Profession tourism manager: training features and responsibilities

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Choosing a profession is like choosing a destiny. It is important to weigh all the "pros" and "cons", as well as to get as much information as possible regarding the field of interest. The profession of a tourism manager seems romantic, filled with traveling around the world, meeting new interesting people. But is it really so? Let's try to understand all the nuances of this profession.

Profession Description

Tourism manager is a generalized job title for an employee of a travel company. The list of tasks in the job description in different agencies does not always match. The main task of the manager is to organize the client's vacation at a high level, taking into account all the wishes. In some firms, the tourism manager is a generalist who manages all aspects of the tour. This includes:

• conversation with a client;
• choice of direction;
• search and book tickets and hotels;
• visa and insurance;
• signing contracts;
• accepting payments and more.

In other firms different employees perform different stages. In addition, responsibilities dependfrom the direction of the travel company. So, tour operators organize travel routes, and travel agencies sell ready-made tours.

Tourism Jobs

To navigate the positions in the field of tourism, we list what other vacancies exist:

1. A corporate customer service agent organizes business trips or vacations for employees and executives of large firms. These can be field seminars, corporate events or tourism. The manager must be qualified in business travel service and speak at least a conversational level of English.
2. Private tour manager serving VIP clients. Its tasks include: development and organization of personal tours, reservation of places in hotels, visa processing, search and rental of exclusive transport. This position requires presentable appearance, diplomacy and a good level of English, especially business and writing.
3. Air transportation manager organizes intermediary booking and ticketing services for air transportation. You need to know booking systems, and some companies require a certificate.
4. The ticket booking agent position is suitable for beginners with no travel experience.
5. Ecotourism manager selects tours to national natural parks and protected areas. This is a relatively new direction in the field of tourism, which is gaining popularity.

Is the profession in demand now?

How promising is the profession of tourism manager? Financial fluctuations and the development of technology affect many areas of activity, and tourism is no exception. Increasingly, potential customers of travel companies prefer to search and select tours on their own. This is due both to the desire to save money and to the fact that there are a large number of resources that allow you to organize a trip yourself. But not everyone does this, and many prefer to trust a specialist in this matter "in the old fashioned way".

Another important point is the oversupply of candidates on the market who want to work in the field of tourism. With high competition, the requirements for applicants become quite high, and it is difficult for a tourism manager without work experience to find a place in a travel agency.

Requirements for the candidate

First of all, a manager needs the ability to work with a large amount of information. You need to remember the dates and times of flights, the tourist areas of many countries, what kind of vacation is available in a particular resort. Since one of the duties of a tourism manager is to promote tours, knowledge of sales technology will not hurt. In addition, you need to be sociable and diplomatic, be able to "talk" the client in order to offer a suitable tour. Basic knowledge of psychology will not interfere here.

Employers often require knowledge of foreign languages, English is preferred. If geography was your favorite subject in school, then consider yourself lucky. This knowledge will be very useful at work. If you are a beginner tourism manager with no experience in this field, then a higher education in this speci alty will not hurt.

The profession is considered quite stressful. You will have to simultaneously control several processes, while always being polite and attentive to customers. You need to be ready for irregular working hours and business trips.

Responsibilities of a manager

As already mentioned, the duties of a tourism manager in different companies can be different. We list the main functions:

• communication with customers, providing information about services;
• search for clients and sale of company services;
• route formation;
• hotel booking and ticket redemption;
• organization of charter flights;
• visa and insurance;
• collaboration with the host country;
• selection of excursions and entertainment;
• preparation of contracts;
• conflict resolution.

If you are applying for the position of assistant tourism manager, then your tasks will be routine tasks that do not require high qualifications. Good computer skills and the ability to use office equipment will help here.

Place of work and salary

Jobs are provided by travel agencies and tour operators. There are vacancies for an assistant tourism manager and a ready-made specialist. Salaries will vary depending on assignments. As a rule, the payment consists of the main rate and a percentage of the sales of vouchers. The average salary in Russia is 34thousand rubles. The highest paid job of a tourism manager in Moscow is 49,000 rubles.

Specific work

A career in tourism begins as an assistant or account manager. Having established yourself well here, you can apply for the vacancy of a tourism manager. In a company that organizes tours, and not just sells ready-made vouchers, the manager will gain more experience in the field of tourism. Having mastered the intricacies of work, you can later open your own business.

Profession benefits

Choosing this or that profession, we want to realize our creative and business potential. If you like to communicate with people and travel, then work in the field of tourism will appeal to you. In order to successfully sell the services of a travel agency, you will have to personally visit those countries where future customers will go. Visionary executives organize study tours for managers to hotels and resorts at company expense.

If a modern office equipped with everything you need is important to you, then, as a rule, travel agencies do not skimp on the equipment of the manager's workplace, because the overall impression of the client depends on this and whether he wants to book a ticket in this particular company. Travel agencies often send tourism managers for training and education. Constantly growing and developing in the profession is another indisputable plus.

Cons of the profession

You need to know and be prepared for some negative aspects in the profession:

1. Great degree of responsibility. Depends on the managerall stages of travel and rest of the client. You need to keep a lot under control and be prepared for factors beyond your control and force majeure. Flight delays, errors of hotel staff or an unscrupulous host - the manager will be responsible for all this before the client.
2. Irregular working hours. The working day will last as long as necessary to complete the paperwork, send important letters, negotiate with the embassy.
3. The impossibility of vacation in the "hot" season. Working in the field of tourism, you can forget about summer holidays, as well as holidays in May and September. This is the time of the greatest activity in the tourism sector.

Where to study?

Of course, a specialized higher education when applying for a job will be a plus, but even without it you can get a job in a travel agency. Training for a tourism manager can be completed in courses. They last from 1 to 3 months and give a concise program, paying attention to important aspects of the speci alty. In order not to miscalculate when choosing courses and not to waste time and money, study the reviews of the educational institution you are interested in on the forums on the Internet. If it is not possible to pay for tuition, then look for free courses and webinars on the same Internet. Now they are widely used and are a good help in mastering new skills.

Educational institutions in Russia

If you seriously decide to study this speci alty, there are many higher education institutions to choose from that train future workers in the tourism sector. There are universities and colleges. Checkpointthe score in higher educational institutions in the speci alty "Tourism" ranges from 72 to 86. The average cost of education is 187 thousand rubles a year.

It is possible to combine training as a tourism manager with employment in a travel company while in the last year of university. In this case, you can get a job as an assistant manager or courier.

How to become a tourism worker?

To become a good specialist in the tourism field, you need to master many skills. Here's what a beginner needs to know and be able to do:

1. Understand the difference between tour operators and travel agents and have a clear understanding of what they do.
2. Own search and reservation programs.
3. Know sales techniques and be able to sell.
4. Be able to draw up contracts.
5. Know the geography of countries, the location of hotels and resorts, a list of attractions, features of entry into a particular country.
6. Know insurance and visa rules.
7. Be a confident PC and office user.

You need to understand that you will have to study constantly, because changes in the tourism industry occur often. You will have to read and study a lot on your own, attend specialized trainings and seminars. If a travel company requires a specialist with experience, then the candidate must have knowledge of booking programs.

Before you apply for a travel agency, even for a position that does not require work experience, study information about popular tourist destinations. Here are some of them:

• Turkey (Antalya).
• Greece (Crete).
• Egypt.
• Thailand.
• Spain.
• Italy.
• Bulgaria.
• Croatia.

Recently, tourist routes in Russia have been popular.

Reviews about the profession

They will help you finally understand whether the profession of a tourism manager is right for you, reviews from thematic forums on the Internet. After studying the reviews, we can draw conclusions:

1. The job of a manager is responsible and stressful.
2. Irregular working hours. In addition, customers can call at 3 am and on weekends.
3. To work in this field, you need to be very sociable and extroverted person. You must be able to find out the preferences of the client and offer an option according to his wishes and capabilities.
4. Salary is not the most competitive and depends on seasonality and the number of tourists.
5. Selling is very important. If you know popular destinations well, know how to use search engines, book tickets and hotels, apply for visas, and know several foreign languages, but don’t know how to advertise and sell goods, then you won’t be able to stay in the position of a manager. In addition, the salary directly depends on the number of sold tours and vouchers.
6. The atmosphere in the team leaves much to be desired. In the work of a manager in a travel agency, rush jobs often occur, which are not reflected in the best way on the emotional state of employees. In addition, tourists aredifferent, and they will express dissatisfaction with their vacation, even if something was wrong through no fault of yours.
7. Traveling abroad at the expense of the company is rather a myth. The company can pay half the cost, but, as a rule, managers travel at their own expense. In addition, on such trips you do not rest, but inspect hotels for 20-30 pieces per day.

Despite such not the most positive reviews, some have found their calling in this profession. Many start working in the tourism industry, but soon become disillusioned and leave it. To work in this area for a long time, you need to love tourism and literally live it. If this is not about you, then it is better to think 100 times before choosing this path.

Like any other profession, the speci alty of a manager in a travel company has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages. One of the reasons why many are interested in this field of activity is the possibility of employment without work experience and without specialized education. And also attracts applicants that the work is related to travel and recreation. But it is important to remember that organizing a vacation and relaxing yourself are two different things.