Australia’s travel industry is trying to convince young workers that it has a future for them. But for many entry-level advisors, the first question is more immediate: can they afford to stay long enough to reach it?
Published salary ranges show travel advisor roles can sit close to early-career jobs in recruitment, sales and insurance, yet younger workers say the real issue is not just the number on the ad. It is what sits behind it: base pay, commission, unpaid expectations, unclear career pathways and the lingering question of whether travel still feels like a safe bet after the travel fallout from the Middle East crisis and the pandemic.
A young Sydney travel advisor, who spoke to Karryon on condition of anonymity, says that is the part job ads rarely capture.
“It’s not that all my friends are earning double what I get,” she said.
“Some are on a bit more. Some are probably on about the same. But their salary is their salary. Their work hours are their work hours. With travel, there’s always this extra bit you’re meant to be grateful for.”
One recent travel advisor job advertisement seen by Karryon offered to boost new starters to a “$65K equivalent” wage for their first 90 days while they learned the ropes.
The same advertisement said average earnings for a first-year Travel Consultant were $70,000, while Senior Consultants averaged $100,000 and Team Leaders averaged $138,000 annually, including superannuation and penalty rates.
SEEK lists average ‘Travel Agent’ salaries in Australia in the same ballpark of those in sales and recruitment. So, if salaries are often comparable, why does travel still feel harder to sell?
Like-for-like only gets you so far
Travel advisor roles can be compared with early-career sales, customer service, recruitment, insurance and account coordination roles in some ways.
All involve customers. All involve systems. Many involve targets, complaints, product knowledge, administration, follow-up and pressure.
Travel is not the only complex job asking young workers to learn quickly.
The advisor says the difference is the mix of responsibilities.
“My friends in other industries work hard, but when I explain my job, it sounds like five jobs stuck together. I’m selling, servicing, fixing, chasing suppliers, checking documents, calming people down and trying to hit targets.
“And when something goes wrong, it’s not just a bad call or a lost sale. It’s someone’s honeymoon or their family holiday or the trip they’ve saved for all year.”
“The base salary is now”
The advisor says travel’s long-term earning potential can be real and still fail the early-career test.
She works full-time and earns commission, but says the base salary was the number that mattered when she applied for a rental.
“I wasn’t broke,” she said.
“I had a proper job. But I didn’t look that strong on paper.
“My partner was on the application, but I remember thinking, if it was just me, I don’t know how good I’d look.”
She says the industry often talks about what workers can earn later, while younger staff are trying to make the current numbers work.
“I know people can make good money in travel,” she said.
“I’ve seen senior consultants do well. I believe that part.
“But when you’re new, everyone talks about what you can earn if you stay, if you sell well, if you become senior. Rent is not later. Bills are not later. The base salary is now.”
A first-year travel consultant earning around $70,000 may not be far behind someone in sales in other industries. But the travel worker may also be weighing up commission uncertainty, weekend enquiries, after-hours industry events, client emergencies and whether the industry feels stable enough after COVID.
The perks do not pay the rent
Travel has long promoted famils, discounts, events, supplier nights and industry relationships as part of the appeal of the job.
For some workers, those benefits are meaningful. For others, they can blur the line between opportunity and unpaid work.
“I’ve been to good events,” the advisor said.
“But sometimes you’ve worked all day, then you’re standing somewhere after hours, hungry, talking to people you don’t know, and everyone acts like that’s the perk.
“I don’t really drink, so free alcohol is not a huge benefit. Sometimes I’d rather just be fed properly and go home.”
She says younger workers can feel pressure to attend even when events are not compulsory.
“No one says you have to go,” she said.
“But travel is a relationship industry. People notice who turns up.
“Other industries would look at stuff like that as work and you’d be paid accordingly. For us, it’s training or networking or a perk. And if you want to earn more, you’ve got to learn that stuff and know those people.”
Is it just advisors?
In some parts of travel, the salary story can look stronger, offering clearer progression or broader career options.
The problem is that many new entrants see the first rung before they see the ladder.
Richard Taylor, Founder and Managing Director of Talent for Travel, says entry-level salaries in some parts of the sector remain difficult.
“There’s no denying that salaries for brand new entrants in travel aren’t the most attractive, especially around retail travel and call centre work,” Taylor said.
“Other segments of the industry such as corporate travel, technology, airlines or payments might argue differently.
“But while entry-level salaries are hard to challenge in a world of low profit margins, we have to remember that ‘entry-level’ means exactly that, a foot in the door.”
The pathway exists. It is not always obvious.
Taylor says the industry needs to better explain where travel experience can lead.
“Where I think we must do better is explaining the career pathways available to people after those first couple of years,” he said.
“Young people, and their parents, whose opinions are an important factor, aren’t aware of the career options that open up with experience. They don’t know that airlines need representatives, that travel insurers need sales managers, that home-based agents can make a terrific living on their own terms. And so on.
“We can sell travel, but we also need to sell the industry.”
The advisor says she can see why people stay.
“There are people doing really well. There are people with great clients, good money, good roles. I can see that.
“But when you’re new, it can feel like the answer is just, hang in there. Other industries seem better at explaining the next step.”
COVID is still in the room
The memory of border closures, cancellations and job losses still affects how some young workers assess the industry.
“People talk about COVID like it was ages ago,” the advisor said.
“But if you’re in your 20s, you watched travel stop at a time when you would have been out there.”
She says she is not expecting another pandemic soon.
“But another war, another border issue, another supplier collapse, another big disruption, none of that feels impossible,” she said.
“So if the salary is similar to another job, you do think about why you’d choose the one that feels more exposed.”
So are salaries keeping people away?
Travel salaries can be comparable with adjacent roles. Senior consultants and team leaders can earn strong incomes. Advancement opportunities are real. The weakness is the clarity of the deal.
Young workers want to know the base salary, realistic first-year earnings, how much of the advertised figure is superannuation or commission, how long it takes to become senior, how many people progress, which roles open up after entry-level experience, whether after-hours events are expected and how staff are supported when clients are travelling and things go wrong.
They are not only comparing dollars.
They are comparing salary, stability, workload, progression, risk and how clearly the employer explains the trade-off.
Travel may not have a simple salary shortage.
It has a clarity problem.
Until the industry can explain its career deal as clearly as it sells a holiday, young workers will keep asking whether the dream is worth the risk.
KARRYON UNPACKS: The data challenges the easy claim that travel simply pays less. The bigger risk for employers is that comparable pay may not be enough if the role comes with commission uncertainty, unpaid networking, crisis pressure and a career path young workers cannot clearly see.
