As global travel continues to rise, so too does the amount of travel and tourism career opportunities. This guide details current travel trends, a few promising career opportunities and tips for entering the field.
If you have a passion for creating memorable travel experiences and running your own business, feel free to skip reading and apply to become a Fora Advisor today.
Travel careers vs. tourism careers: is there a difference?
Technically, all tourism careers can be called travel careers. But the opposite doesn’t hold up. Tourism is largely associated with leisure (and, to an extent, education) while travel can be leisurely or professional.
What’s the outlook for career opportunities in travel and tourism?
Per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, most jobs in the travel industry are on the upswing, so now’s a good time to start a career in travel and tourism.
A word of caution: seasonal travel jobs are less secure long term
No matter how popular travel becomes, seasonal jobs are not the best option if you’re looking for long-term work. On the flip side, most seasonable job opportunities in travel and tourism are only intended to be part time. If you’re explicitly interested in a career, you’ll probably avoid seasonal positions anyway.
Tips for securing a career opportunity in tourism and travel
There are a few skills and tips that are broadly applicable to careers in travel and tourism. Read on for a breakdown.
Develop critical skills: most travel or tourism careers require excellent communication skills
At their heart, virtually all careers in travel and tourism regularly deal with people. As such, having great interpersonal skills will go a long way regardless of your career path. Marketing skills may also be helpful if you choose a career opportunity that requires self-promotion, as with tour operators or travel advisors.
(Fora offers extensive advisor training that includes upping your marketing skills; we’ll teach you everything from optimizing your social media to how to build a sales funnel within a travel context.)
While traveling isn’t usually a requirement for tourism and travel careers, it can help
On one hand, having extensive travel experience can broaden your perspective, which can be beneficial to a career in travel and tourism.
However, this isn’t always a requirement. For example, needing prior travel experience is one of the myths about becoming a travel advisor. Having a passion for travel, knowing when to lean on research tools — like Fora’s community app Forum and integrated travel advisor Portal — and a willingness to put in the work are the key to being successful.
Understand industry trends
Having your finger on the pulse of the travel industry may provide helpful context for a career in travel. For instance, France has been the most-visited country every year since 2012. Travel planners who were aware of this and conducted a little bit of extra research for France itineraries may have had an edge over competitors who weren’t as prepared. There are no guarantees when it comes to industry trends — that’s their nature — but simply having context for what’s going on in the business can make a difference in your career.
Network with travel and tourism professionals
Running a successful business in a vacuum is nearly impossible. Just about every career, in travel and tourism or otherwise, can benefit from networking. Not only can this be an excellent source for business, but it can help you land an opportunity in the field in the first place.
Learning multiple languages can be helpful
Few career opportunities will put you in contact with as many people from different backgrounds as those related to travel and tourism. Likewise, learning additional languages — even a few basic phrases — can make a big difference in your prospects. This isn’t a requirement to work with a global travel agency like Fora, so consider this a boost rather than a requirement.
Consider your education options
Many career opportunities in travel and tourism are more accessible to candidates with degrees or some type of formal education. That being said, if travel planning is appealing, you should know that Fora doesn’t require any formal degrees to join. Rather, we provide all the travel agent training and travel agent certification you could need to be successful.
Travel and tourism career opportunities
There are dozens of different careers in travel and tourism, but here are a few of the more popular choices.
Tours: operators & guides
Tour guides in coveted destinations get to wax poetic about all sorts of subjects, from haunted houses in NOLA (see our guide to New Orleans, off the beaten path) to old battlefields, historic castles and more. Tour operators, the entities responsible for employing guides, tend to make a more lucrative living at the expense of working in more of an administrative role. The former often requires extensive subject knowledge, while the latter tend to be entrepreneurs and/or those with business degrees.
Hospitality: hotel staff & managers
Hospitality jobs — think housekeepers and customer-facing roles like receptionists — are seeing an explosion right now in the United States. Senior positions, such as hotel managers, generally require a degree in hospitality or years of experience.
Sommeliers
Sommeliers may be an unexpected addition to our list of travel and tourism careers. But most wine tastings occur in sought-after destinations like Napa Valley, one of the best places to visit in California, or Tuscany in Italy. This profession is reserved for oenophiles. And, perhaps just as important, it often requires plenty of experience in the industry before a livable wage is achievable, especially considering most sommeliers live in areas with a high cost of living.
Airlines: flight attendants & general staff
Perhaps the most widely available career opportunity in travel and tourism is general airline staff. That includes everyone from security to flight attendants. Most positions require limited experience or education, and most pay decent hourly wages or salaries. Flight attendants get to travel regularly, which is a fun perk. But the prospect of working unusual hours or with unruly passengers may not be appealing to all.
Airlines: pilots
Airline pilots enjoy one of the more enviable salaries of careers in tourism and travel. But they also require tons of specialized training and education that’s not readily accessible across the country. In fact, this requirement is partly why there are so many openings for pilots across the airline industry, despite great pay and benefits.
Cruises: general staff & cruise directors
Outside of the top luxury brands, cruise staff have one of the most grueling careers in the travel and tourism industry. Lower positions typically have unforgiving schedules and mediocre pay, while director positions are, though often very well paid, extremely selective. That said, working on a cruise ship can be a blast, and some cruise lines allow their employees to go on shore leave (in case you wanted to check out Bahamas resorts, or the most beautiful cities in Mexico).
(P.S. If you’re a fan of swanky cruises but aren’t necessarily jumping at the chance to live aboard, perhaps selling trips as a Virgin Voyages travel agent is the opportunity you’re looking for.)
Cruises: navigation, engineering & other specialists
Specialist roles on cruises are often even more selective than airlines and client-facing roles, requiring lengthy experience in adjacent fields (e.g., shipping, the military and so on). Examples might include ship mechanics or engineers, ship captains and onboard doctors. The pay for these travel and tourism career opportunities is often substantial, but again, the education and experience criteria are extensive.
Travel agents (a.k.a. travel advisors)
What do travel agents do exactly? They plan trips and make reservations on their clients’ behalf. Top earners among travel advisors enjoy very generous salaries .“I love being a travel advisor because it truly doesn't feel like ‘work,’” Fora Advisor Danielle Fisher said. “I get to help others while doing something I'm passionate about and enjoy. I also love the flexibility: I can be a travel advisor, but also a stay-at-home mom with my two toddlers.”
Travel planning is also one of the most flexible careers in travel, and the only major career in the field that allows professionals to operate their business as an independent entity. Not to mention you get to sell adventure and happiness to excited clients, making it a wholly enjoyable job for established advisors. If you’re interested, apply to become a Fora Advisor and enjoy an extensive suite of benefits unparalleled among modern travel agencies.
Related article: Everything You Need to Know about a Fora Travel Advisor Salary (and How Our Advisors Get Paid)
Career opportunities in travel and tourism FAQs
Read on for answers to common questions about career opportunities in travel and tourism.
Is a tourism (or related) degree worth it?
It can be; it depends on the specific field. For example, hospitality jobs may benefit from tourism-related degrees. But a tourism degree wouldn’t do much for those interested in becoming airline pilots, perhaps outside of small-scale services in remote locations (like Alaska). You do not need a specialized degree to become a Fora Advisor.
Can you make a living while traveling? What career is best for traveling?
Many travel and tourism career opportunities allow you to travel while working. Cruise and airline positions come to mind, but considering most opportunities in these fields are either low paying or have very tough requirements, these careers will only appeal to some.
If you’re looking for a career that allows you to travel the world whenever you like, travel planning may be your best bet.
Do travel agents get free trips?
Successful travel agents are occasionally asked to sample a hotel or destination’s offerings so they can present their experience to their clients. This doesn’t necessarily constitute a free trip, however. And more often than not, the hotel isn’t paying for related expenses (e.g., flights, food, etc.). Fora allows advisors to grow partnerships with sales and marketing directors via hotel site inspections.
“As someone who has worked in marketing and client partnerships for over 10 years, I understand the value of these opportunities and I see it work magic in my travel career,” Fora Advisor Jacque Williams said.
Jacque explained that working with hotel staff directly is invaluable.
“With that, I often find clients [trusting] my recommendations. Clients appreciate any details that make them feel like they’re ‘in the know,’” she added.
Since travel agents are independent business owners, they can sometimes write off travel expenses come tax time (this is not tax advice, however).
What’s the highest-paying career opportunity in travel and tourism?
There is a lot of nuance involved. Specialist positions on cruise ships and hotel managers tend to be lucrative travel or tourism careers. Successful travel advisors make comparable income, too. That’s especially true for corporate and luxury travel advisors who work with more discerning clients.
Related article: How Much Do Travel Agents Make? Fora's Full Guide
Is corporate travel a better alternative?
The tourism industry isn’t for everyone, particularly for people who aren’t overly social. If you’re more interested in professional discourse, you may still consider being a corporate travel agent. There’s a different vibe to this type of travel planning that may be more appealing to some.
Will a niche or specialization help land a travel or tourism career?
In terms of travel planning, certainly; there are tons of different travel agent jobs. Beyond that, it depends on the role. For example, a niche can certainly be beneficial if you’re interested in being a tour guide or operator.
Do any tourism or travel careers allow you to be fully remote?
Administrative positions within the hospitality and cruise industries allow some workers to be remote. Plus, remote travel agents have become the norm rather than the exception. Otherwise, most careers in travel and tourism aren’t remote (it’s pretty hard to fly an airplane from home… for now at least).
Related article: 6 of the Best Remote Jobs for Moms, from Writer to Travel Advisor
Our favorite career opportunity in travel & tourism: becoming a Fora Advisor
If it wasn’t obvious, our favorite career opportunity in travel and tourism is travel planning. And there are a lot of reasons to become a Fora Advisor if this path intrigues you. If you have a passion for travel and love the idea of making your own schedule, apply to become a Fora Advisor today.
More travel advisor resources
Check out more travel advisor resources:
