In the past few months, especially following quarantine period caused by Covid19, Travel Industry has been seen in such a negative spotlight. Massive job cuts, suspended airlines routes, hotels being closed down, and postponed developments have sparked sentiments that Travel Industry is doomed, and it wouldn't operate like how it used to even after economic recoveries.
This definitely has caused concerns from all directions when it comes to Travel Industry Careers. Even now, I still get calls and texts from families, relatives, and friends expressing their concerns about how redundant the job market would be in the next few years and the fear of the industry collapsing.
The truth is, travel industry is never a stable sector.
The whole operations depends on people's need of experience, and when there are circumstances disabling people to do so, it will cause effects to the overall industry. Nevertheless, with each hit of Natural disaster and Political tensions, Travel Industry has continued to revamp itself.
Thus, how are we able to secure a job in the so-unstable market? Well, to learn better, we need to dissect what are options available in the future job market.
What jobs are available within the industry?
There are 4 main career segments within travel industry (Novak, 2017), which consisted of:
Lodging.
Food & Beverage.
Travel and Tourism.
Recreation.
Lodging focuses of accommodations during the period of stay, such as Hotels, Resorts, Bed and Breakfast, Hostels, Camps, and other stay premises. With the evolving technology, future career associated with this segment would includes any operations and management in creating exceptional stay experiences, be it the amenities supplier - bedding, Front Office and Reservation system, even includes those non-contact solutions, to actual on-site personnels. Food & Beverage (F&B) focuses on guest's meal experiences. No longer bounded to traditional cafes, restaurants, bars, and catering, future career on this sector would also includes meal delivery, personalised cook, and exclusive dine in experiences, such as Dinner In The Sky.
Travel and Tourism on the other hand focuses in helping people to get from point A to point B. This includes transportations, ticket bookings, insurance, and itinerary planning. Being the more diverse segment, future careers would include wide variety of operations and management to encourage spending prior and during trips, such as itinerary planning app, electronic wallet, and corporate travel consultants. Lastly, Recreation focuses on entertainment aspect, commonly consisted of sightseeing tours, attractions, events, and relaxation services. Future careers in this segment may include tourism sustainability specialists, recreational apps, and conservatory managements.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Travel Industry employees?
Despite their differences, all 4 segments share similar characteristics on their daily operations. Based on my previous experiences dwelling in the industry, here are my insights from employee's perspective.
Advantages:
Broad Professional Network.
Wanderlust Culture.
Perks and Discounts for your travel.
International and Multicultural Exposures.
High Knowledge of Customer Relations.
Since the jobs dedicated to create experiences for customers, working in the travel industry has allowed me to have deep understanding of customer characteristics and importance of a good service. We get exposed to people with different backgrounds and cultures everyday, be it our direct customers, employees from different departments, or external vendors. This experience has then enabled us to create continuous connections, and even exercising skills we thought we may not have it - including advisory, marketing when up-selling products, project management and creativity to tailor every requests possible.
Travel industry workforce is also mostly dominated by people with similar passions for travel and experiences. It creates a unique wanderlust society that encourages you to learn and try different things. Not to forget, travel industry insider would commonly benefited from discounted rates and fees for their own trips.
Disadvantages:
Shift Work Schedules.
Frequent Process Changes.
Work fluctuations during different circumstances.
High competition for career progressions.
Travel Industry Employees would commonly work long hours to cater 24/7 needs of guests. Even on jobs that are not directly in contact with customers, working on shift schedules are expected due chainlink effects from B2C to B2B customers. The dependent nature of Travel Industry against natural, economic, and political conditions would also lead to frequent process changes in the operations, as companies would strive to provide best service experiences through most efficient methods. Be prepared to have the company's policies and goal metrics changes every biweekly or so, where you will be expected to educate customers and handle any disputes with flexible manners.
Despite having its non-peak and peak season, workload in travel industry may still varies depending on situations. Thus, be prepared to be bombarded with 3-5 times normal workload when needed. The oversaturated market and massive employment are also contributing to the high competition in the job market, where career progressions may be limited only to replace positions once the previous employees left. This is especially true on regions who depend solely on travel industry for their economic stability, such as Bali, Indonesia.
The Industry Landscapes and Needed Skills.
Travel Industry today are critically expected to be innovative and flexible, in ensuring the industry's ability to sustain future circumstances. While advancement of VR would not replace needs of human-touch experiences, the industry is expected to incorporate technologies in creating most seamless, convenient journeys for end customers.
Below are my take on the Top 10 most needed skills of future Travel Industry Workforce:
Customer Relationship Management.
Language Skills.
Data Analysis.
User Experience.
Cultural and Sustainability Knowledge.
Multitasking Skills.
Persuasion.
Adaptability.
Teamwork Collaboration.
Emotional Intelligence.
With diverse behaviour patterns and customers' preferences, future Travel Industry personnels are expected to be all-around personal assistant and advisors. Not only they need to execute the operational service standards, they would need to go above and beyond, even having business acumen to be recognised. This is especially critical in a big corporation environment such as multinational chain, as the higher ladder you climb, the less it is about travel and the more it is about being profitable.
So, What's Next for Me?
Find something that you can go niche in/ specialise in.
I guess it's pretty cliche statement across all industry, but again, this is very important. If we reflect on this together, everything will make a lot of sense. So what if you have been working at Front Office department for years? So what if you have achieved mid-senior level at a ticketing company? The only thing that matter is whether you have any specialisation that won't easily replaced by others.
If you're specialising in certain market, that's great! Cultivate that and use that as your value. Or if you are very successful in negotiation, use that when making a move in the industry. Especially during this Covid19 Crisis, an opportunity to build your own businesses out of your specialisation is something you should look out for.
I'll be honest that when it comes to my career, I thought everything will work smoothly as long as I am working hard in my linear work, and there will be a time when my work will eventually paid off. After experiencing countless failures and inspiration these past 5 years, I realise that what I should do is literally work smarter rather than harder, by utilising all of my niche knowledge I've accumulated.
At the end of the day, I'd still recommend travel industry career for anyone who are interested in it. It's a tough work, but it brings great reward and open you eyes to diverse culture globally.
Let me know down below if you're someone working on travel or looking to work on one! I'd be happy to hear your story, POV and connect anytime!
Cheers,
Stella
Reference:
Novak, P., 2017. What Are The 4 Segments Of The Hospitality Industry | By Peter Novak – Hospitality Net. [online] Hospitality Net. Available at: <https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4082318.html> [Accessed 23 July 2020].