Travel and Tourism

and Tourism industry are there to make your experience trouble free. This industry is the largest foreign exchange earner and it provides employment to millions of people. Hence the industry has a number of career options to offer and the scope of employment is unbounded. It has a number of sectors or smaller 'industries' as it were, that work in collaboration. Each sector is an important branch of the main industry and has their own special characteristics.

This is a vast industry which includes Government tourism departments, Immigration and customs services, travel agencies, airlines, tour operators, hotels etc and many associated service industries such as airline catering or laundry services, Guides, Interpreters, Tourism promotion and sales etc.Also, many major cruise lines, resorts, and specialty travel groups use travel agents to promote travel packages to the millions of people who travel every year.With increasing worldwide interest in travel, and with the Government's encouragement of its activities, it is undergoing massive expansion and improvement. This forecasts a bright future for all those who choose to make a career of travel and tourism. Young people with drive and a capacity for hard work can rise to top positions very quickly in travel and tourism or even head their own agencies. A job in the industry gives good returns as well as perks including opportunity to see many locales at low prices. The usually friendly and informal atmosphere in a tourism and travel organization attracts people who like dealing with other people. The varied opportunities demand people with excellent organization skills. The industry is highly competitive and the winner is the one who has access to a wide range of information, quick access to travel and transportation data and who can blend business skills with diplomacy.

Career

Travel and tourism is a big employment generator. Opportunities in this field exist with government tourism departments as well as in the private sector. In the public sector, there are opportunities in the Directorates and Departments of Tourism of the center and the state as Officers, information assistants, Tourist guides etc.Another good prospectus for qualified tourism professionals are in the private sector with travel agencies, tour operators, airlines, hotels, transport and cargo companies etc.Though travel agents are working in all parts of the country, they mainly concentrate in populated cities because there are better business opportunities. Self employment is a common feature in this sector.So if you are hard-working and dedicated professional; you can rise to top positions soon and can even start your own travel agency. Hence, for the adventurous and the travel minded, this industry is the place where you should be building your career.

Tourism Department: This department consists of reservation and counter staff, sales and marketing staff, tour planners, tour guides, information assistants and officers in the Directorate and Department of tourism. They are involved in the planning and promotion of tourism activities.

Airlines: This sector requires ground staff, Traffic assistants, reservation and counter staff, air hostess & flight pursuers, sales and marketing staff and customer service executive.

Tour Operators: Tour operators organize conducted tours to the various tourist spots and manage the travel and stay of the tourists.

Travel Agencies: These institutions facilitate travel and other services for all individuals traveling for vacations or business purposes. Providing information about the destination, hotel ratings, the cheapest and the fastest mode of transport, visas, foreign exchange etc. is the job of a travel agent.

Hotels: Hotels provide travelers with food and accommodation services. This service industry requires skilled and professional individuals and its manpower requirements are vast.

Transport: Besides airlines, Travel facilities include rail services, coach operators, and car hire companies.etc. Whatever that takes Tourists from one place to another - by air, road, railway, sea etc.

Holiday consultants: This is a relatively new career option in the travel and tourism industry. These professionals provide all the information to their clients. They sell the holiday, plan the itenary, make the travel plan, book the tickets and provide all the other details which are required.

Tour guides: They work freelance, governed by the rules and regulations laid down by the Government.

Famous Personalities:

Kira Salak

Kira Salak is a writer and adventurer. She is described by the National Geographic Society's website as being the "first documented person to kayak solo 966km down the Niger river" and by the New York Times as "a real-life Lara Croft". Published works include Four Corners: A Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea and Cruelest Journey: Six Hundred Miles to Timbuktu. One of five people in the world to receive a 2005 National Geographic Society Emerging Explorer Award, Salak has traveled solo in almost every continent, visiting some of the world's remotest or most inhospitable places, including Madagascar, Borneo, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. She cycled nearly 800 miles across Alaska to the Arctic Ocean. Salak has been selected by the Library of Congress for its "Women Who Dare" publications, which highlight the world's top women explorers and leaders.

Kira Salak has won the PEN Award for journalism and has appeared five times in Best American Travel Writing. She is a contributing editor for National Geographic Adventure magazine and was the first woman to traverse Papua New Guinea; Four Corners, her non-fiction account of that trip, was a New York Times Notable Travel Book of 2001. She has a Ph.D. in English and her fiction has appeared in [[Best New American Voices]] and other publications. Her non-fiction writing has appeared in such publications as National Geographic, Travel & Leisure, Best Women's Travel Writing and The New York Times Magazine.

Dr David Livingstone

Dr David Livingstone is probably the most famous of the African Explorers. A missionary driven to take religion to the heathens, David Livingstone eventually became an Explorer and actively worked to rid the African continent of Slavery. Livingstone "discovered" Victoria Falls and Lake Victoria amongst others. Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS (born 8 May 1926 in London, England) is a broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the respected face and voice of British natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years. He is best known for writing and presenting the nine "Life" series, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, which collectively form a comprehensive survey of all terrestrial life. He is also a former senior manager at the BBC, having served as controller of BBC Two and director of programming for BBC Television in the 1960s and 1970s.He is the younger brother of director and actor Richard Attenborough.

Horoscope - Career for Zodiac Signs

So if you are interested in taking up a career in this industry just check out these sun signs which are in most favour of "Travel and Tourism".

Aries

Taurus

Gemini

Cancer

Eligibility : Click here for more information

Institutes : Some of the prominent institutions offering courses in Travel and Tourism can be had from the following links.. Click here for more information