While providing the opportunity for dreams and enjoyment, the travel agency profession has one of the highest turnover rates. The main factors are the instability of revenue heavily influenced by travel demand and the economy, the heavy workload associated with time-consuming customer correspondence and booking processes, and the mental pressure from sales quotas. Furthermore, working hours align with customer holidays and the industry’s characteristic low-margin, high-volume structure create a harsh work environment.
This article provides a detailed explanation of the factors leading to the high turnover rate in this profession, examining them from four perspectives: working conditions, compensation/benefits, workload, and career development.
Turnover Rates in the Living-related Service and Entertainment Industries (Reference Data)
The turnover rate for the Living-related Service and Entertainment industries, which includes travel agencies, remains higher than the all-industry average.
| Category | Living-related Service and Entertainment Turnover Rate | Average Turnover Rate Across All Industries |
| Annual Turnover Rate | 20.1% (2022) | 15.0% (2022) |
| Turnover Rate within 3 Years (New University Graduates) | 46.5% (March 2022 Graduates) | 33.8% (March 2022 Graduates) |
| Turnover Rate within 3 Years (New High School Graduates) | 52.2% (March 2022 Graduates) | 37.9% (March 2022 Graduates) |
1. The Issue of Working Hours (Weekend Work and Emergency Response)
Working hours and holidays tend to be irregular due to counter sales and the need to handle customer issues during their travels.
Weekend and Holiday Work:
- Customer Consultation Focus: Since most customers consult or book trips on their days off, working weekends and public holidays is standard.
- Difficulty Taking Time Off During Peaks: Taking continuous time off is especially difficult during peak seasons like long holiday breaks.
Normalization of Long Working Hours:
- Heavy Booking Tasks: Complex arrangements and confirmation work are required for every element of a trip—flights, hotels, transfers, visas—which is time-consuming and often leads to overtime.
- Emergency Response: Staff may be required to handle customer issues during travel (cancellations, illness, theft) during late hours or on their days off.
- Fluctuation Between Peak and Off-Peak: Workload varies dramatically depending on the season and economy, leading to extreme long hours during peak periods.
2. The Issue of Compensation and Benefits (Unstable Income and Thin Profit Margins)
The industry’s low-profit-margin structure, coupled with high economic volatility, makes income unstable.
Relatively Low Wage Levels:
- Low-Margin, High-Volume Structure: Travel product profit margins are often low, leading staff to feel that the wage level is low relative to the sales volume and the large number of customers handled.
- Volatility of Demand: External factors like pandemics, disasters, and economic conditions can cause travel demand to plummet, directly impacting company performance and bonuses, leading to income instability.
Sales Quotas and Self-Payment of Expenses:
- Sales quotas for package tours and organized trips are often strict, creating significant mental strain and negative impacts on performance reviews if not met.
- Staff sometimes partially cover expenses for client entertainment or Familiarization Trips (Fam Trips) for information gathering.
Difficulty Taking Paid Leave:
- Due to the risk of delaying customer booking processes, the nature of the work makes staff reluctant to take paid leave.
3. Workload and Mental Stress (High Responsibility and Complaint Handling)
While selling dreams, the heavy responsibility of managing human lives and large sums of money creates significant mental strain.
Mental Stress and Heavy Responsibility:
- Demand for High Accuracy: Errors in booking flights or accommodation can ruin a customer’s entire trip, requiring extremely high accuracy and a strong sense of responsibility.
- Complaint Handling: Customer complaints regarding travel issues or booking errors often involve large sums of money, leading to intense mental stress.
- Burden of Emotional Labor: The role requires high levels of emotional labor, demanding consistently positive and polite communication to meet customers’ dreams and expectations.
Multi-tasking and Breadth of Expertise:
- Staff must handle a wide range of tasks—sales, quotes, booking, trouble resolution, and accounting—often requiring broad responsibilities.
- Constant updating of specialized knowledge is required, including international regulations, visas, and insurance.
4. Issues with Career Development and Training Systems
Instruction often focuses on OJT, and the abundance of industry-specific complex rules can lead to career stagnation.
Insufficient Education and Training Systems:
- Lack of Systematic Training: Despite the vast knowledge and rules to memorize, systematic training is often insufficient due to the busy nature of the workplace.
- Reliance on OJT: Operation of complex booking systems often relies on On-the-Job Training (OJT), leading to inconsistency in the quality of instruction.
Stagnation in Career Paths:
- Staff may feel that promotion paths from front-line sales/counter roles to head office planning or management are limited.
- Support for obtaining essential qualifications like the Certified General Travel Services Manager may be insufficient in some companies.
Narrow Transferability of Expertise:
- The abundance of industry-specific systems and rules often makes staff feel that the knowledge gained is not easily transferable when considering switching to a different industry.
The Structure of the Vicious Cycle
The travel agency industry is caught in a vicious cycle: “Low profit margins and unstable wages → Long working hours due to complex and wide-ranging booking tasks → Mental and physical exhaustion and pressure from quotas → Experienced staff quit → The remaining staff must handle the complex booking tasks.” In particular, the gap between the heavy responsibility (where booking errors are unforgivable) and the compensation, which does not match the workload, accelerates turnover.
