By Victor Gotevbe

If  travelling to places like Hong Kong, New York, London, Rome, Dubai, Paris  and Syndey sound good to you  or you would like to dine in quaint little restaurants along the Seine or wander down ancient alleys in Istanbul or shop in exotic malls of Paris, then becoming a travel agent is a great career choice.

As a matter of fact, the need for experienced travel agents is increasing as more people travel for business and pleasure. This Saturday,Youthful Vibes brings to you the story of Olaronke Shitta, a 27-year old female entrepreneur who majors in Microbiology but decided to make travel and tourism related services her career choice. Please read on.

Please tell us about your background.
Life has been very interesting,and I remain thankful to God. I grew up just like in every nuclear middle- class family. I am the second child in a family of four; three females and one male. I attended Subuola Infant Academy, Festac for my primary education,and Festac College both in Lagos.  I gained admission into the  University of Lagos where I graduate with a first degree in Microbiology.

What inspired you to get into the travel  business?
I recall vividly from my childhood that I always liked the idea of flying and moving from one place to the other to see life from a different perspective. I would therefore say that was what inspired me to get into the travel business. I passionately wanted to be an Air Hostess at first but after putting much thought into it I decided to settle for a ground job. As you know, an Air Hostess is restricted to only one airline and she cannot have diverse information about locations.

Olaronke Shitta

I finally decided to be a travel agent so that I can be the one helping people achieve their travel dreams. I didn’t choose a regular travel job because I want to be diverse as most travel jobs restrict a person that wants to try  different ideas. So, I decided being a travel agent is better than being an airline staff. A travel agent is a private retailer or public service that provide  tourism-related services to the public on behalf of suppliers such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, and package tours and business travelers. I just love this business.

Is the travel Industry lucrative as most young people would think?
Yes, I consider the travel industry lucrative for young Nigerians especially those that have an interest for the world of travel and tourism. It allows you to know more about a lot of countries because customers trust us to be knowledgeable about all locations around the world aside being very profitable. The most important quality to possess in the field is having good customer service.

Customers are the king and queen if you like, and the life source of any business. Thus, how well an agent delivers is what will determine patronage and the growth of the business. Most of my customers patronize me not because they cannot arrange their trips themselves but because of the value added and prompt services I offer.

What challenges do you face as a travel agent?
There are challenges all around but the main challenge I encounter is that of capital. My business is new and I provided my capital myself. There are times when clients’ demands are more than my capital and I have to source for funds from external sources. Another challenge I encounter is gaining customers trust as clients are always very wary and conscious of trying new travel agents because we have some fraudulent people that swindle people under the guise of being travel agents.

Where do you see yourself in five  years as a young Nigerian entrepreneur?
In five years, I see myself having a larger, better -structured travel company with a team of travel professionals that share my dreams and goals. I believe working with such a team can only bring out the best in me. I intend to grow my business by increasing my customer base through prompt and top notch services to them. I also plan to increase the services I offer presently. I want to improve my business processes to be able to give my clients their monies’ worth.

Are you currently working on any youth related project?
I am currently not working on any project to inspire other youths because my business is still relatively young but I have plans to do such in the nearest future because I had people support my dreams before getting where I am today and so I will do the same to others younger than me.

What would you want to tell the Nigerian youth?
My own personal words of encouragement are : It will not be easy, but it can be done, do not expect everybody to encourage you or support your dreams. Doing what you have passion for makes the job easier, at the end of the day it feels like you are getting paid for enjoying yourself. Do not be afraid or shy to ask questions especially from those thriving and doing very well in the same field you are in. I have been able to succeed in running my business because I am not afraid to learn from my mistakes, learn new things and I am also willing to work as hard as possible to get to the top.