Travel and Tourism

The concepts of travel and tourism are closely related, though with a slight distinction. Generally, tourism is seen as the act of traveling round, for the purpose of business or pleasure. It lasts between 24 hours and one year. A tourist is one who engages in tourism, home or overseas.

Travel, on the other hand, is seen as the act of moving from one place to another. It could belong, middle or short distance travel. The travel industry covers the various aspects of the wider industry which takes care of the needs of travelers.

The tourism industry is concerned with people traveling for different reasons, staying in their destination to carry out the purpose and so on, while the travel industry covers a wider scope of travel.

The Kind of Jobs associated with Travels and Tourism

Different fields of life have different kinds of jobs associated with them. Travel and tourism are not exempted. There are different jobs one will get in travel and tourism and they include:

1. Travel Sales: this job involves travel agents, travel wholesalers/operators and sales representatives. Travel wholesalers negotiate with hotels, airlines, attractions and others to create jobs/packages that the agents sell to prospective clients. The jobs that travel agents deal in include transportation booking, schedules and pricing.
2. Travel and Tour Guides and Managers: these set of people operate tours in areas like historical sites like museums, mountains, caves, and so on, of any location. They guide tourists in a specific area or site. This may last several days in different cities or countries. They also handle logistic issues like booking of accommodation, purchasing tickets, and so on, for tourists.
3. Transportation: this includes flight attendants, pilots and different support staff. They have a particular route they fly on a regular basis.
4. Tourism Marketing and Information: this set of people provides guidance to visitors, about upcoming events on history, culture, attractions and so on.
5. Hotel Manager: the hotel manager oversees all aspects of running a hotel: housekeeping, budget management, marketing and general maintenance.
6. Spa Managers: they run and maintain beauty spas; create work schedules, oversee general spa maintenance, arrange workshops and train new staff.
7. Event and Conference Organisers: event and conference organizers help in the planning of events, coordinate meetings and conferences, ensure the availability of speakers, meeting locations, equipment and so on.
8. Executive Chef: this person is in charge of the restaurants’ kitchen and responsible for managing the staff, planning the menu, and ensure the maintenance of kitchen hygiene.
9. Sommelier: a sommelier is responsible for the wine list and helps customers of a hotel find a wine within their budget.
10. Public Relations Manager. A PR manager manages a brand, in addition to developing and implementing a healthy strategy to build and maintain a brand name.

Tourism personnel must have research, interpersonal, customer service, leadership, good communication, good teamwork, presentation, and people skills. They must also have experience in the travel and tourism sector, be in possession of up-to-date news on current rules and regulations and required documentations, ticketing and passports, visa, and so on. Knowledge of the computer, airfare and ticketing skills, language skills, selling skills, the experience of handling money and so on, are also required skills to excel in the industry.

Five Interesting Facts you should know about Travel and Tourism

1. Less than one percent of the world’s population has ventured to Antarctica.
2. One out of eight jobs in the United States of America depends on travel and tourism.
3. The largest hotel in the world is the Izmailovo Hotel in Russia. It can hold about eight thousand guests.
4. Adding salt and pepper to your soup is highly offensive to the chefs in Switzerland.
5. The shortest flights available for purchase lasts two minutes and runs from the Scottish island of Westray to Papa Westray.

Travel and Tourism Courses you should Consider

Over 200 million people work in the travel and tourism industry worldwide. For those who enjoy traveling and mingling with people, travel and tourism courses are good options for them. There are about fifty travel and tourism training designed for maximum career opportunities for students in the industry. Some of them include:

1. Account and Financial Management for Travel Agencies.
2. Assisting Travellers with Special Needs
3. Airline, Hospitality and Tourism Management
4. Advanced skills in Journey Pricing and Ticketing
5. Card Payment Policies and Fraud Prevention
6. Destination and Geography
7. Distribution and Airline Retailing
8. Tourism and Hotel Management
9. Geography in Travelling Plan
10. Global Distribution Systems Fares and Ticketing
11. Tourism Research
12. Resort Management
13. Hospitality Sales
14. Cultural Tourism
15. Ecotourism
16. Meetings and Conventions
17. Lodging Management
18. Financial Accounting for Service Industries
19. Human Resource Management
20. Cost Controls in Food Service
21. Event Management
22. Restaurant Management
23. Hotel and Resort Management
24. Tourism Law; and so on.

Careers in the Travel and Tourism Industry

• Holiday / Travel Agent
• Tourism Management
• Travel Officer or Travel Agency Coordinator
• Tourist Guide
• Transport Officer
• Travel Consultant or Travel Counsellor
• Airline Staff
• Freelance Writer and Travel Blogger
• Entrepreneurship
• Retailer