Industry insights - Tourism
There are a number of different areas of work within the tourism sector, including:
In accordance with the nature of tourism, jobs are available worldwide, either through overseas airlines and tour operators or through UK companies that have international offices and opportunities.
For information on working overseas, see opportunities abroad.
The following profiles are examples of key jobs that exist in the tourism sector. To find the job roles that best match your skills and interests, login to what jobs would suit me?
For even more career ideas, take a look at types of jobs.
The travel industry: comprising retail travel services such as high street travel agencies, travel insurance and online travel services, tour operators, bureaux de change and travel ticketing agencies. The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) is the body which represents travel agencies and tour operators.
Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA)
Depending on whether you are interested in the travel industry or the tourism services industry, both offer big employers which provide opportunities for graduates.
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 principal brands include Thomas Cook, Condor and Direct Holidays.
TUI Travel PLC 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.
Large airline companies include Ryanair, EasyJet, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
There are a large number of agencies organising gap year travel, such as Gapyear.com, Gapadvice.org and Yearoutgroup.org.
The Saga Group owns travel interests targeted at the over-50s. They specialise in cruises, tours, resort breaks and short UK breaks.
The tourist authorities such as VisitBritain , Visit Scotland , Visit Wales and Discover Northern Ireland are also major employers.
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.
Careers services should have listings of jobs with small firms; see also the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) .
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 thorough research-based knowledge. Graduates who enter this area usually have previous tourism or related experience and a relevant postgraduate qualification.
Find out more about self-employment.
Around a quarter of all vacancies are advertised at jobcentres. For regional jobs, for example within a travel agency or tourism office, check the local papers and internet job boards.
It is also worth keeping an eye on social media sites such as Twitter, Flickr and Facebook for jobs and networking opportunities. Industry-specific media sites such as Visit Britain Media Centre can help keep you informed with regular industry related news updates.
Graduate schemes are not common, but do exist within most of the larger, hotel chains. Many graduates that enter these schemes have completed a tourism and hospitality degree, although most of these companies accept any degree subject.
Company websites are useful job sources. They tell you how to apply for different jobs, whether they have graduate schemes and how to apply for them. Your university careers centre has a variety of directories that you may use to search for companies. See Graduate Employers for a list of potential recruiters.
Unlike hospitality where recruitment drives tend to be seasonal, recruitment in travel and tourism is fairly constant throughout the year.
Application forms, CVs and covering letters should reflect a mix of skills from subject-related to technical skills that you have developed during your studies.
As well as your academic qualifications, it is important to be able to demonstrate skills such as teamwork, communication and customer service skills. Work experience, experience abroad and language skills may also be helpful.
Your application should show you have an understanding of the tourism industry, including infrastructure, services, and political, social and economic issues. You should also demonstrate an awareness of current trends within the industry and the reasons behind them.
Any work experience you have acquired in the hospitality services industry as a student will be useful. This might be hotel or bar work where you will have gained valuable experience working face-to-face with clients.
Another way of gaining experience within this industry is through a work placement. The process of finding a placement is very similar to finding a permanent job. Many companies advertise available placements on their websites, job boards and at university careers services. Ask at your university careers office where they advertise their placement vacancies. Also, consider approaching companies speculatively and not just waiting until they advertise.
Many employers, though they may not specify a need for a degree in tourism or a related subject, ask you to demonstrate knowledge and experience in this field. So examples of how you have gained such experience, either as part of your degree, through any work experience or gap travelling that you have done, strengthens your application. You may find, though, that salaries are lower compared with those for traditional graduate occupations.
The Institute of Travel and Tourism (ITT) has an employment and careers section on their website for students.
Postgraduate qualifications are not necessary to enter the sector, but some graduates find that once they have industry experience, a postgraduate qualification helps develop the skills needed in order to enhance their promotion prospects. A postgraduate qualification in for example, communications, public relations or management may be seen as very relevant within this sector.
The sector is generally well qualified and has a comprehensive training structure (NVQ Levels 1-5 or equivalent, a degree being regarded as Level 4 and postgraduate qualifications as Level 5). Over a third of the sector workforce is qualified to Level 4 and above (People 1st Industry Report, 2009).
Career development in tourism is through experience and in-service training. Many senior executives in this industry started their careers at entry level.
Because of the mobility between tour operators, airlines and travel agents there is significant scope for career development and networking opportunities can be very useful. Staff in smaller organisations may find that they need to move to larger organisations in order to gain more responsibility or to specialise.
Depending on the employer, there are plenty of opportunities to work overseas.
It is possible to have an international career with the major leisure travel groups, as they have offices in other countries and vacancies may be advertised throughout the organisation.
Working as a resort representative is an obvious way of getting a placement abroad. The reps often spend the summer season working in one country and winter in another location, depending on their language skills and experience. Many travel agents and tour operators also have overseas reps positions, which involve sourcing and finding out about resorts that they can add to their portfolio to sell to the consumer.
Those working for tour operators in contracts or product development may travel abroad regularly as part of their job.
Working within the cruise industry allows you to travel to many different countries depending on the company that you work for. The UK market is strong, with new liners launched in 2007 to meet the demands of the market. The expanding cruise industry in Europe generated 311,000 jobs in 2008, according to the European Cruise Council.
British qualifications are well regarded and this sector is particularly favourable to qualification transferability. Be prepared to familiarise yourself with the educational structure in the country that interests you, so that you can provide an indication of the comparable level of your academic achievements when writing an application. Your university careers service may have an international employment information section that would be helpful.
There are opportunities to work in most overseas countries in the tourism industry, but some provide more jobs than others. The USA, Japan and northern European countries have strong outbound tourism industries. Others such as Greece, Spain, Australia and New Zealand welcome many more visitors than they export and so work as resort reps or in inbound tourism are more likely here. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) produces detailed profiles for every country worldwide, giving headline facts and figures as well as outlining cultural, economic and historical information and its relationship with the UK.
The 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics Games will provide the UK's tourism industry with its biggest opportunity in recent years. The UK government anticipates that the games will provide a huge boost to the UK tourism industry, which aims to generate over £2billion worth of revenue over the next decade.
There is an increased push to develop UK coastal resorts, as well as furthering tourism in the countryside and improving domestic visitor attractions. There is an anticipated increase in demand for domestic destinations, particularly when the exchange rate from pounds to euros is unfavourable for UK tourists.
Sites such as VisitBritain are working to further promote the UK as a conference destination. The average business visitor spends about £200 a day, nearly twice as much as the average holidaymaker. The business sector helps to sustain the wider tourist infrastructure by filling hotels out of season.
Organisations are working to develop the quality of tourism, minimise waste and provide exciting and sustainable travel opportunities. Ecotourism sites are particularly prevalent on the web.
New emerging markets such as the Balkans, Vietnam and the Middle East are growing in popularity. As these markets grow, the battle for tourists will become increasingly competitive.
‘responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people’.
'meets the needs of present tourists and host regions, while protecting and enhancing opportunity for the future'. Rather than being a type of product, it is an ethos that underpins all tourism activities. As such, it is integral to all aspects of tourism development and management rather than being an add-on component.
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