Tourism: Typical employers

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Graduates are employed throughout the tourism industry. The industry is fragmented, with various tourism boards and strategic authorities providing the way to market the thousands of small enterprises offering travel services. The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) represents travel agencies and tour operators.

Big players

The tourism sector features a broad variety of large companies that provide opportunities for graduates, ranging from travel agents and tour operators to air carrier managers.

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Thomas Cook Group Plc is one of the world's leading leisure travel groups. It was formed in 2007 after the merger of Thomas Cook AG and My Travel Group Plc. Its principle brands include Thomas Cook, Condor and Direct Holidays.

TUI was created in 2007 from the merger of First Choice Holidays Plc and the Tourism Division of TUI AG. It is another of the leading international travel groups, operating in over 180 countries. TUI offers an 18 month International Management Trainee programme for graduates. See their website for more details.

Large airline companies include Ryanair, EasyJet, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

The Saga Group owns travel interests targeted at the over-50s. They specialise in cruises, tours, resort breaks and short UK breaks.

VisitBritain is the official body for the promotion of tourism abroad and in England. Its website gives vacancy details for its UK and overseas offices.

Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

SMEs are organisations with less than 250 employees and an annual turnover of around £26million. Working for a smaller company can be rewarding because you are more likely to forge a path for yourself within the company, although opportunities to try other departments may be limited.

SMEs are unlikely to use the testing and assessment techniques of larger companies, or follow lengthy recruitment procedures. SMEs are more likely to advertise their vacancies through the local press, university careers service bulletins, local graduate vacancy listings, jobcentres, and word of mouth, rather than rely on their reputation and a presence at graduate recruitment fairs.

Your university careers service should have listings of jobs with small firms; see also the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

Self-employment

As with other sectors, there are a growing number of consultants who carry out policy and research on behalf of other organisations such as tour operations and government offices. To be able to get into this type of role it is important to demonstrate sector specific knowledge, which would have usually been gained by professional experience or through research based knowledge. Graduates who enter this area usually have previous tourism or related experience and a postgraduate qualification that emphasises good research skills.

Found out more about self-employment.