Answered by Shan Monday Dec 27th 2010

Wow, what a question. I am going to try to answer this without writing a whole article for you.

First, let me start out with the price of courses. There are a number of travel agent courses that are available online, and the price for these range between $79-$89.

As for how many classes you need, that is going to depend on a number of factors. I would suggest that you do some searching online to find out what you need to do to meet the qualifications that your state requires.

The average salary for a travel agent is between $$27,000-49,000 per annum.

Regarding you questions about the disadvantages of becoming a travel agent and opening a family business, those are going to be the same as starting any business. Long hours, hard work, and the possibility of failing are just the tip of the iceberg. If I were you, I would do a lot of research on the web about starting a small business. There are a number of small business focused websites that have a large library of free articles on starting a small business.

As for where to begin. I would suggest you take a look at this list of online Travel Agent courses as well as these Online Small Business Courses. Combined, these courses are an excellent start for anyone who is in your position.

So to recap, courses cost $79-$89, do your research, there are both pluses and minuses to becoming a travel agent, and our online courses travel and tourism and small business are an excellent start.