Ben Chidgzey: A job that shows you the world

Ben Chidgzey loves the travel perks he gets in his role as a travel advisor.

THE JOB

I am a travel advisor at Bicton Travel. A travel advisor is someone who helps people of all ages book and manage their holidays, as well as provides expert recommendations and advice about trips and destinations all over the world. This includes booking flights, accommodation, cruises, multi-day tours, day tours, car hire, rail travel, travel insurance and much more!

THE PATH

When I started Year 12 I wasn’t sure what career path I wanted to go down. I then researched travel courses because I have such a big passion for travel and I’ve never looked back since! The path was quite straightforward once I knew this was something I’d be interested in. I graduated from school in 2016 and began TAFE the following year, completing a certificate 3 in travel, which took me six months. I then completed a diploma in travel and tourism halfway through 2017, and by the end of the year I had two great courses under my belt. I then sent out some resumes and I was offered a job by January 2018 and the rest is history.

THE GOOD

There are so many great things about this job. The main one for me would be the amount of travel perks you receive. Personal trips are discounted and educational holidays are offered to us so we can learn about certain products and destinations all over the world. This could be a cruise, a hotel or even an airline. Experiencing and gaining knowledge about the products that we are offer to our clients is essential. Another great thing about this job is being able to help people who may not have travelled a lot, so it’s always satisfying knowing that you have booked your clients something that they will love after building a connection with them.

THE BAD

There is honestly not much I don’t like about this job. However, once COVID-19 happened, I really did not know what to do and I thought there was a possibility of never returning to the travel industry. I wasn’t sure whether the industry would ever get back up and running like before. Naturally, this left me wondering whether going down the travel industry path was the right choice. But I was so wrong; travel has come back greater than ever.

THE FUTURE

Personally, I see myself staying at Bicton Travel for many years to come. We have a great tight-knit team in East Fremantle and I am very fortunate to work at Australia’s most awarded travel agency. I would love the opportunity in a few years to become a senior advisor, which means I will have gained an incredible amount of knowledge and experience in destinations and cruise lines all over the world.