COMPETITION SUCCESS REVIEW, FEBRUARY 2014 141

Careers in Tourism and Travel

Travel is a primordial human activity
as movement from one place to another
was required to search food, shelter and
safe environs. With the evolution of
civilisations the extent of purposes
behind location movement increased to
include knowledge, trade and many
others. However organizing travel for
tours is a modern phenomenon. Tourism
and travel has emerged as an industry that
is labour intensive having the potential
to propel sustainable development. It has
grown big since 1950 with international
tourist arrivals crossing the one billion
mark in 2012. International arrivals were
recorded as 1035 million in 2012 with
US$ 1075 billion contribution in receipts
and it is estimated by UNWTO that, 1
among 11 jobs has been created by
tourism and its allied industries. India is
not behind in reaping benefits from
tourism. In 2012, it received 6.58 million
international tourists that contributed
US$ 17.74 bil lion in revenues and
contributed in generating 10.5 % of
Indias total employment.
Tourism is an important contributor
to service economies particularly in
nati ons havi ng good potenti al . It
comprises of big tourism companies
holding a huge staff along with small
travel agencies with adequate number of
employees. Depending on the capabilities
of the individuals, the industry provides
a great career opportunity to almost all
the sections of the society. Some of the
areas where students can look forward
to work are detailed below:
Travel and Tour operations:
Under this segment the work includes
itinerary designing, file handling, ticket
bookings and tour management. The next
generation travel industry is eyeing for
capable freelancers and travel writers, as
videography has triggered the situation
of demand for the capable travel
documenters.
Hotels, Resorts, Motels and
other means of accommodation:
Accommodation i s an essential
component of tourism. The electronic
commerce era has added on to the job
markets for the travel professionals in the
capacity of Hotel reservation systems and
the other facilitations related to the
business tourism and corporate travel
management.
Gui di ng s e r vi c e s : Having
knowledge about the desti nati on,
monuments, related stories, historical
significance are the basic requisites to be
a tourist guide, knowledge about a foreign
language is an added advantage.
Transport / Transfer services for
tourists: Well organised companies are
now entering into this field and they
follow pure professionalism in terms of
service delivery to their clients. The
intermodal transportation has formed the
life vein of India.
Tourist campsites, Picnic sites:
Many of the companies are providing
specialised services in organising Tourist
camps i n different l ocations l ike
mountains, deserts, glaciers and jungles.
These companies also focus on the
proper safety, hygiene and cl i ent
satisfaction.
Tr a d i t i o n a l c u i s i n e s -
restaurants, cafes, food stall s /
outlets, etc.: A good hygienic food adds
significance to a tour. Tourists always
look for traditional and local cuisines of
a desti nation and thi s creates an
opportunity for the innovators to come
up with theme-based or traditional
cuisine restaurants. The ethnic restaurants
in India have created opportunities for
hotel man trade jobs and restaurant
managers and keepers.
Cultural centres: These are the
places where local residents can perform
their art, dances and cultural ceremonies.
The foreign countries cultural centres in
India are into many activities l ike
screening their movies, promoting local
attractions in India teaching the basic
level foreign language, which is going to
accommodate travel l i terates i nto
them.
Safaris and Bird watching tours:
Several forest departments are
encouraging the
occupation of Nature
Gui di ng for the
nature enthusiasts
whi ch draws the
opportunities for the
experts from botany
and zool ogy to
pursue Tourism
educati on as
a supportive
curri cul um for
further scope in their
livelihood.
Advent ur e
Sports - Hot air
b a l l o o n i n g ,
Skydiving, Scuba
diving and other
Water sports:
Ge o g r a p h i c a l
conditions of the
country creates
ampl e of
opportunities for
the growth of
Adventure tourism.
Adventure tourism
in India is picking
up very with a great
scope of career for
the youngsters i n desti nation
management companies, resorts and
adventure companies.
Curio and Craft factories:
Souvenir represents an image of a
destination and by learning skill of making
local handicrafts, one can easily start his
own business or can become a part of
pre-existing business.
Ru r a l , Farm and Agri-
tourism: As approximately 70% of
Indian population constitutes a part of
rural India, so such kind of upcoming
tourism types can be more useful in
providing employment opportunities
and empowerment of rural
population.
To equip people to work in tourism
i ndustry, traini ng and educati onal
facilities are available from skill training
to graduate and post graduate levels.
Whil e ski ll trai ning is provided as
vocational training by different state and
private institutes, higher education is the
domain of universities and autonomous
institutes.
Post graduate education in tourism is
provided by Indian Institute of Tourism
and Travel Management (IITTM)
through its four campuses. IITTM
functions under Ministry of Tourism,
Govt. of India and consistently modifies
its curriculum to meet the needs of the
market.
The potential admission seekers in
tourism shal l have some i nherent
qualities, like passion of travelling,
exploring, etc. The skills required to
support these basics are such as
communication, product knowledge,
servitude and business acumen can be
acquired through education.
Tourism industry offers immense
opportuni ties to grow through
entrepreneurship even in small towns.
What i s required is the spi ri t of
exploration and expansion.
Prof. Manjula Chaudhary
Director
Indian Institute of
Tourism and Travel
Management (IITTM)
(An organization of
Ministry of Tourism,
Government of India)