Certificate in Travel Consulting Basics
Course Overview
The Certificate in Travel Consulting Basics is a 3 to 6-month foundation route within the LSTITM Tourism Business, Marketing & Operations department for new entrants to travel agency, tour-operator and online travel roles. It is aligned with ABTA member practice, Institute of Travel and Tourism guidance and UK consumer-law essentials.
By the closing week you will be able to run a consultative call with a leisure enquirer, price a simple package holiday, honour UK consumer-protection rules and hand a booking cleanly across to operations.
Study on the Certificate in Travel Consulting Basics is structured around case cohorts, weekly tutor clinics and applied studios that mirror the pace of a UK-facing tourism organisation. The programme runs over 3 to 6 months and layers reading, guided practice and small-group work so learners can apply frameworks the following week at their operator, tourism board or agency. It sits inside the LSTITM Tourism Business, Marketing & Operations department and is designed to develop foundation vocabulary and guest-facing understanding for candidates working across travel marketing, commercial operations and customer experience.
Key Features
- Curriculum shaped by ABTA member practice and ITT guidance
- Weekly role-plays modelled on real UK agency call flows
- Practice with widely used mid-office booking screens
- Coverage of Package Travel Regulations, ATOL and PTS basics
- Studios on cruise, city break, safari and multi-centre itineraries
- UKHospitality-referenced service quality standards
- Portfolio assessment plus a scored final consultation role-play
- Structured tutor-led clinics that unpack case material week by week
- Peer cohort review sessions modelled on UK operator working groups
- Termly employer showcase sessions with LSTITM industry partners
What You Will Learn
- Conduct a full needs-based leisure travel consultation
- Price a multi-component itinerary using mark-up and commission models
- Present a UK consumer with a compliant terms summary
- Recognise ATOL, ABTA bonding and PTS protection triggers
- Handle deposit, balance and change-fee conversations professionally
- Log and progress an active booking through operations
- Manage a complaint escalation to a supervisor with clear notes
- Apply GDPR fundamentals to consultation records
- Build a personal reading and reflection log across the Certificate in Travel Consulting Basics modules
- Use tutor feedback to develop a portfolio artefact you can share at interview
Who This Course Is For
- New starters entering high-street or homeworking travel agencies
- Career changers moving from retail sales into travel consulting
- OTA contact-centre agents formalising their consultative skills
- International students preparing to enter UK-facing travel roles
- Small tour-operator staff who need a compliant sales foundation
- Working professionals seeking a structured UK-referenced certificate in travel consulting basics credential
- Alumni of Harold International College of London progressing across the school portfolio
Career Pathways
- Junior Travel Consultant
- Retail Travel Agency Trainee
- Homeworking Travel Consultant
- Junior Product Manager (Tourism)
- Contact-Centre Travel Advisor
- Cruise Reservations Assistant
- Tour Operator Sales Executive
- Independent consultant or freelancer using the Certificate in Travel Consulting Basics portfolio as evidence
- In-house progression within your existing tourism employer using the Certificate in Travel Consulting Basics
LSTITM's careers service links learners to member ABTA operators, homeworking hosts and UK OTAs for entry-level travel consulting placements.
Graduates of the Certificate in Travel Consulting Basics typically progress into roles across UK inbound tour operators, destination management organisations, OTAs, airline commercial teams and boutique tourism consultancies, and LSTITM alumni support networks help learners identify open vacancies and prepare tailored applications.
The Certificate in Travel Consulting Basics also equips learners with a concrete portfolio of coursework and applied artefacts they can present at interview, and LSTITM careers advisers help match those artefacts to live vacancies advertised by London tour operators, tourism boards and international travel employers each intake.
Entry Requirements
- Age 16+ with a genuine interest in travel consulting and international sales
- GCSE-equivalent secondary education, or overseas equivalent qualification
- Basic English proficiency at IELTS 5.0 or equivalent for international applicants
- Access to a computer with reliable internet for online delivery and role-plays
- No prior tourism qualification required as this is a foundation entry route
Why Study at LSTITM
LSTITM sits within Harold International College of London and specialises in the destination, business, systems and strategic disciplines that shape modern global tourism. Programmes are aligned with recognised UK tourism and marketing bodies including ABTA, ITT, the Tourism Society, CIM and UKHospitality.
Delivery is on-campus, online and by distance learning, taught by former travel-agency leaders, tour-operator sales heads and consumer-law specialists so working professionals and international students can join without leaving current commitments.
Choosing the Certificate in Travel Consulting Basics at LSTITM also opens articulation into the wider Harold International College of London portfolio, so learners on this Certificate route can progress into higher LSTITM qualifications or move sideways into related Harold International schools when it fits their career plan.
Apply for Certificate in Travel Consulting Basics
The Certificate in Travel Consulting Basics is the shortest credible route into a compliant, consultative UK travel-consultant role. Speak with our admissions team about intakes, instalment plans and pathways into the LSTITM Diploma. Start your London-recognised tourism career today. Enrol Now.
