Data analytics, financial acumen are keys to a great career in travel & tourism
It is understandable why many who have worked in the travel & tourism industry are looking elsewhere, or are already gainfully employed in other sectors. What then must students and trainees be thinking?
Fortunately, sayings like ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ and ‘it’s always darkest before the dawn’ have metaphorical truth. In this “Good Tourism” Insight, human resources and recruitment expert Andrew Chan points to the opportunities emerging from the COVID-19 crisis and offers his advice.
While COVID-19 lingers and most countries’ borders remain restrictive to travel, overall employment prospects for travel & tourism students and trainees should be broken down into the short, medium, and long term.
The immediate future remains somewhat bleak, unfortunately, as it has been since the beginning of 2020. The sector has lost a sizeable number of travel and hospitality graduates over the past two years to other industries. Potentially we might lose another batch of graduates in 2022.
That’s three years of future talents lost which will have a huge impact once the pandemic is behind us and tourism recovers. And it is something human resource and business leaders should find most concerning, not forgetting that prior to the pandemic, the travel & hospitality industry faced a talent crunch as tourism boomed.
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I have no doubt we will get back to breaking records eventually. It is inevitable. So the long-term prospects are obviously very positive for those looking to enter and/or remain in the sector.
We must remember that COVID-19 is unprecedented for the travel & tourism industry. There is no playbook for what we’re facing. Right or wrong, the policies that were implemented by governments to control the pandemic, and by companies in response to those measures, at least give us a road map for the future. Much will be written about all of it and, as an industry, we will be better prepared for future pandemics.
Bright spots for employment in travel & tourism
The bright spots for talents looking to enter the travel & tourism industry now are:
- Countries with large and/or wealthy domestic markets such as China, Australia, and European Union-member nations. Stakeholders who can tap pent-up demand as domestic travel restrictions ease will do well and will need people.
- The luxury segment is where most business will come from in the short to medium term. The ultra-high-end market has been doing well during the pandemic. Volume is not a factor in this space as providers profit from fat margins.
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On the other hand, places and products that have relied on international visitors may continue to suffer for some time.
Similarly, lower-yield mass travel traditionally seen into destinations like Bali, Indonesia and Phuket, Thailand might not return to the same numbers until much later.
Essential skills for travel & tourism careers
Talents who are determined to forge careers in travel & tourism should acquire the following important skills, which will be in high demand:
- Understanding data and trends, and being able to analyse and use them effectively, will go hand in hand with the digitalisation focus we’re currently seeing from many tourism organisations.
- Financial literacy. While the travel & tourism sector will forever be about service and customer experience, I think COVID has taught us that financial acumen is one of the most important skills for individuals and companies.
My advice would be to use the time now to up-skill in these areas. I genuinely believe that there are now, and certainly will be in the future, enormous opportunities for students of travel & tourism.
Agree? Disagree? What do you think? Share a short anecdote or comment below. Or write a “GT” Insight of your own. The “Good Tourism” Blog welcomes diversity of opinion about travel & tourism because travel & tourism is everyone’s business.
Featured image (top of post): Are data analytics and financial acumen the keys to a bright future in travel & tourism? Image by Pete Linforth (CC0) via Pixabay.
About the author
Andrew Chan is the founder and CEO of ACI HR Solutions (ACI), “Asia Pacific’s largest recruitment agency dedicated to the travel and hospitality sector”.
Mr Chan has worked in many facets of the industry, commencing his career as a travel agent in Australia, and subsequently joining the airline and hotel sector. Andrew is an active member of several travel associations including PATA, HSMAI, and SKAL International. He holds an MBA from the University of South Australia, is a certified life coach, and a qualified fitness instructor.
