Employment in the Travel and Tourism Industry - Essay Example

Employment in the Travel and Tourism Industry Travel and Tourism is one of the world's largest industries when taken as a whole, and provides employment directly and indirectly to millions of people worldwide through many associated service industries (Buckinghamshire Chilterns). A very wide industry, it includes government tourism departments, immigration and customs services, travel agencies, airlines, tour operators, hotels etc and many associated service industries such as airline catering or laundry services, guides, interpreters, tourism promotion and sales etc. Travel and Tourism enterprises include major internationals with a workforce of thousands, to the small private travel agent with a handful of employees. Employment in the travel and tourism industry is essentially concerned with providing services for people who are away from home, on business or holiday. Travel can be leisure travel involving package tours, pilgrim travel, adventure travel etc or purely business. Work at every functional level in the industry involves dealing directly with people. Travel agents assess the needs of tourists and businessmen and help them make the best possible travel arrangements from the many travel options available. Also, many major cruise lines, resorts, and specialty travel groups use travel agents to promote travel packages to the millions of people who travel every year. Some of the essential areas of employment are as tabulated below (BTEC): Travel Industry Tourism Industry Transport - Road, rail, air and sea travel. Tour Operators - operate at all levels, nuts and bolts of the industry. Distributors - travel agents, travel suppliers, web based services. Accommodation - from hotels to villas to bed and breakfast joints. Other Industry Players - car rentals, insurance etc. Distributors - leisure travel agents, specialists in niche markets such as sporting holidays. Public Sector Organisation - government agencies. Conference, Exhibition Organisations - select venues, value-added services, sponsorship and customer care. Tourism Agencies - tourist boards and offices to promote tourism in Britain to overseas customers and tourism information centres to provide up-to-date information. Travel company personnel must be up-to-date on current rules and regulations and documentation required, in areas like cargo, ticketing and passports, visas etc. so as to correctly advise their clients, and to take care of the paperwork when necessary. Besides this, all tourism staff in marketing, counter sales, or guide services, should be knowledgeable about the places their clients visit, in terms of general background, how to get there by air, rail and road and the facilities available. Some of the major areas of operation and the qualifications necessary for them, are (CTHRC): Tourism Department. In the Tourism Department there are jobs as reservation and counter staff, sales and marketing staff, tour planners and tour guides. They are involved in the planning and promotion of tourism activities. A degree in travel and tourism is required for many operational jobs in government organisations. Airlines. Working in an airline, whether on the ground staff or in-flight is an exciting option for many people these days. In the airlines, one can work as traffic assistants, reservation and counter staff, airhostesses and flight pursers, sales and marketing staff and customer services. A course in travel and tourism or a qualification in Hotel Management helps to get in. Tour Operators. Tour operators organise conducted tours to various tourist destinations as well as arrange for the travel and stay of the tourists. There are many companies operating tours for the domestic as well as the international tourist. Some may be for the usual tourist resorts but others are for unusual activities like river rafting, hang gliding, rock climbing and camping. Tour operators need people for selling the concept and then to accompany the groups to the destinations. The qualities required are a pleasing and outgoing personality, knowledge of the activities and often participating in them with the tourists. Though one may do a course of tourist guide for this purpose, people with knowledge of the activities proposed can easily join as tour operators. The jobs could be seasonal in some cases. Travel Agencies. Travel agents assess the needs of tourists and businessmen and help them make the best possible travel arrangements from the many travel options available. In travel agencies there are openings for reservation and counter staff, sales and marketing staff, tour escorts and tour operators, cargo and courier agencies etc. A short tem course or a diploma in travel and ticketing of 3-6 months duration will help gain entry into an agency. Several large travel agencies also offer short-term training programmes, and tend to absorb most of the candidates. Some agencies take in fresh graduates and train them on the job. Most travel agencies demands persons have a pleasing personality and the ability to deal with customers. Hotels. The hotel industry is basically a service industry providing food and accommodation to the Visitors. It is one, which requires a large amount of manpower, with a wide variety of skills. A hotel offers career opportunities in its various departments such as operations, front office, house-keeping, food and beverages, accounting, engineering/ maintenance, sales, public relations and security etc. One can enter this field through direct entry in some departments or through hotel management institutes. There are many institutes that offer hotel management courses. Training. In general, the minimum qualifications required for working in this industry is a high school diploma or equivalent. However, the growing complexity of modern travel necessitates that people aspiring to work in this industry acquire certain additional qualifications relevant to their chosen field. A large number of courses are on offer, such as the 'Air fares and Ticketing Course', approved by the International Air Ticketing Association (IATA), the 'ABTA Travel Agents Certificate' (ABTAC), also known as the 'Certificate in travel' course, which is a "standard examination based qualification for travel agents" (TTC). Also available are Vocational Qualification Programmes both National and Scottish (NVQ / SVQ) in customer service, Telesales, Business Administration and so on (TTC). A few colleges also offer bachelor's or master's degrees in travel and tourism. Career Progression. Even without a college degree, one can do well in the travel and tourism industry. Some employees start off in the front-office as receptionists or ticketing clerks but with some experience and formal training eventually become travel agents, before moving on to managerial positions. The same is true for all sectors of the travel and tourism industry. Benefits. Full-time employees enjoy standard benefit including 'perks' such as low-cost travel and accommodations part-time employees may also enjoy such benefit especially when part of 'familiarization visits'. These benefit are one of the major attraction of this industry. In sectors have 24 x 7 interaction with customers it is common to work in shifts, with many companies offering incentives to work the night shift. Part-time jobs are also available in many fields especially in the lower-end jobs. Such jobs however, are likely to be second, peaking during the tourist season or when major events are scheduled such as the World Cup. In the later instances, pay packages are likely to be substantial. Nature of Employment. Jobs in the industry can either be full-time or part time, depending upon the field. Many travel agencies e.g. prefer part-time employees who are simultaneously pursuing their studies. Appointments can also be seasonal to cater for the increased work-load during the tourist season. This is particularly true of jobs in tourist information centres and the like. Then again, placements in call-centres would involve working in shifts, sometimes with odd hours. All these factors however, add to the charm and versatility of the tourism industry. Remuneration. Jobs in the travel and tourism industry offer good remuneration and perquisites, which sometimes include subsidised if not free, travel for employees and their families. Salaries can vary somewhat within the industry and are higher in more high profile airlines and agencies where the standards of service are more exacting. Different sectors have different scales and grades of pay. Permanent employees of well established firms enjoy standard pay packages and benefits. However, these who are self-employed are likely to have low earnings initially until their business become well established. The Travel and Tourism industry offers a bright future for all those who choose to make a career of travel and tourism. Young people with drive and a capacity for hard work can rise to top positions very quickly in travel and tourism or even head their own agencies. A job in the industry gives good returns as well as perks including opportunity to see many locales at low prices. Job prospects both in government agencies as well as in the private sector are bright. However, the best prospects for qualified tourism professionals are in the private sector with travel agencies, tour operators, airlines, hotels, transport and cargo companies etc. References: BTEC National Travel & Tourism, Travel & Tourism Industry Structure, http://bized.ac.uk/educators/16-19/tourism/industry/presentation/structure.ppt Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, Travel and Tourism Management, http://www.bcuc.ac.uk/main.asp Canadian Tourism Human Resource Council, Career Planning, http://www.cthrc.ca/careerplan.shtml TTC Training, http://www.ttctraining.co.uk/student.htm Read More