Career prospects in Travel and Tourism

Overview about Travel and Tourism:
Travel Management refers to all activities involved in planning and organising a tourism trip. It has two major aspects-tour operations (accommodation, sightseeing) and travel services (reservations, bookings, transportations car rentals). Tourism is round the clock business. Employment is seasonal to an extent, as requirement for tourism professionals increases during the holidays and decreases when schools are on.

Future expectations of job opportunities:
By 2010 Tourism will generate an additional 25 million jobs. At least one in every 15 working people in India will have a job in the Tourism sector. It will probably be the next big boom for India. International tourism visits are expected to double from 800 million in 2008 to1.6 billion by 2020. Tourism has the capacity to bring in foreign exchange without exporting, country’s wealth.

Basic skills required:
· Enthusiasm and the ability to interact with different people are prerequisites for success in this sector.
· Professionals must also have knowledge of history, art, culture, architecture, landscapes and terrains.
· Passion for travel, curiosity about local customs, traditions and the flexibility to adapt to varied situations and climate is a must.

Qualifications:
Minimum requirement for entry is Graduation

Career ladder:
Qualified professionals can work as:
· Tourism Department Officers
· Travel Agents and Tour Operators
· Tour facilitators
· Interoperates
· Transport service Providers
· Publishers of travel Brochures, tourism packs and cd’s
· E travel service providers etc
Within the industry the areas one can work in are:
· Eco tourism
· Historical tourism
· Cultural tourism
· Wildlife tourism
· Pilgrimage tourism
· Heritage tourism
· Health tourism

Institutes conducting Travel and Tourism course:
· Kuoni Academy of Travel
· NMIMS University
· SNDT Women's University
· Sophia Polytechnic
· Garware Institute of Career Education and Development
· Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel
· Annamalai University (Tamilnadu)
· International Air Transport Association (IATA)

For further details about Travel and Tourism course click here to read India’s first head-to-head comparison of Institutions offering the Travel and Tourism course.

Travel and Tourism Course - College Comparison

Educircle team has prepared a comparison of various colleges offering Travel and Tourism course in India. This should serve as a guide to candidates who wish to pursue their career in Travel and Tourism.

Following institutes/colleges are included in our latest comparison:

Institutes/ Colleges/ Academy:
1. Kuoni Academy of Travel
2. NMIMS University
3. Sophia Polytechnic
4. SNDT Women’s University
5. Garware Institute of career, education and development.

Click on the image below to read the comparison table:

Travel and Tourism Course – Career in Travel and Tourism

Introduction to Travel and Tourism:
Travelling has never been so easier as it is today. The growth of the travel and tourism industry has also opened up opportunities for many students, to help them, making a career in travel and tourism a viable option. Different institutes across the country offer numerous career courses in travel and tourism industry. Many companies like Thomas Cook, SOTC, Cox and Kings, Indian Airlines, Emirates, British Airways, RCI, etc provides promising career opportunities in Travel and Tourism Industry.
Different sectors comprise the tourism and the travel industry. These sectors require people who have completed courses in travel and tourism. Even the hotel industry encourages candidates who have completed a course in travel and tourism from reputed institutes.

Objectives of the course:
1. To develop knowledge and ability to work in tourism industry
2. The ability to lead and develop organisations in the tourism industry.
3. The ability to solve unstructured problems related to tourism and develop application of management concepts within tourism industry.

Eligibility:
The minimum eligibility for the course is Graduation.

Career Options:
A few sectors providing career options are listed below:
· Passenger Services
· Hotel & Airline Reservation
· Hotels, Front Office
· Tour Operations
· Government Travel Organizations
· Travel Consulting Firms
· In-Flight Services
· Cargo Handling

Fees for the Course:
The fees of the Post Graduate course in Travel and Tourism course ranges from Rs.30,000/- to Rs.1,00,000/-.

Institutes/ Colleges/ Academy:
· Kuoni Academy of Travel
· NMIMS University
· Sophia Polytechnic
· SNDT Women’s University
· Garware Institute of career, education and development.

Course Contents:
Some of the topics of the course are:
1. International and Domestic Ticketing
2. Preparation of Itineraries and Fare calculation
3. Cargo Management
4. Marketing and Sales
5. Communication skills
6. Selling Skills
7. Personality Development
8. Marketing Strategies
9. Customer services
10. Airport Handling
11. Crisis Management
12. Passport/VISA
13. Foreign Exchange / RBI Regulation
14. C.R.S. (Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre)
15. Field Training

The Structure of the course is listed below:
· International Tourism
· Travel Documentation & Domestic Travel
· Travel Management
· Reservations, Ticketing, & Fare construction
· Indian Tourism & Allied Industries
· Cultural Background of India
· Architectural Background of India
· Computer Applications
· Local Study Tours
· Long Study Tours
· Project / Seminar