The Auria Travel Academy
New to travel. Not new to making things happen.
The Auria Travel Academy is our route into travel for people who are new to the industry but bring strong sales or customer-service experience.
Changing career can be exciting. It can also feel enormous. Perhaps you’ve spent years thinking you’d love to work in travel but assumed you needed industry experience. Here’s the good news: your career so far matters.
If you’ve worked in sales or customer service, you’ve probably already developed many of the skills successful Travel Partners rely on every day: listening, building relationships, understanding what customers really want, solving problems, following up and selling. Around two years’ experience is ideal, but it is not a strict minimum, and we look at every application as a whole. We’ll help you add the travel knowledge.
We’ll teach you travel. You bring the drive.
The Auria Travel Academy is our dedicated pathway for ambitious people who want to enter the travel industry and build their own self-employed travel business.
It isn’t designed around the idea that absolutely anybody can become a successful travel agent overnight. Because that’s not what we believe.
Running a travel business takes effort. You’ll need to find customers, generate enquiries, learn constantly, follow up opportunities and build relationships. But if you’ve got the attitude, commercial instinct and determination to make that happen, we can teach you an enormous amount about travel.
Your journey with us
Nobody becomes a travel expert in five days.
The Academy gives you the foundations. Your knowledge and confidence keep developing as you work with real customers, which is why Academy Travel Partners follow a structured 12-month Academy Development Plan. We won’t wave goodbye on Friday afternoon and wish you luck.
Before you start
Apply
Tell us about you, your experience and why you want to build your own travel business.
Interview
We’ll get to know you, explore your transferable skills, talk about your potential customer base and make sure we’re the right fit for each other.
The Academy
Academy week
Our five-day training programme, covering travel, sales, systems, compliance, customer experience, marketing and business development. We plan Academy courses throughout the year, with some cohorts held in person and others delivered online.
Launch
Put your training into action with your own Business Development Plan, marketing activity and support from our team.
Your first year
30 daysBuilding the foundations
We’ll review your activity, early enquiries, database development, systems confidence and marketing, and help you set your next priorities.
60 daysBuilding momentum
The focus moves towards developing your sales pipeline, improving conversion, increasing confidence and turning consistent activity into bookings.
90 daysBuilding your business
A comprehensive review of your sales, customers, marketing, knowledge and Business Development activity, before we create the next stage of your plan.
12 monthsDeveloping your future
Throughout your first year we’ll keep working with you to develop your knowledge, strengthen your customer base, improve conversion and help you build a sustainable travel business.
What you’ll learn in Academy week
Across the five days we introduce you to the travel industry and give you practical, hands-on experience.
How travel works
How the UK travel industry works, and how tour operators, airlines, cruise lines, hotels and destination management companies (DMCs) fit together.
Protecting your customers
ATOL, ABTA and financial protection, the Package Travel Regulations and compliance.
Researching and creating holidays
Researching and recommending holidays, tailor-made and dynamically packaged travel, ocean and river cruise, and luxury, touring and specialist travel.
Selling and looking after customers
Handling enquiries and qualifying customers, creating proposals and quotations, following up and converting, pricing and margin, customer service and complaint handling.
Systems and building your business
Our reservations, CRM, quoting and booking technology, marketing yourself, developing your customer database and creating your first Business Development Plan.
You’ll put what you learn into practice through real-life scenarios, role plays and booking exercises throughout the week. Supplier training continues afterwards, including regular Training Tuesdays. The full 18-topic programme is in the Academy Guide.
More than booking holidays
Travel Partners don’t simply wait for enquiries to appear. You’re building a business, so we’ll help you think about:
- Who are your customers?
- Why should they book with you?
- How will you reach them?
- What kind of travel do you want to become known for?
- How do you turn one brilliant customer into five more?
That’s why Business Development sits alongside travel training throughout the Academy. This is a business opportunity, not just a training course.
- Your brand
A brand ready when you are
Starting a new business can feel daunting enough without having to create absolutely everything from scratch. As an Auria Travel Partner, you don’t have to.
You can launch under Auria Travel, use Cruise Luxe for five-star-and-above cruise, build your own identity, or use a mixture. We’ll help you explore which approach is right for the business you want to build.
Is the Academy right for you?
It could be if you:
- Have strong experience in sales or customer service. Around two years is ideal, but it is not a strict minimum.
- Are confident communicating and love building relationships with people.
- Are commercially minded, with an entrepreneurial streak.
- Are prepared to generate your own customers and opportunities.
- Are curious and willing to keep learning.
- Can commit real time and energy to building a business.
- Are comfortable being self-employed and taking responsibility for your success.
- Have a genuine passion for creating fantastic experiences for customers.
What don’t you need? Years of travel-industry experience. That’s the bit we’re here to help with.
You can start part-time, or alongside another job. What matters is that you want to build a genuine business: the Academy is not for people who simply want access to discounted holidays or an occasional side income.
Your £1,995 + VAT Academy Business Launch Package
Academy Business Launch Package
£1,995 + VAT
Non-refundable
The package gives successful applicants our five-day Academy programme, plus enhanced training and Business Development support as they launch. No confusing tiers, and we explain exactly how the commercials work before you’re asked to make any decision.
- Five-day Auria Travel Academy training programme
- Structured 12-month Academy Development Plan
- 30, 60 and 90-day development reviews
- Regular one-to-one coaching and performance reviews
- Personal Business Launch and Sales Plan
- Enhanced Business Development support during your launch
- Travel Partner licence (separate)
- The standard Travel Partner licence fee is £65 + VAT per month. It is charged separately and is not part of the £1,995 + VAT package.
- Commission and contract
- After launch, Academy Travel Partners work on the same commission structure and contract terms as experienced Travel Partners: commission from 70/30, typically paid around six weeks before travel, and 30 days’ notice to leave.
Last reviewed 6 October 2026.
From another career to Travel Partner
“I’ve explored and lived in many corners of the world, and I use that first-hand knowledge to craft personalised itineraries for couples, families, honeymooners, solo travellers and curious explorers.”
Serena Edwards, Auria Travel Partner, Beaconsfield
Serena Edwards joined Auria Travel from a career in another sector and now designs bespoke journeys for her own customers.
Serena did not come through the Academy, which is new. Her story is here because it shows what the skills from another career can become.
Questions people ask about the Academy
Can I become a travel agent with no travel experience?
Yes. The Auria Travel Academy is for people who are new to the travel industry. Previous travel-industry experience is not required; what we look for is strong sales or customer-service experience and the drive to build your own business.
Do I need two years of sales or customer-service experience?
Around two years is ideal, but it is not a strict minimum. We look at your application as a whole, including the kind of roles you have had, how you work with customers and what you want to build.
Can I start part-time?
Yes. Academy Travel Partners can start part-time or alongside another job. The Academy is for people who want to build a genuine business, though, so we will talk honestly about the time you can commit.
How much does the Academy cost?
The Academy Business Launch Package is £1,995 + VAT, and it is non-refundable. The standard Travel Partner licence fee of £65 + VAT per month is charged separately.
Is the Academy online or in person?
Both, depending on the cohort. We plan Academy courses throughout the year, with some cohorts held in person and others delivered online. Each course is a five-day programme.
What happens after Academy week?
You launch with your own Business Development Plan and follow a structured 12-month Academy Development Plan. We review your progress at 30, 60 and 90 days and continue with development reviews through your first year.
What commission will I earn as an Academy Travel Partner?
The same as every Auria Travel Partner. After launch, Academy Travel Partners are on the same commission structure and contract terms as experienced Travel Partners: 70/30 on annual sales under £1 million, 75/25 from £1 million to under £2 million and 80/20 at £2 million and above, with 30 days’ notice to leave. The commercial terms are set out in full on the experienced page.
Is a place guaranteed if I apply?
No. Places are limited and are offered only after an application and an interview. We want to be sure the Academy is right for you and that you are right for us.
Will Auria give me customers or leads?
Expect to build your own customer base. Being prepared to generate your own customers and opportunities is one of the things we look for, and Business Development support is there to help you do it.
You don’t need to have every answer yet
That’s what the first conversation is for.
Tell us about you, or take the Academy Guide away and read it in your own time.
Tell us about you
It starts with an application because we want to understand you first. If we believe there’s a potential fit, we’ll invite you for an informal interview.
