Average salary, compensation, and wages for Travel agents in the United StatesExperience, sales ability, and the size and location of the agency determine the salary of a travel agent. Median annual earnings of travel agents were $26,630 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $20,800 and $33,580. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $16,530, while the top 10 percent earned more than $41,660. Salaried agents usually enjoy standard employer-paid benefits that self-employed agents must provide for themselves. Among agencies, those focusing on corporate sales pay higher salaries and provide more extensive benefits, on average, than do those that focus on leisure sales. When they travel for personal reasons, agents usually get reduced rates for transportation and accommodations. In addition, agents sometimes take �familiarization� trips, at no cost to themselves, to learn about various vacation sites. These benefits attract many people to this occupation. Earnings of travel agents who own their agencies depend mainly on commissions from travel-related bookings and service fees they charge clients. Often it takes time to acquire a sufficient number of clients to have adequate earnings, so it is not unusual for new self-employed agents to have low earnings. Established agents may have lower earnings during economic downturns. More information on Travel agents from The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook Overview of Travel agents occupation Number of Travel agents in the U.S. Salary and earnings for Travel agents Working conditions for Travel agents Significant points for Travel agents Training requirements for Travel agents Labor Information Home | Occupational data by city | Search Rainforests | Madagascar | What's new |