Salary in Travel and Tourism

With a contribution of over 8 trillion dollars to the global economy, tourism is a giant industry. Over 1.3 billion people take part in tourism-related activities worldwide. The travel & tourism industry is defined as a group of several industries that work together to yield one specific function. To cater to the needs of travellers and tourists. Travel deals with the journey, usually a single journey, and tourism includes overnight accommodation along with the travel. Since both of these are vital in serving the purpose, the term ‘travel and tourism’ is used to describe the industry as a whole. It is fairly obvious that the largest service sector in the world sure comes with its benefits. Well, one of those benefits is the good salary in travel and tourism.

Unlike the olden days in which people took vacations once in 2-3 years or so, in this modern era, vacations and holidays are extremely common. There are people who visit different areas and regions every month, and even weekly. As a result, the demand for the industry just keeps on increasing. Also, these days, people seldom find the time to book and plan their trips and instead allocate this task to travel agencies and such. Also fueled by the technological and communication advancements, the travel and tourism industry is a gold mine.

Travel and Tourism Pay Scale

The salary in travel and tourism is something everyone would want to know before starting to pursue a career in the field. Well, luckily, the pay in this industry is excellent. Suppose you spend a certain amount on doing the travel and tourism courses, you will gain back that amount in less than a year easily. The investment to return ratio for the career is significantly high. The different ranges of travel and tourism career salary in India are detailed below - 

Based on the Position

Based on the different job positions, the pay scale for a few of the most popular roles are as follows - 

Tour Operator

A tour operator deals with combining the travel and tour aspects of tourism and provides customers with different exciting packages. The arrange several functions such as travel, accommodation, food, etc for the tourists. Considering that the individual has the necessary skills for this rule, they can easily earn around 7000-15000 Rupees per month in the beginning and can increase higher based on experience. 

Travel Agent

Travel agents are people who deal with people by providing them with services that are required for their travel. They are responsible for ensuring that their client has a smooth process during their journey. These include ticketing, accommodation, etc. On average, an entry-level travel agent can expect a salary in the range of 8000-10000 per month. However, as you gain experience, you can get higher pay.

Operations Manager

As an operations manager, you will be in charge of the functioning of a particular organization. Since this is a job profile that requires a higher level of education, the individuals get paid handsomely in the range of 15000-25000 for entry level. However, with experience, you can expect a salary significantly higher than this. 

Airline Reservation Agents

These are the people who help customers in their airline ticket planning and will have to provide excellent customer service for the airline company’s customers. For an entry-level agent, the salary is usually between 12000-20000 per month. Similar to any job, these can increase with experience.

Front Office Manager

The managers are in charge of the reception at a hotel, airline company, or any other travel and tourism related organization. Their duties involve overseeing the front agent receptionists ensure that the customers are well dealt with, as per the company policy. An entry-level front office manager can expect to earn around 10000-20000 Rupees per month. However, as the experience increases, you can easily get higher pay.

Please keep in mind that these values are only average, and can vary based on several factors such as experience, responsibilities, geographical location, size of the company, etc. Countries such as the USA, France, etc have much higher pay for tourism-related positions due to their high demand.

 

Based on the Educational Qualification

The jobs you may get and the pay scale can also depend on your level of education in travel and tourism. Even though there are several levels, of course, you can study after 10th, 12th, and even after graduation, each degree of the course has its own perks and job positions. The job positions and pay grade for the 3 levels such as a diploma, graduate degree, and postgraduate degree courses are as follows - 

Diploma and Certificate Courses

A diploma in travel and tourism can be pursued after 12th, or even after graduation. Being a short term course, you will learn the required topics up to the point. Diploma courses can open you up to several job prospects such as tour manager, ticketing agent, travel agent, foreign exchange officer, etc. The salary after diploma in travel and tourism normally has a wide range between 7k to 15k rupees per month for entry level individuals. Further experience is bound to increase this value. 

Bachelor Degree

A bachelor degree in any of the travel and tourism domains can open you up to further positions. Since these are generally around 3 years, you will gain in-depth knowledge of the field, making you eligible for the job. Usually, a job after you have a BBA or similar bachelor degree can get you around 10-18k per month at entry level. 

Master Degree

Once you have a postgraduate degree, your value increases significantly. Since this makes you an expert in that field, you can obtain jobs. The salary after MBA in travel and tourism usually varies in the range of 20-30k at entry level.

Despite these salary statistics, the actual pay depends on factors such as your job responsibilities, experience, geography, etc. For example, even if you have a postgraduate degree, a job may pay less than the range shown above.   

Jobs in Travel and Tourism

The travel and tourism scope is an endless sea. With the industry affecting almost every other sector directly or indirectly, there is something for everyone. Whatever field of tourism your interests and passion are, you will find that you can easily pursue them in this. With several domains such as medical tourism, adventure tourism, religious tourism, ecotourism, etc, there are numerous job opportunities in this industry. Even in our own backyard, ie, India, thanks to the Indian government initiatives, tourism has spread to all corners and fields. Over 9.2 per cent of the GDP can be accounted for by the tourism sector alone. And a whopping 10 million tourists visited India in 2018. Apart from this, domestic tourism is on a whole another level with over a billion tourist visits in the nation. 

Even though there are several sectors you could find a career in this industry, the main areas are as below - 

• Travel agencies: These are organizations that focus on serving the public in terms of travel arrangements such as flights, accommodations, tourist activities, etc. Apart from tourists, they also provide packages for business visitors. Basically, travel agencies work as a mediator or an agent between the customer and the company selling the services. A few career positions that are available at these include travel agent, travel consultants, travel insurance consultant, sales reservation agents, etc. 

• Tourism Department: The tourism department refers to the government organization that focuses on travel planning, reservations. Apart from these, they are also in charge of administering the rules, regulations, as well as other policies revolving around tourism in the country. Present both at the state and national level, the position in these include tour guides, public relations manager, etc.
• Hotels: These are establishments that provide shelter, food as well as other recreational services to tourists. Working of this involves the day to day activities of a hotel with respect to food, accommodation and service. A course in hospitality or hotel management can get you a position of front office manager, chef, events manager, guest relations executive, concierge, etc.
• Road transport: Focusing on the road vehicles used for the functioning of tourist activity, this sector includes drivers, car/bike rentals, self-driven car services, etc 
• Aviation industry: Known as the biggest domain of the travel and tourism industry, this deals with providing customers service right from booking the tickets for the flight to boarding it. Some of the common jobs in this sector include ground staff, ticketing staff, operations manager, and so on.
• Tour operators: establishments that deal with tour planning and facilities related to it for the customers comprises of the tour operators. They draw up packages and trips that attract customers and are feasible for them. Careers in this path can include planning accommodation, food, as well as leisure activities. The positions usually include itinerary planner, international travel consultant, travel product designer, tour manager, etc.
• Entrepreneurship: One of the modern factions of the travel and tourism industry is the entrepreneurship. These include innovations and startups that are focused on providing new products or services to the tourists. 
• Banks: Banks interestingly are also a sector that is involved in tourism. Jobs in these would require you to assist customers in travel insurance, foreign exchange, and other financial functions. 

Almost every country is focusing on developing its tourism due to its huge potential. Even Saudi Arabia, who never issued tourist visas, have planned on issuing them soon to evolve this particular industry. Due to the amount of potential and economy hidden in this sector, it is fair to say that the job opportunities, as well as the pay scale,  are bound to be excellent. It is not just the salary. The jobs in the industry come with several remuneration and perks such as discounted travel, commissions, bonuses, etc. When all of this adds up, a career in the travel and tourism industry may just be the best path to follow.