Salary Outlook in Travel and Tourism: Associated careers, Top Recruiting Companies

Career in Travel and Tourism: Required Skills

1. Language skills

2. Personal knowledge and experience of travelling to major tourist destinations

3. Effective communication skills

4. Knowledge of accommodation, places of interest and local customs

5. Enthusiasm to interact with people and social etiquettes

6. Business tactics, good memory and a positive attitude

What to study in Travel and Tourism?

Along with the tourism education in India or abroad, experience in this area is one of the most crucial factors in stepping up for a travel, tourism career. There are many colleges, universities and private institutes that offer Bachelor's or Master's degrees, diplomas, certificates or distance learning courses in various sectors of travel and tourism such as management in tourism, travel or hotels, tour operation or airline management, destination management, airline ticketing, travel administration etc. Here are the options for studying in tourism courses:

• You can join an undergraduate course right after completing class 12

• The Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India approved post-graduation degree in this field is a two-year full time programme which gets you an MTA degree, a Master of Tourism Administration. Certain universities such as the Indian Institution of Tourism and Travel offer this degree

• A postgraduate degree can be helpful in getting into positions as managers.

• Short term training programmes are offered by many travel agencies.

• You can opt for diploma or certificate courses in tourism and travel.

• You can also opt for vocational courses to get a B Voc degree.

Salary Outlook in Travel and Tourism: Career options

The major career options in the travel and tourism sector are:

• Holiday/Travel Agent

• Tourism Manager

• Travel Officer or Travel Agency Coordinator

• Travel Counselor or Travel Consultant

• Airlines Staff

• Tourist Guide

• Transport Officer

Associated Careers:

Airlines (Ground & In-Flight Staff, Sales & Marketing, HR, IT), Hotels & Resorts (Operations, Front-Office, Food & Beverage, Sales & Marketing, Accounting, Public Relations, IT, HR)

Alternative (New-Age) Career Paths:

• Entrepreneurship

• Retailer (Franchise)

• Freelance Writer or Travel Blogger

Salary Outlook in the Travel & Tourism Industry in India

Salary is pretty good in the travel and tourism industry. Moreover, the industry also offers good remuneration and perks, which include free travel for its employees and their families. You can get a relatively quite handsome salary in foreign-based airlines or travel agencies. You could also do part-time jobs or can consider summer internships for early experience. The average salary of a travel consultant is Rs. 3,09, 216 per year as per payscale insights.

Promotion and employment aspects are bright in this field as of now because not many skilled employees are available. One can even plan to start their own business or start-up in travel and tourism by taking on additional employees and partners.

Top Recruiting Companies in the Travel & Tourism Sector in India

• Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)

• State Tourism Boards (e.g. Kerala, North-East, Goa, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim etc.)

• Cox & Kings Ltd.

• Thomas Cook (India) Ltd

• MakeMyTrip (and GoIbibo)

• Balmer Lawrie Travel & Vacations

• Yatra

• ClearTrip

• Jet Airways

• India Healthcare Tourism (IHCT)

• Flying Fox

• SOTC India

• Kuoni Travel

• East India Travel Co

• Kesari Tours

• Club Mahindra Holidays

• Expedia

• TravelGuru

• Air Asia

• American Express Global Business Travels

• Travix Leisure & Travels Pvt. Ltd.

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Hotel Management vs Travel and Tourism Management