It goes without saying that one of the biggest draws for job applicants to this industry is the opportunity to travel – and get paid to do so. Even if you find yourself sat behind a desk all day dealing with customers face to face, you will be encouraged to broaden your travel experience so that you become more knowledgeable of the destinations you will be selling and better placed to advise customers.
Your main role will be working as a travel agent/sales adviser responsible for promoting and selling holiday or business travel products direct to your customers. As with all sales jobs, you will be expected to meet sales targets and handle customer orders and payments.
You will advise clients about passports, vaccinations, currency, visas, car hire, excursions, languages and information regarding the local area. And on the administration side, you will liaise with tour operators and travel companies such as coach firms and airlines.
Aside from the perks of working in the travel and leisure industry, such as discounted holidays or priority bookings, this is a huge sector that is growing all the time and is a lot of fun to work in. As Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Holidays, said about the travel sector: “A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.”
The leisure industry has something to offer everyone and if you are willing to show commitment, enthusiasm and provide a high-quality service to customers, it could be the perfect career for you.
Hours and environment
The work is often undertaken during unsociable hours, at weekends or at holiday times. While not a traditional 9 to 5 job, travel sales executives will still work between 37 and 40 hours each week on a shift rota, working around your employer's operating hours.
Skills and interests
To be successful in this role, employers will look for a number of key skills and attributes, including:
- A genuine passion for travel
- Target driven
- Outgoing and approachable personality
- Enjoy dealing with the public, coupled with excellent customer service skills
- Responsible attitude
- Team player
- Able to work on your initiative
- Able to remain calm under pressure and resolve customer problems efficiently
- Keep up to date with latest trends and developments within the industry
- Computer literate
Industry
The travel industry has undergone a dramatic change over the last ten years. The events of September 11, 2001 damaged consumer confidence, while the fall-out from those terrorist attacks and the subsequent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, fuelled anger towards the UK and US for their roles in these conflicts. However, while still in the public consciousness, consumer confidence has returned, and we Brits are as keen as ever to escape our unpredictable summer weather.
More recently, the impact of the recent recession has forced many families to reconsider where they go on holiday which, combined with growing concerns over the environmental damage caused by aviation emissions, have also prompted a change in the nature of the holidays.
Indeed, there has been a significant increase in Briton’s swapping their holiday villas in the Costas and their Floridian apartments for a campsite, holiday park or one of the improved range of hotel chains here in the UK.
On the flip side, there has also been an increase in the number of Europeans coming to the UK for their holidays, partly because they get more for their money and partly because the British tourism authorities have raised their game by effectively marketing the UK as a destination of choice and raising the standard of quality accommodation available here.
All of which has had a significant impact on the UK travel and leisure industry. Sales are up as is demand for staff. As for 2010 and beyond, industry experts remain cautiously optimistic. Prices are expected to drop while over 70% of travel operators agree that the industry has experienced the worst of the recession and has already turned the corner, with healthy signs of growth.
Entry
One of the great things about the travel industry is its eclectic mix of people. Because there are no specific requirements and few barriers to entry, the sector attracts people from a diverse range of backgrounds and academic ability.
Modern apprenticeships and NVQ qualifications are available, and you will have an advantage – when it comes to career progression – if you have a degree in languages, tourism or marketing, for example. However, this is not essential and most employers may ask for GCSEs in English and Maths.
Training, other qualifications and advancement
As in so many sectors, training is provided on the job. Travel agents invariably start their careers at the bottom, learning all about the business before you are given the opportunity to have a shot at management. But career progression isn’t just down to how well you perform against your set targets.
Once you have served your ‘apprenticeship’ and demonstrated your ability to meet your targets on a consistent basis then you can plot your course to the top of the career tree. Your next move will typically be as senior sales consultant followed by travel agency manager and then – if you work for a UK-wide organisation – national sales director.
To really stand out against your competition, you have to demonstrate that you have that extra quality which can make all the difference to the way things are done.
For example, have you won any professional awards such as travel agent of the year or salesperson of the month? Do you sell more of the poorest-selling packages than your colleagues? Perhaps you introduced a new system that significantly reduced call waiting times or developed a new way of selling travel insurance or other additional products. Maybe you trained a new team of sales people who have become the most successful agents in the branch/area.
So focus on your achievements – the times when you have gone beyond the remit of your job description and outperformed those around you. Also, highlight the skills and attributes you already posses for the next role you want to do.
Most employers provide a number of in-house training courses accredited by the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) that enable you to focus on specific areas of your job, such as travel insurance training or software applications training.
Although not essential, an ABTA accredited course – which at various levels equates to NVQ/SVQ levels 2 and 3 – will inadvertently shine the light on any future application you make, simply, because it demonstrates to an employer that you are equally committed to the industry and your own professional development.
Top employers
The UK can boast one of the biggest travel and leisure industries in the world. Central to its success are a number of leading operators who between them employ around 3 million people in this country:
- Opodo
- TUI Travel Plc
- British Airways
- Thomas Cook
- Centre Parcs
- Virgin Holidays
- Flight centre
- easyJet
- Stagecoach Group
- National Express Group
- Park Plaza Hotels Limited
- InterContinental Hotels Group
- Whitbread
- Avis Europe
- Haven Holidays and Eurocamp
- Co-operative Travel
Search latest leisure sales jobs
Professional organisations
The travel and leisure industry is served by a number of leading professional associations, including: