Carrer and Scope in Tourism

                                                CAREER IN TOURISM

Tourism is the world’s largest industry with complex segments. Among these the principal ones are Airlines, Transportation, Accommodation, Food Services, Travel Agencies & Tour Operations, Shopping, Culture & Entertainment, Organising Events, MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conferences & Exhibition). Familiarity with tourism, recreation, sight-seeing & coordinating group movement equips you to pursue a career in several tourism fields.

            The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has estimated that there were 207 million people employed in 2001 in job that existed because of the demand created by tourism related industry  & businesses. It amounts to 8.2% of the total employed work force in the world or out of the 12 working persons are absorbed in tourism. In India, it is only 2.9% of the work-force but the number is quite large. The Department of Tourism, Government of India estimated the number of people employed in tourism jobs, directly or indirectly to be 4.5 million which is impressive.

Job Prospects & Career Options

Careers in Tourism 
The travel bug begins to bite as summer approaches and children get their holidays. Keeping this in mind, we cover careers for those inclined towards travel and adventure. With domestic and international tourism picking up, many careers can indeed be made in this sector. We describe some opportunities though many more may exist in related areas. We also talk to a company which employs young people as 'Holiday Consultants'. If you like meeting people, love adventure and have a pleasing personality, you can look for careers in a fast growing sector.

The travel and tourism industry is growing very fast. Once confined to families taking an annual LTC trip, today more people are venturing out of their homes and look for quality vacations where they can relax and also do something new and interesting. Sports like river rafting and hang gliding are slowly catching on and there are many jobs that are available for a person who can arrange good holidays for the domestic as well as the international tourist. India earned $ 2753 million from international tourism in 1995. The total number of arrivals were 21.22 lakhs, and the figure is increasing every year.

With the growth of tourist traffic, travel-related jobs are increasing by the day. These relate to various related services facilitating travel, such as travel agencies, banking, hotels, guides, airlines and other services. Some of them may be seasonal, limited to the tourist season from September to March but others are permanent in nature. In this sector, girls are in as much demand as males and are even preferred for certain jobs.

Travel-related jobs are best suited for individuals who enjoy meeting people and make them comfortable. They are for those who love adventure and travelling. True, some are desk jobs, but even these jobs entail understanding the needs of the traveller and making the best arrangements possible for him.

Many agencies are diversifying into travel services. These include foreign banks and vacation companies which offer this as an added service to their clients. For example, American Express has its Travel-Related Services Unit to provide assistance to clients. With the travel sector opening up and foreign timeshares and vacations becoming popular, tourist traffic is expected to increase manifold. Much of the traffic depends on internal stability of the country; fortunately that has existed in India. The government too recognises it as an industry.

Some of the areas where careers can be made are described here:

Tourism Department: In the Tourism Department there are jobs as Reservation & counter staff, Sales and marketing staff, Tour Planners and Tour guides. Officers in the Directorate and Departments of Tourism are recruited from among the candidates who have done civil service, drawn from the Civil/administrative services of the State and Central governments. They are involved in the planning and promotion of tourism activities. A degree in travel and tourism is required for operational jobs in government organizations. Information assistants at the office of the Tourism departments are selected through competitive examinations held by the Staff Selection Commission. The eligibility is graduation with knowledge of Indian history, art and architecture, besides proficiency in English. These vacancies are advertised through the employment news. Information Assistants give out information regarding tourist spots and services available and help to plan the itinerary of the tourists. The Ministry of Tourism recognizes three types of guides, regional, state and local. A regional guide gets a two year renewable license from the Ministry of Tourism endorsed for life by the Archeological Survey of India. Guides give detailed information on the various monuments and artifacts and about the countries traditions and heritage.

Travel Agencies: Facilitating travel and related services are travel agencies. They require people to deal with customers, guide them as they plan holidays and finally offer tickets for the best routes or offers. They also help in foreign exchange and visas. To join a travel agency, one can do a diploma in travel and ticketing from a polytechnic or an institute. This is usually a short-term course (3-6 months) and will help gain entry into an agency. Some travel agencies and airlines offer this course. Short-term courses are also offered by Delhi Tourism. Freshers without a diploma can also join and learn on the job. The requirements are a pleasing personality and the ability to deal with customers. Of course a knowledge of destinations and procedures help a great deal.
Tour Operators: There are many companies operating tours for the domestic as well as the international tourist. Some may be for the usual destinations like hill stations but others are for unusual activities like river rafting, hang gliding, rock climbing and camping. Tour operators need people for selling the concept and then to accompany the groups to the destinations. For foreign groups, the agencies prefer girls, who are friendly and helpful. For domestic groups, males are preferred. Again, the qualities required are a pleasing and outgoing personality, knowledge of the activities and often participatin in them with the tourists. A person hoping to work with a tour operator must be able to travel with the groups and know people at the destinations to make the tours pleasant for the client. Though one may do a course of tourist guide for this purpose, people with a knowledge of the activities can easily join tour operators. The jobs could be seasonal in some cases.
Tourist guides: The Ministry of Tourism grants licenses to three categories of tourist guides: regional, state level and monument guides. This is a three-month course followed by a test, after which the license is granted. For 12 years after 1984, no licenses were granted as the license holders had taken a stay. People have thus been working even eithout a license. A guide gets about Rs 1,600 per day for outstation tours but they also get tips from clients and commission from hotels, restaurants and shops. The best guides and those who are in demand are those who offer clean deals and are able to get the maximum advantage for the tourists. Guides must be in touch with foreign agencies who send groups to India. A fixed itinerary is offered and guides take the groups to those areas which they are familiar with. Apart from the activities mentioned above, wildlife safaris are also becoming increasingly popular. During the season, a guide can hope to earn a six-figure sum but a person has to be good and understand the foreign tourist and his needs. The job is exciting and satisfying and the earnings during the season are enough to see one through the off season as well. The age limit for a guide is 50 years but young and energetic persons are preferred.
Holiday consultants: This is a new concept, the idea being that the tourist gets all the details of travel and itineraries from one source. The holiday consultant will sell the holidays, plan out the itineraries, help in travel plans and arrange for ticketing and other details as well. A knowledge of the destinations and the activities available is a pre-requisite. With people having little time, these consultants will make all the arrangements required to have an enjoyable holiday.
Airlines: Airlines require people for ground as well as flight duties. On the ground, the duties are in offices, at the airline desks in airports and for checking and managing flights. A course in travel or a qualification on hotel management helps to get in. Airlines also require air hostesses and stewards for flights. The jobs are glamorous and afford the possibility of traveling to exciting destinations. Free tickets for the family offered by some airlines are an added advantage. To become an air hostess, you should be unmarried, below 25, a graduate or have training in hotel management and catering. A pleasing personality, physical fitness and lots of stamina are required. Your height should be between 154 and 170 cm, normal eyesight and familiarity of a foreign language. There are a number of institutes offering training to become an air hostess. Indian Airlines has its own institute in Hyderabad to train cabin crew. Airlines advertise for vacancies in the newspaper and impart their own training. Apart from a test to check your general awareness and proficiency in language, there may be a flight observation test to see if the applicant gests air sick. The flight career of air hostesses is only 10 years or shorter in the case of private airlines. Salaries range in the range of Rs 6,000 for domestic to Rs 40,000 in international airlines. If you want to become an air hostess, make sure you participate in games and extra curricular activities and develop a good personality. With more airlines targetting India, there may be many jobs available as air hostesses.
Banks: Foreign banks and dealers in foreign exchange require people to assist their clients in their travel requirements. The idea is to provide services under one roof. Usually, MBASs from premier institutes are preferred. The bank helps in hotel bookings, ticketing and all travel-related services. Indian banks have been laggards in providing such services and foreign banks pay very well. The jobs expected from the person may sometimes be more than travel-related, since a personal touch is added to make the traveller feel at home. With foreign companies coming in India in a big way, such services are poised to increase.

For the adventurous and the travel-minded, there are a lot of avenues that could be explored. Of course one has to very good in the job, have a thorough knowledge and have lots of stamina. For the travel buff with a knowledge of Indian culture and destinations, a career in travel and tourism offers exciting opportunities indeed.

Hotels: The hotel Industry is basically a service industry providing food and accommodation to the Visitors. It is one which requires a large amount of manpower, with a wide variety of skills. In India alone, about 1, 80,000 vacancies are expected to be filled within the next decade. An hotel offers career opportunities in its various departments such as Operations, Front office, House keeping, Food and Beverages, Accounting, Engineering/ Maintenance, Sales, Public relations and Security etc. One can enter this field through direct entry in some departments or through hotel management institutes. There are many institutes that offer hotel management courses. Many hotels also offer overseas training opportunities, which allow young people to gain promotions rapidly. 

Transport: Besides airlines, Travel facilities include rail services, coach operators, car hire companies. etc. Whatever that takes Tourists from one place to another - by air, road, railway, sea etc. comes under Travel and tourism. Tourist use almost all these travel facilities.

Top Agencies and Companies 

1. Cox and Kings
2. Thomas Cook
3. SOTC
4. TCI
5. American Express
6. Sita World travel Ltd
7. TUI Travels
8. Orbit Travels
9. Orbitz Travels
10. Nimble Travels
11. La Passage Travels
12. CTI Travels
13. Mercury Travels
14. Yatra.com
15. Makemytrip.com
16. Cleartrip.com
17. RCI
18. Emirates
19. Indian Airlines
20. British Airways
21. Stic Travels
22. Equator Voyagers Pvt. Ltd.
23. Alpine Travels
24. Ashoka Tour & Travels
25. Vaishali Travels

Hotels & Resorts

1. Taj Hotels
2. Ashoka Hotels
3. Oberoi Hotels
4. ITC Groups
5. Hyatt
6. Hilton
7. Holiday Inn
8. ITDC
9. Quality Inn
10. Regent
11. Welcomgroup
12. Intercontinental
13. World Resorts
14. Toshali Resorts
15. 32^nd Mile stone
16. Rejoice Resorts
17. Apple Valley Resorts
18. The Manali Inn

Public Sector Tourism Organization

1. India Tourism Development Corporation
2. Kerala Tourism Development Corporation
3. Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation
4. Haryana Tourism Development Corporation
5. Himachal Pardesh Tourism Development Corporation
6. Delhi Tourism Development Corporation

Salaries 
You can admit yourself to a travel and tourism course after your senior secondary examination [10+2] or after your graduation in any discipline. You can expect to find a job fairly soon. You can expect a beginning salary of Rs.6000 to Rs.10000.If you work as a service manager, you can expect a salary of about Rs.10000 to Rs.25000. If you start your career through an airline after a IATTA/UFTTA degree. You can expect to start with a salary of Rs.20000 to Rs.35000. As you gain experience of 2- 3 years your salary can grow somewhere between Rs.25,000- 2,50,000

Eligibility for Tourism Education:
For admission to Travel and Tourism courses, candidate must have certificate of higher secondary and for some courses, he must be undergraduate. While choosing the career in tourism, candidate must have to evaluate whether he has those personality traits which are required to perform the task well and rise in career. Because this area of work is highly competitive and the person who has wide range of information, quick access to travel and transportation data and who can blend business skills with diplomacy can survive and satisfied with job he has chosen. To gain high position, some of the personalities Traits for the job of tourism are as follows-
-Personal knowledge and experience of travel to major tourist destinations 
-Knowledge of accommodation, places of interest and local customs 
-Effective communication skills 
-Language skills 
-Enthusiasm to interact with people, and social etiquettes 
-Business tactics, good memory and a positive attitude. 

Courses in Travel and Tourism in India:
Below mentioned are the various courses in Travel and Tourism available in India. Students many need to appear for All-India level or institute-specific entrance test for admission to a particular course. The eligibility criteria may differ from one tourism institute to another.

1. Bachelors Degree course in Airlines, Tourism & Hospitality Management
2. Bachelor of Tourism Administration
3. Bachelor of Tourism Studies
4. BTM (Hons)
5. PG diploma course in Tourism Studies
6. Post Graduate Diploma in Management (Tourism & Travel)
7. Post Graduate Diploma in Management (Tourism & Leisure)
8. PG program in Travel and Tourism
9. Master of Tourism Administration
10. Master of Business Administration in Tourism and Hospitality Management
11. Postgraduate diploma course in Tourism Management
12. M.A. in Tourism Management
13. Master of Tourism Management

MAIN INSTITUTIONS

Degree courses in Tourism  (Bachelors)

Eastern Region

Gauhati University ,Gauhati
Utkal University , Puri, Orissa
University of Calcutta

Northern Region
University of Delhi New Delhi
Kurukshetra University , Haryana.
Maharashi Dayanand University, Haryana.
Himachal Pradesh University
Agra University - Agra 282004
Awadh University ,Madhya Pradesh
Benaras Hindu University , Varanasi 221005
Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, Varanasi 221002
IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi 110 068

Western Region
Goa University, Goa
University of Mumbai, Mumbai
University of Poona , Nasik

Southern Region
Bangalore University, Bangalore
Karnataka University
Bhartidasan University, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu
University of Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Andhra University
Kakatiya University
University of Calicut ,Calicut, Kerala.
Mother Teresa Women's University, Kodaikanal 624102 TN

Post graduate courses in travel and tourism
Masters in travel administration of 2 years duration is offered to graduates/postgraduates in the following universitites :

Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra 132119
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002
Jiwaji University, Gwalior 474011
Anantpur University, Anantpur 515314
Marathwada University, Aurangabad 431004
Jai Narayan Vyas University, Jodhpur 342001
Pondicherry University, Pondicherry 605014
Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla 171005
Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore 452001
Avdhesh Pratap Singh University, Rewa 486003
Utkal University, PO Vani Vihar, Bhubaneshwar 751004 Orissa
Lucknow University, Badshah Bagh, Lucknow 226007
Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Srinagar 246174 Garhwal Distt. UP

Places to study:

India:
Masters in travel administration of 2 years duration is offered to graduates/postgraduates in the following universities (Sample): 
1.) Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore 452001. 
2.) Lucknow University, Badshah Bagh, Lucknow 226007. 
3.) Indira Gandhi National Open University, School of Social Sciences, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi 110 068 
4.) Pondicherry University, Pondicherry 605014. 
5.) Utkal University, PO Vani Vihar, Bhubaneshwar 751004, Orissa. 
6.) Marathwada University, Aurangabad 431004. 
7.) Jai Narayan Vyas University, Jodhpur 342001. 
8.) Dr. B. S. Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad 431004, Maharashtra. 
9.) IITTM, New Delhi 110 021. 
10.) Agra University, Agra 282004. 
11.) Delhi University, Delhi 110007. 
12.) Skyline Business School, Laxman Public School Campus, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016. 
13.) Sita Academy M-135, Connaught Circus, New Delhi 110 001
14.) College of Vocational Studies, Delhi University 11007. 
15.) YWCA, Jai Singh Marg, New Delhi 110001. 
16.) Annamalai University, Annamalainagar 608002. 
17.) Chennai University, Chennai 
18.) University of Kerala, Trivandrum 695034 
19.) Pondicherry University, Pondicherry 605104
20.) Berhamper University, Orissa 760007. 
21.) University of North Bengal, PO North Bengal University, 734430, Dist. Darjeeling, West Bengal
22.) SNDT Women's University,

1 Nathibai Thackersay Road

, Mumbai 400020
23.) University of Pune, Ganeshkhind, Pune 411007
24.) University of Mumbai,

MG Road

, Fort, Mumbai 400032
25.) Sophia Polytechnic,

Bulabhai Des Road

, Mumbai
26.) H.R. College of Commerce & Economics, Mumbai. 
27.) Oyster Institute of Management, Bandra (E), Mumbai-400050.
28.) Indian Institute of Management, 140,

Nagindas Master Road

, Mumbai - 400023 

Overseas:

1.) University of West Florida, USA
2.) City College of San Francisco, USA
3.) Johnson State College, USA
4.) International Travel College, New Zealand
5.) Queenstown Resort College, New Zealand
6.) West London College, UK
7.) Stourbridge College, UK
8.) Eton College, Canada.