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Career In Travel & Tourism Sector

Career In Travel & Tourism Sector
May 10
12:34 2019

India ranked 7th among 184 countries in terms of travel & tourism.

India offers geographical diversity, attractive beaches, 30 World Heritage Sites and 25 bio-geographic zones. The country’s big coastline is dotted with a number of attractive beaches.

Students have endless career opportunities in this fast growing industry of travel and tourism. Candidates looking to pursue their career in the industry can choose to work for travel agencies, government tourism departments, tour operations, immigration and customs services, airlines, hotels, and the list continues.

Candidates can pursue a degree, diploma, or certificate course in travel and tourism at graduation or post-graduation level. Candidates can also pursue PhD in their chosen subject of travel and tourism to build their career in the field of research.

Know what all a travel and tourism course has to offer in terms of the course curriculum, job profiles, top recruiters, and more.

1.Travel & Tourism: Eligibility Criteria

There are many colleges and universities in India that offer undergraduate or postgraduate level degree, diploma, certificate, distance learning, and online courses in various sectors of travel and tourism. Some such sectors include tourism management, tour operation, airline management, airline ticketing, travel administration, etc.

Given below is generic travel and tourism eligibility criteria for UG as well as PG courses. It may be noted that the eligibility criteria might vary depending on the policies of the college/ university in which a candidate is applying.

  • Eligibility Criteria for Bachelor Degree Courses: Candidates should clear Class XII in any stream from a recognized board with a minimum aggregate percentage (usually 50% – 60%). 
  • Eligibility Criteria for Master Degree Courses: Candidates should clear graduation from a recognized institute/ university with a minimum percentage (usually 45% – 60%). Preference for admission is usually given to candidates who have proficiency in any of the foreign languages.  
  • Eligibility Criteria for Diploma Courses: Candidates should clear Class XII from a recognized board with minimum 50% – 60% aggregate marks.
  • Eligibility Criteria for PG Diploma Courses: Candidates should clear graduation from a recognized university with minimum 50% – 60% aggregate marks.
  • Eligibility Criteria for Certificate Courses: Candidates should clear Class XII from a recognized board with at least 45% – 50% marks.
  • Eligibility Criteria for Distance Learning/ Online Courses: Candidates must note that Travel & Tourism distance learning/ online courses are offered at all – degree, diploma and certificate levels. Therefore, eligibility criteria for distance learning programmes remains the same as mentioned above for different courses.

2.Course curriculum for Travel & Tourism

Curriculum of a travel and tourism programme depends on the course a candidate is pursuing – degree, diploma, or certificate. However, to get an overview of the subjects taught in some of the popular travel and tourism courses 

Popular Travel & Tourism Courses

  • Certificate course in Travel & Tourism – Cruise Line Operations and Management
  • Airfares & Ticketing                                    –         Computer Reservation System
  • Bachelor of Tourism Administration      –        BA (H) Hotel Management, Travel and Tourism
  • BBA ( Tourism and Travel Management)  –   BCom Tourism and Travel Management
  • Exevutive MBA in Tourism, Hospitality and Programme –   Master of Tourism Administration
  • MBA Tourism and Travel                          –        MBA Tourism and Leisure
  • MBA International Business  (Tourism) –   MBA Tourism and Cargo Management
  • PG Diploma in Travel and Tourism           –       MA in Travel and Tourism
  • Master of Philosophy ( MPhil) in Tourism-      PhD in Travel and Tourism

3.Travel & Tourism: Job Profiles

While experience is a significant factor to grow in the field of travel and tourism, there are endless job opportunities that candidates can avail in both private and public sectors after pursuing a course in the same. Some of the popular job profiles in travel and tourism are:

  • Holiday/ Travel Agent: A travel agent evaluates the requirements of tourists and help them make the best possible travel arrangements. Many hotels and travel groups hire travel agents to sell their tour packages to clients. 
  • Travel Executive: A travel executive is responsible for managing different aspects of a travel including transportation, flight booking, hotel accommodation, destination information, etc.
  • Tourism Manager: A tourism manager promotes tourism in his/her region through different advertising strategies and campaigns. The manager also offers assistance to tourists of different cultures and traditions.
  • Travel Officer/ Coordinator: A travel coordinator finds best prices on hotels, flights and rental cars; processes employee travel expenses, sets up corporate discounts with travel vendors, creates itineraries, etc.     
  • Airlines/ Ground Staff: The ground staff plays a crucial role in areas such as commercial activities, running of airports, airline operations, etc. The job of ground staff is vast and include responsibilities such as inspecting, storing and transporting luggage; and stocking the aircraft with food and beverage items.
  • Tourist Guide: A tourist guide helps tourists visiting different tourist places and provides them information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage of religious and historical sites, museums and other places of interest.
  • Transport Officer: A transport officer is typically appointed by a state government or local transport body to carry out activities like maintenance of the vehicle fleet, overseeing vehicle establishment programmes, certifying ground transportation budget etc.
  • Travel Counselor/ Consultant: A travel counselor has the responsibility of providing complete guidance on travel to clients. A counselor ensures best travel deals for the clients.  
  • Tour Operator: A tour operator is a professional who organizes tours and manages the travel and stay of tourists. There are many companies which operate tours for domestic as well as international clients and thus require tour operators.   
  • Travel Writer: A travel writer is responsible for writing an array of stories related to travel such as historical places, vacations, adventure, hotel industry, culture, etc

4.Salary: 

Travel and tourism industry offers decent salary packages. As an added advantage, the tourism industry offers great benefits, target-based incentives, commissions. Few of the companies offer free travel with family as part of their reward programme. You can get a relatively handsome salary in foreign-based airlines or travel agencies. They offer flexible work hours as well as a part-time job opportunity, internship programme for students etc.

5.Top Companies in the Travel & Tourism Sector in India

6.Required Skills to Make a Career in the Travel & Tourism Sector

  • Leadership, good teamwork,
  • good communication skills,
  • ability to research,
  • strong customer focus,
  • presentation skills,
  • up-to-date news on current rules and regulations and documentation required,
  • ticketing & passports, visas etc,
  • interpersonal skills,
  • a broad knowledge of India & world geography, working long hours.
  • Skills required could include the knowledge of computer reservation system (CRS-Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre & Abacus),
  • Airfares & ticketing skills,
  • Language skills,
  • Selling skills,
  • experience of handling money & foreign currencies,
  • Customer service,
  • Travel agency management, and travel & tourism geography knowledge.

 

7.Travel & Tourism Job Opportunities Abroad

Working abroad is a dream for several Indian students. Travel & tourism sector is one of the fields with immense job opportunities abroad. Countries like Australia, Canada & New Zealand are among the best in recent times. However, please be advised that local degrees are always way more preferable due to work permit issues. So, ideally, you need to hold a foreign degree.

About Author

Sarita K.

Sarita K.

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