The Travel and Tourism sector includes jobs such as holiday representatives, holiday centre managers, tour managers, tourist information centre assistant and travel agents. It also covers museums and heritage attractions.
All the jobs in this sector are people based and so employees need the ability to communicate well. Organisational and teamwork skills are also required, and good business skills. As there may be an opportunity to work abroad, modern foreign languages would be useful.
There is currently a lack of high level management skills in travel and tourism, with a shortage of women reaching senior levels.
This area looks at just four different job areas in the Travel & Tourism sector, with three possible career routes for each:
You can get your qualifications by taking vocational courses or studying while in employment as well as by the more traditional academic route. The important thing is to choose a route that suits you.
Remember these are career pathways, and you can get on or off the pathway at any point!
Mature students without formal qualifications are advised to talk to their local
nextstep provider. One year Access to Higher Education courses give adults without formal qualifications the chance to study at degree level. Contact individual colleges and universities to discuss their entry requirements.