Travel | Passport to see the World

Although tourism took a knock after September 11, the industry is growing again. Pamela Townsend explains how you can train for a job in travel.

There's an air of exhilaration in the tourist industry these days. With the travel slump after the September 11 attacks drifting into memory, the tills are ringing again. The sector now claims to be the sixth largest in Britain, and one of the fastest growing. Its current annual worth of £76bn is expected to increase to £100bn by 2010 as new markets such as China and Russia expand.

The industry will always be susceptible to national economic ups and downs - and to the horror of any further major terrorist attacks - but it continues to offer plenty of career opportunities.

The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) expects at least 40 million holidays to be sold this year, with half of those being of the package variety. On the other side of the tourism coin, VisitBritain - formerly the British Tourist Authority - expects 25.4 million foreign visitors to come to our shores this year. All these numbers are higher than pre-September 11 levels.

One in five new jobs is now in tourism. More than two million people are working in the field, deploying a wide variety of skills and abilities, including sales, IT proficiency and numeracy, plus initiative, enthusiasm and diplomacy.

Whether you're in a high-street agency or greeting people at a sunny foreign resort, the work puts you in an unforgiving spotlight on a busy stage. Customers have a huge choice. They remember good or bad attitude, smart or sloppy dress. A mistake can ruin a honeymoon. A double-booked hotel can trigger an angina attack.

The companies' reputations are in the hands of those who represent them, so it's not surprising that there is a strong emphasis on training. Many universities run travel and tourism degrees; Bournemouth and Northumberland have particularly good reputations. The courses will usually require A-levels, although there are lower-level qualifications, such as the GNVQ in leisure and tourism, for which you will need GCSEs, including English and maths. Different universities and colleges will have varying entry standards, and potential applicants should study the small print of the courses.

The content of courses can be very broad, says Elaine Wormwell, the head of training for TTC Training, the Abta-backed organisation that monitors the industries' training standards. "On some, you can spend a lot of time learning about museums and art galleries. There's not much call for that in the package-holiday side of things."

If your interest is general and you haven't decided on a specific area, a two-year, full-time college course, or a three- to four-year degree course (assuming you have the entry qualifications) could be a good move.

The high street's oldest name, Thomas Cook - it began trading in 1841 - runs its own graduate-entry scheme. The next scheme opens in August and runs for 12 months, says the UK recruitment manager Colin Dalby. This is the 10th such scheme to run in the past 13 years. Apart from graduates with tourism-related degrees, Thomas Cook is also interested in those who have studied economics, retail management or business administration.

Entrants, based at the Peterborough head office but regularly posted around the country, are fast-tracked upwards. "We see it as planning for future senior management," Dalby says. "Three of these entrants have already made it onto our board."

About 800 young people also sign up each year for the alternative training method - on the job. Based in travel agencies and tour operators, they join the Government-funded apprenticeship scheme, devised and run by TTC Training.

There is no formal entry requirement for this scheme, which is open to 16- to 24-year-olds . "The industry needs the right attributes, such as keenness, smartness and politeness. If their reading, writing and arithmetic aren't so good, well, we can do something about that," says TTC's Wormwell.

Those subjects all appear on the apprenticeship training courses, along with geography, communication skills and travel law. "They have to know how to deal with disabled people, and with pregnant women," Wormwell says. "They have to know the holiday directives laid down by government and Abta. They also learn how to make a presentation, because each time customers sit down to talk holidays, that's what they expect."

Students are coached on the job, attend two training days every eight weeks, handle about eight hours of homework a week and attend a one-week residential course. All this, over one or two years, leads to an NVQ in travel services.

Is all this training worthwhile? Apparently so. The work undertaken by trainees is varied, and days are usually busy, with different skills - from IT to handling customer queries and tailoring holidays - being needed from minute to minute.

Salaries can be low in the beginning. A Apprentice can expect to earn between £70 and £80 a week, plus various commissions on services sold, although there are perks, such as free educational visits to holiday destinations.

But, once qualified a sales consultant with, for example, Thomas Cook, one could expect to earn towards £15,000 a year after five years. A store manager could earn up to £35,000. It is estimated that commissions on bookings as well as travel discounts could amount to another £3,000 a year. A graduate entrant to Thomas Cook could expect to start on about £18,000.

The industry has the image of being manned by young people, mainly women, but this is changing. More men are joining, and Thomas Cook is looking for more mature staff. "We are looking for older workers, including returning mums and people who've retired early from other jobs," says Dalby. "We also offer part-time and flexible hours. Some staff, for example, like to trade in salary for more annual holiday."

The task of VisitBritain, which is government-funded, is to bring tourists into Britain. The organisation employs people in 31 countries, with 500 in London.

"For anyone who wants to live abroad, this is a fantastic job," says Seren Welch, who is the head of brands and international product marketing at VisitBritain. "Stints usually last three years, then the person is offered another post elsewhere." A degree, plus a year or two's relevant experience, is the minimum requirement for entry into VisitBritain.

Travel and tourism is a good degree, but the agency also considers marketing and communications degree applicants. "A degree in languages is also good," Welch says. "Our new markets are Poland, South Korea, Russia and China, so anyone fluent in those languages would be looked on favourably, although we continue to need European language speakers, too."

The starting pay is about £20,000, and career prospects are good. The work involves deciding how Britain will be promoted and marketed at any given time. "We aren't just talking heritage and history; we cover everything from pop music, Harry Potter and fashion to modern art, gardens and the seaside," Welch says.

The openings in tourism are there, the training awaits, and - for people with the right personality - the sky, it would seem, is the limit.

THE TRAVELLING BAND

Adele Ward, 39, has worked for Thomson for 16 years, 13 as an overseas rep - the area many people regard as the glamour end of the industry.

Now an overseas training adviser in the company's London head office, she joined with six O-levels, a BTech in business studies and a few years' experience as a secretary. "I was 23; I wanted to travel and have some excitement in my life. I certainly got both," she says.

Through postings to Majorca, Jamaica, Florida, California, Antigua, the Dominican Republic, Thailand, Egypt and the Greek islands, she worked up from rep to team leader in charge of 15 reps, and on to team manager. This can mean responsibility for 30 staff.

"During my two years in Jamaica, I was responsible for co-ordinating weddings, usually on the beach. The bride and groom bought the package through the brochure, but once they were on the island it was my job to make sure everything went smoothly. That meant dealing with the venue, the flowers, champagne and drinks, and checking that everyone knew where they had to be.

"Dealing with the families certainly tested my diplomacy skills. Fortunately, I never had any disasters. I remember one bride was so overcome with excitement that she jumped into the pool. Her dress turned into a giant floating balloon. Guess whose job it was to get her out!"

These days, Thomson has no stipulated entry requirements, other than that reps should be aged over 20 and ready to live away from home. A rep can expect to earn in the region of £500 a month, rising with experience, plus free accommodation and food. The job remit is wide, ranging from meeting and greeting at airports, smoothing hotel arrivals, arranging excursions and sorting out medical or even police-related problems.

"It's very much about having the right personality," Adele says. "A rep must be a confident person, outward-going, articulate and patient. People think the job's one long holiday; it definitely isn't. On a bad week, you can work up to 60 hours and you have to take turns with your colleagues to be on 24-hour call. But other weeks won't be busy; then you get free time.

"You need to be calm and diplomatic and have the ability to switch quickly on to other people's wavelengths."