|
Q1.What
are the prospects of a career
in the Travel and Tourism
industry ?
Q2.What
is the Career Structure in
this industry?
Q3.What
is the Eligibility and Training
?
Q4.What
is the remuneration in this
Industry ?
Q1.What
are the prospects of a career
in the Travel and Tourism
industry ?
A1.It
has a number of sectors or
smaller 'industries' as it
were, that work in collaboration.
Each sector is an important
branch of the main industry
and have their own special
characteristics. Commercial
Services - Government &
Travel Agencies Government
: Apart from working at the
airport (an expansive topic
on its own), there do lie
other opportunities at the
- Customs Department where
special officers are in charge
of checking all luggage for
illegal goods or items that
are liable for duty. Guides
- young graduates who have
an interest in history and
languages find this profession
quite intriguing, since it
gives them opportunities to
meet new people, enhance their
research skills, get good
salaries etc. Knowledge of
other languages is generally
preferred.
The
Indian Institutes of Travel
and Tourism Management (IITM)
offer short-term courses in
this field. - Immigration
Department where a tourist
is first given service. Special
training courses have started
in some universities for learning
about immigration procedures,
since both the industry and
the Government feel that there
should be a separate cadre
for this purpose.
Travel
Agencies : Planning vacations
or business trips to new places
can be quite tiring and strenuous
without the help of a travel
agent. They have answers to
all possible questions concerning
the shortest route to the
destination, travel mode,
the important documents that
will be required (visa, passport,
vaccination certificates etc.),
suitable places to stay, current
exchange rates, tourist spots
to visit, climate and they
will plan the trip keeping
in mind the clients' preferences,
budgets and special needs.
A
great deal of work is done
on the computer where the
latest information on flight
schedules, departure/arrival
timings, hotel ratings etc.
can be obtained. Agencies
may involve themselves in
special discount packages,
slide/movie presentations
on various places and other
promotional work to attract
customers.
The
four departments of a travel
agency are - Accounts (handles
the billing for individuals
and groups) - - Tours (deal
in in-expensive packaged tours,
with the accomodation, food,
transport etc. all taken care
of) - Travel (provide detailed
information on routes, costs)
- Cargo (covers the booking
and recovery of all cargo
from the destination points
connected by either Air, rail
or road) The Department of
Tourism in the Government
does major amounts of work
for the international market,
in formulating policies, developing
centres to attract tourists,
providing adequate transport,
advertising the different
spots and publicising the
various experiences, providing
accurate information on all
possible tourist areas.
Hotels
The hotel sector is one which
requires a large amount of
manpower, with a wide variety
of skills from housekeeping
to computers. People with
specialized training for food
and beverage, recreation,
marketing, accounting, security,
fire-fighting, public relations
and so on are much needed.
There are many institutes
that offer hotel management
and candidates from institutes
like the one at Pusa, Delhi
have good future prospects.
Many hotels also offer overseas
training opportunities, which
allow young people to gain
promotions rapidly. Employment
in foreign countries for Indians
is also very encouraging.
In India alone, about 1, 80,000
vacancies are expected to
be filled within the next
decade.
Transport
As we know, transport can
mean anything which takes
us from one place to another
- by air, road, railway, sea
etc. The two main areas we
will discuss are air and road
transport. Travel by air -
Post Second World War saw
a tremendous change in travel,
with the increased access
to air travel. People got
more opportunities to see
other places and tourism advanced
at a high pace.
Working
in an airline, whether on
the ground staff or in flight
is an exciting option for
many people these days. Foreign
airlines like Aeroflot, British
Airways, Royal Jordanian have
all been granted new land
rights and additional flights.
Many of the top airlines like
Cathay Pacific, ones based
in Hong Kong, Emirates offer
attractive salaries and numerous
benefits to their flight attendants.
The jobs in airlines are challenging
ones but worth the struggle.
Travel by road - Coaches,
tourist cars employ numerous
people every year. This arena
has the added advantage that
there is scope for self-employment.
Presently, drivers with good
conversational skills, who
are educated, bi- or multi-lingual
are much in demand. Bank loans
are available for those wishing
to invest in vehicles for
this purpose.
Top
Q2.What
is the Career Structure
in this industry?
A2.Since this industry has
so many areas, the requirements
for each field will naturally
be different. In general,
most candidates enter the
field through a travel agency
or a tour-operating company.
For the government positions,
advertisements are usually
given in the newspapers
regarding the vacancies.
Candidates for these positions
are only selected after
passing a written exam,
interview and medical examination.
Most private sector companies
are flexible in their choosing
- focusing more on interest,
aptitude and personality
rather than academic achievement.
Experience is definitely
an advantage, but on-the-job
training is also given to
new entrants. The higher
the post one seeks, the
better should be the qualifications.This
industry is highly competitive
and finally, those with
better education in the
field of travel and tourism
are more likely to move
ahead faster. The basic
needs are a school-leaving
certificate (10+2) for those
seeking a position, upto
the tourist guide level
while candidates aspiring
for managerial positions,
need a graduate degree,
in any of the fields dealing
with history, art, languages,
geography etc.
The
hierarchy that exists in
the Travel & Tourism
industry is as follows:
Counter Clerk/Counter Assistant
- deals with designing itineraries,
handling ticketing, reservations,
suggesting suitable routes
etc. Senior Assistant -
supervises the counter clerks'
work Junior Executive -
In charge of counter work
as well as certain marketing
and sales projects of the
agency services District
Sales Manager - Regulates
the marketing and sales
of all the agencies in a
particular zone or region
Deputy General Manager -
Assistant to the GM of the
department or agency General
Manager - manage the agency
or departments in a particular
company Vice President -
Executive head of agency
or organisation; designs
policies in consultation
with the managers, devises
plans and projects to expand
the agencies' services;
has a responsibility towards
the other employees and
is answerable to a Board
of Directors.
Top
Q3.What
is the Eligibility and Training
?
A3. It is relatively
easy to enter courses designed
for Travel & Tourism.
The main areas such as travel
agencies, transport, jobs
at hotels, airline work
all have good institutions
that give training for about
minimum 1-2 years with an
adequate amount of practical
training. The institutions
run on the guidelines provided
by the Indian Institute
of Travel and Tourism Management
and accurate information
can be obtained by contacting
the institutions directly.
Some of the admission criteria
is given in the Information
on Institutions section.
Eligibility : Students can
enter the undergraduate
courses with a Higher Secondary
Certificate while the post-graduate
courses, require graduation
in any field.
The
Indian Institute of Travel
and Tourism Management This
a reputed National centre
for the education, training
and research in the 'travel
and tourism' management
field. It is an autonomous
organisation on the Ministry
of Tourism, Government of
India. It gives substantial
amounts of help to graduates,
directly and also via the
Universities to enter the
careers dealing in tour
operation, leisure management,
transportation, accommodation
and interpretation services.
It aims at reaching complete
professionalism of all human
resources involved in tourism,
through the academic courses.
The
Institute works in collaboration
with the International Institute
of Tourism Studies at the
George Washington University
and receives lot of academic
support. Programmes are
being developed with many
international universities
(Univ. of Calgary in Canada,
New School of Social Research,
New York and many more)
for the purpose of faculty-exchange
programmes, sharing of facilities
and knowledge which will
benefit students and faculty
equally. Eligibility &
Requirements to enter these
courses - - graduate degree;
- age should not be more
than 28 years SC/ST/OBC/
Ex serviceman + 5 years;
- an entrance exam needs
to be given at the specific
places - Bhubaneshwar, Calcutta,
Chennai, Delhi, Gwalior
and Mumbai, which consists
mainly of General Knowledge
questions and secondly,
an interview. Number of
seats available at each
centre is quite limited
- only 50 - which makes
entry very competitive.
Top
Q4.What
is the remuneration in this
Industry ?
A4.Payscales can vary greatly
depending on the company,
the city etc. since the
travel and tourism industry
is so far-spread and competitive.
Reputation of the company
or firm or airline makes
a difference as well. Some
of the general payscales
for a agency or company
dealing in travel/tourism
are as follows: Position
Pay Counter Clerk Rs. 1,700
- Rs. 2,000 Assistant Rs.
2,000 - Rs. 2,500 Junior
Executive Rs. 3,000 - Rs.
3,500 Regional Manager Rs.
3,900 - Rs. 4,500 General
Manager Rs. 5,000 - Rs.
6000
|
