search for »
job vacancies in leisure, sport and tourism Tourism is a fast-growing industry, but with the credit crunch in 2008, figures have dropped as people have less money to spend and companies are unable to expand as rapidly. There are a number of issues that tourism businesses need to over come. Fluctuating oil prices result in the airline industry imposing further fuel surcharges to cover higher costs, which have to be met by the consumer through increased air ticket prices. This will put the consumer off travelling during the expensive periods. Ads by Google The decrease in the strength of the pound against the euro means for UK tourists the notion of going for a cheap holiday in Europe is disappearing. People are also becoming more aware of their carbon footprint and may want to decrease this by taking fewer flights. Despite this the industry is still producing good figures. A report commissioned by VisitBritain and Tourism Alliance, states that the UK tourism industry is worth just over £110billion and employs more than 1.3 million people. Many organisations have graduate training schemes, which can be competitive and so it is an area where having experience can be very beneficial. With the London Olympics in 2012 there is expected to be an increase in the amount of tourism related jobs available. What kind of work can I do?There are a number of different areas of work within the tourism sector, including: - customer service - client facing roles in travel agencies, tourist boards, airline jobs as cabin crew and holiday representatives.;
- marketing - for tour operators and travel;
- sales - within travel agencies or for tourist attractions such as theme parks and activity days;
- product development - for tourist attractions in certain regions, for example.
- IT and administration in a number of different areas related to tourism.
What’s it like working in this sector?- Work conditions vary according to your role. You may work in an office, in a customer service environment, outdoors or in the case of cabin crew, on an aeroplane.
- Working hours also vary depending on the role but you should expect to work unsocial hours in a lot of the roles found in the tourism industry.
- The travel and tourism industries tend to be female dominated.
- There are good opportunities in the industry to work part-time.
- Depending on your job role regular overseas travel may be required.
How big is this sector?- There are over 2 million jobs sustained by tourism activity in the UK, either directly or indirectly.
- It is estimated that there is almost 1.5 million jobs related directly to tourism activity in the UK, some 5% of all people in employment in the UK.
- Approximately 132,000 of these jobs are self-employed.
Where can I work?- Tourism jobs are available worldwide, either through overseas airlines and tour operators or through UK companies that have international offices and opportunities.
|
