Introduction
The world tourism industry provides direct employment to 19 million persons and generates indirect employment for 38 million persons according to the estimates published by the World Tourism Organisation. The tourism industry is one of the world's largest industries. In India Tourism has been declared as an industry and numerous incentives are being offered for promoting tourism. Indian tourism has shown a growth rate of 6% in the past decade. The overall value added employment in the tourism sector including hotels and restaurants is estimated at approximately 80,000 crores.The Tourism industry is comprised of :-
- Institutional sectors National/State levels - Directorates • Development Corporations Hotels
- Commercial Services - Transport • Air • Rail • Road • Travel Agencies
- Personalised services - Ticketing • Reservations • Documentation • Publicity • Tourist Guides
Directorates and Development Corporations
The Department of Tourism at the Centre and states formulates policy, selects and develops centres which attract foreign tourists, sets about providing transport, publicises the range of unique sights and experiences that the areas present.
Entry: Officers in the Directorate and Departments of Tourism at the centre and states are recruited from civil servants. For operational jobs in government organisations a degree in travel and tourism is required. The Indian Institutes of Travel and Tourism Management provide educational options for all kinds of jobs in the industry. These institutes also conduct several executive development programmes providing opportunities for upgradation of skills.
Opportunities exist for becoming Information Assistants at tourist offices scattered throughout the country at the more popular tourist centres and overseas. The appointment of Information Officers is made through a written examination. Graduates with a background of History, Art , Geography and a good General Knowledge gan apply.
Hotels
Star hotels require trained people for its various departments:- food and beverage, house keeping, accounting, marketing, recreation and other services, computer application, financial management, engineering and maintenance, security, fire fighting and public relations.
Entry: Diploma holders from hotel management institutes can start at junior management levels.
In all 1,80,000 vacancies are expected to be filled in hotels in order to run the approved hotels in the next decade.
For details about work and training in the hotel industry - Refer to Chapter on Hotel Management.
Travel Agencies
Travel agency has four departments : Tours, Travel, Accounts and Cargo..
Travel agencies
Travel agents have the information and know-how so as to make the best possible travel arrangements, with their clients' preferences, budgets and other requirements in mind. For international travel they provide information on customs regulations, required papers (passports, visas, and certificates of vaccination) and the most recent currency exchange rates.
Travel agents consult a variety of sources for information. They spend most of their time behind a desk conferring with clients, completing paperwork, contacting airlines and hotels for travel arrangements and promoting group tours.
Travel agencies also do promotional work.
Tour Operators
Packaged tours to destinations in India and abroad includes planning of accomodation, food, transport and entertainment. Tour managers make reservations, depute guides/representatives for accompanying the tour groups. Travel work involves provision of detailed information of routes, costs and other matters of interest.
Guides
Young graduates who have a flair for history and languages could work as licensed guides. The Indian Institutes of Travel and Tourism Management (IITM) offers a course after which the person can be empanelled as a guide. This is a short duration coure. Training in cultural tourism is most popular.
Cargo
Cargo handling covers booking and recovery of Cargo from destinations connected by Air, rail or roads.
Accounts
Accounts department in this profession handles the billing and recovery of money from clients.
Entry
The options for entry are
- Travel and tourism, Public Relations or Advertising degree/diploma
- Training with an agency
- Post graduate course for Travel
- Ticketing course
- Knowledge of one or more Indian language
A three tier training for guides- Regional guides are trained by the Department of Tourism/IITTM, State level guides are trained by the state governments or with arrangement with the Department of Tourism Government of India, Local guides are trained by the local administration. A trained guide gets an identity card endorsed by the Archaeological Department.
Commercial Services - Government
Immigration
Immigration is the first counter where the visitor has to be serviced. Curriculum in some universities now provides for teaching of immigration procedures.
Customs
The services have been in existence for a long time as a separate cadre and as the volume of traffic increases, the number of counters will have to be considerably increased.
Transport Services
Popular transport services are provided by air, railways and road. Some coastal states also have waterways. Rural India and wildlife destinations are covered by indigenous modes of travel.
Air transport - Expansion of airline network results in more jobs both at the ground and crew level. Some recruitment for both categories is done locally. A degree or diploma in tourism is needed for a ground job.
Road transport - Road transport too provides employment. Facilities for bank loans for acquiring these vehicles are available.
Work Environment
- Very competitive
- Regular work
- Overtime during peak season
- Reservation work is on the computer
- Considerable talking over the phone
- Ticket agents work at airports,train and bus stations which can be very noisy
- Dealing with many clients
- Long hours
- Speedy work
- Tour and travel guides spend most of their time travelling with customers, staying in a range of accomodation, walking or travelling on long journeys, accomodating to diverse weather conditions and in varying degrees of comfort.
- Genuine interest in travel
- Personal knowledge
- Quick access to travel and transportation data
- Business skills with diplomacy
- Computer proficient
- Good communication skills
- Acumen for solving problems
- Knowledge of foreign /regional languages
- Well groomed professional appeal
- Good clear voice
- Friendly disposition
- Enthusiasm for working with people
- Good memory
- Positive approach
- Outgoing & confident
- Friendly
- Sensitive to the needs of the travellers
- Ability to relate to a tourists in large as well as small groups
- Good at planning , time management
- Resourceful and adaptable
- Pleasing disposition
- Must enjoy travelling
- Well read, particularly in relation to destinations they cover
Though travel agents are working in all part of the country, they are concentrated in major population centres since the best business opportunities exist in these places. Generally, after gaining experience and recognition in an established travel agency, many travel agents go in for their own venture.
Courses/Institutions
Courses in tourism are offered at the graduate/postgraduate level by several universities. Short term diploma courses can be pursued for commercial services. Indian Institute of Travel and tourism is a premier institution for education and training in tourism.
Indian Institute of Travel and Tourism Management - A National Centre for education, training and research in the field of tourism and travel management in India .It aims is to provide academic opportunities to graduates, directly and in collaboration with Universities, for successful careers in tourism.
IITTM Delhi offers
- Basic courses in Air Travel, Fares & Ticketing, as well as basic course on Airlines, Travel Agency and Tour Operation Management for Graduates
- Courses for Trainers
- Two-year Master of Tourism Administration (MTA) Kurukshetra University/Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)
- Post-graduate course for tourist guides
- Post-graduate Diploma in Destination Management (PGDDM)
- Post-graduate Diploma in Tourism Management (PGDTM) in the University of Bilaspur for students from tribal and backward areas.
- Ground level training programmes or Alternative Education Courses (AEC) for various categories of personnel: tourist guides, taxi drivers, tourist police, immigration officers, tourist health officials and souvenir shop staff.
- Language Training Programmes (LTP).
- Diploma course in Tourism management at its centre in Gwalior and regional Centre Bhubaneswar
- Admission is through entrance test held at Gwalior, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bhubaneswar and Calcutta, which will consist of objective questions for testing General knowledge of History, Culture, Geography, places of tourist interest and knowledge of English. Those qualifying are called for interview. Medium of instructions for course is English.
Course - Diploma in Tourism Management,
Duration - 1 year August to July.
Eligibility - Graduate with 60% marks
Business Management.
Course - B.A. Tourism and Travel Management. Graduate Integrated Course
Duration - 3 years.
Eligibility - +2.
Eastern Region
Northern Region
Masters in travel administration of 2 years duration is offered to graduates/postgraduates in the following universitites -
- Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra 132119
- Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002
- Jiwaji University, Gwalior 474011
- Anantpur University, Anantpur 515314
- Marathwada University, Aurangabad 431004
- Jai Narayan Vyas University, Jodhpur 342001
- Pondicherry University, Pondicherry 605014
- Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla 171005
- Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore 452001
- Avdhesh Pratap Singh University, Rewa 486003
- Utkal University, PO Vani Vihar, Bhubaneshwar 751004 Orissa
- Lucknow University, Badshah Bagh, Lucknow 226007
- Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Srinagar 246174 Garhwal Distt. UP
- Dr. B. S. Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad 431004, Maharashtra
- Indira Gandhi National Open University, School of Social Sciences, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi 110 068 offers Masters in Tourism Management through correspondence (2-4 years). The course is open to graduate and Hotel Management diploma holders.
- Utkal University, PO Vani Vihar, Bhubaneshwar 751004 Orissa
- Lucknow University, Badshah Bagh, Lucknow 226007
- Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University
- Srinagar 246174 Garhwal Distt. UP
- Dr. B. S. Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad 431004, Maharashtra
To cope with the growing demand for qualified people, International Air Transport Association(IATA) alongwith International Federation of Freight Forwarders' Association (FIATA) has been conducting courses in aircargo for the past several years. The IATA- FIATA offers three types of courses-
Introductory course for beginners who learn basic cargo ratings and documentation procedures. International air cargo rating course is an advanced course for those already well versed in basic freight calculations. Then there is the prestigeous Dangerous Goods course covering responsibilities of shippers, agents and airlines involved in the transport of dangerous goods. Air Cargo agencies accredited by IATA are required to hire a minimum of two DGR diploma holders.
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