Careers in Travel and Leisure Services

Typical Job
Tour Guide, Travel Agent, Travel Advisor, Event Host/Hostess, Party Planner.

Typical Work
A career in travel and leisure usually means that you will be working in the field of tourism and of providing excitement and fun to guests at a hotel, resort, cruise ship or other travel destination. Many of the careers in travel and leisure are exciting and rewarding. You can work in a variety of fields but they all have the same principal: to provide the best experience for your guests. The different positions all entail doing different tasks. You will mostly work in the tourism industry and therefore will be working with tourists. Typical employers include resorts, hotels, cruise ships, travel agents, non-profit tourist companies, government tourism offices, historic sites, museums, amusement parks, and other tourist destinations.

Education Required
The different careers in this field require a different level of education or training. For some careers (i.e. Travel Agent or Travel Advisor) you will need to attend a career school, technical school or community college and obtain a diploma in the related field. For some careers such as tour guide or event host/hostess you may need a diploma while at other times you may only need experience working in the field. Many times tour guides or others working at tourist attractions are high school students or people with no formal education.

Skills and interests
Obviously you will need strong interpersonal skills to deal with strangers on a daily basis. Working with tourist's means that you will see a different group of people daily and they will all expect excellent service because they are paying to be at your attraction. You will need strong communication skills, good planning skills, and be able to think on your feet. A person in this field should also be personable, respectful, friendly and have an open personality. You should be interested in working on a team (with other employees at your attraction), working with tourists, working shift work and working in the tourism industry.

International and other Job Opportunities
A career in the tourism industry is a great way to travel yourself. Many of these careers are at resorts located in the southern hemisphere or on cruise ships. Working at one of these careers will provide with numerous opportunities to work while seeing the world or living in a tropical locale. Many times you will live on the resort and will be able to experience all that the location has to offer on your off days. Travel agents often find the best deals on plane tickets, hotels and rental cars, so while working in the industry you will have numerous opportunities to travel. Plus many agencies pay for their employees to go on a trip to a popular vacation spot once a year.

Salary Range
The range is quite large because some individuals in this industry make very little money while others can make quite a large salary. The range listed below gives you an idea of what kind of salary you can expect
$16,000 (Full time tour guide, travel and leisure assistant) - $55,000+ (Travel agent)

Associations and Organizations
World Tourism Organization: http://www.world-tourism.org/

Other career choices