the restaurants with high quality foods at affordable prices, and the best tourist ventures to go on. You will in time learn what resorts are best for honeymooning couples and which ones cater to families with small children. Then you point them in the right direction as far as how to book the travel and what to expect once they get there, to their destination.

Basically, you get your website together, including your search engines, and get your business cards printed up and start talking to people about your fun times on trips you have taken. That is pretty much it. People will start to travel, using your site and you make a commission on the travel that they enjoy. (Please note that no one makes money on domestic flights anymore, this commission program was ended by the airlines quite some time ago.)

I absolutely recommend a pre-made business that is fully functional the minute you start. I have researched several over the years and have been a part of two. The best one that I personally have found to have the most impressive website, learning tools and high levels of integrity is World Ventures. I have been loyal to them for over 5 years now and have enjoyed their trips and also the enormous amount of travel training they provide. The overhead and initial start up cost* is way less than if you had your own website built from scratch professionally and search engines can also be pretty costly to put together and design. With World Ventures, I have been happy to find that their customer care is top-notch as is their concierge service and personal trainings all over the world.

No matter what, I hope that your new travel business is fun, lucrative and the best time of your life!

Happy Sails to You!

Mermaid Girl =D

(*Current start up is $199.99 and overhead is a tiny $26.99 per month.                               Less than a lemonade stand these days!)