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What are the Different Types of Travel Industry Jobs?
There are a wide range of travel industry jobs. Some of them, such as flight attendants and cabin stewards, are focused on ensuring comfort during the course of travel. Others, such as hotel and resort staff, are concerned with providing lodging services. Travel writers and photographers inform people about destinations around the globe, and tour operators help travelers view the highlighted sites once they arrive.
There are a variety of transportation-related travel industry jobs. Consider, for example, air travel and the wide range of opportunities that it holds. On airplanes, there are pilots, assistant pilots, and flight attendants. In order for a pilots to do their jobs, it is usually necessary for them to interact with air traffic controllers. At the airport, there are jobs in reservations, baggage handling, and security.
Other forms of transportation also provide travel industry jobs. Think about cruise ships, which are staffed by a wide range of employees, including those who navigate the ship, produce meals, and provide entertainment. Other travel transportation jobs include bus drivers, train conductors, and car rental agents.
Some people make their own travel arrangements, but others choose to leave the work to travel agents. These professionals are often regarded for their ability to book airline flights that consumers may have difficulty obtaining on their own. Travel agents also provide their clients with a much broader range of services, which includes making recommendations on locations, booking lodging, and arranging itineraries.
Lodging is another segment of the travel industry that provides a wide range of jobs. Hotels, motels, and resorts employ front desk personnel to check guests in and out of their facilities. Most have housekeeping staff who are responsible for cleaning the rooms and the common areas. Other jobs that may be available in these facilities include concierges, room service personnel, and bell hops.
People's desire to be informed about new destinations creates a lot of jobs in travel media. Depending on their talents, people who want travel industry jobs in this field may choose to pursue travel photography or to become travel writers. These are professionals who specialize in capturing the essence of locations and experiences that can be had in those locations and communicating them to readers in an engaging way.
Tour operators also play a major role in the travel industry. These professionals operate companies that allow travelers to visit areas of interest without having to first do research and without having to make selections on their own. Many tours are led by guides who provide information about the stops on a given tour.
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![Flight attendants tend to travelers on a plane.]()
By: starushFlight attendants tend to travelers on a plane. -
![Travel writers might blog about popular vacation spots.]()
By: nyulTravel writers might blog about popular vacation spots. -
![Travel consultants can plan trips for people to picturesque locations.]()
By: LuciaPTravel consultants can plan trips for people to picturesque locations. -
![Travel writers may review hotel accommodations.]()
By: OffscreenTravel writers may review hotel accommodations. -
![Cruise ships employ people in a wide range of jobs.]()
By: RawpixelCruise ships employ people in a wide range of jobs. -
![Some travel agents specialize in niche travel, such as booking foreign destinations or luxurious hotels.]()
By: Daddy CoolSome travel agents specialize in niche travel, such as booking foreign destinations or luxurious hotels. -
![Some travel companies and agents specialize in creating personalized travel itineraries for clients.]()
By: MaridavSome travel companies and agents specialize in creating personalized travel itineraries for clients. -
![Some travel agents are adept at booking round-the-world itineraries for clients.]()
By: HappyAlexSome travel agents are adept at booking round-the-world itineraries for clients.
Discussion Comments
@browncoat - Jobs in the travel industry tend to be fairly chaotic, depending on what you're doing, just because, at their heart, they are customer service jobs. Except you aren't just dealing with one customer for a few minutes, but with a lot of them for a large amount of time, often in extreme circumstances.
I've often daydreamed about being a tour guide because I really know and love all the sights in my home area and would be pretty good at sharing that with other people. But having to be cheerful and responsible for safety all the time would be tough. I feel like I can barely look after myself most of the time, let alone a tour group.
@KoiwiGal - I do wonder if it is different for different companies and for different stewards as well. Do the ones who go on short, internal flights need as much training as the ones who go on the longer, international flights?
Jobs that require that much travel must be really exhausting. I don't think I'd like to do it, myself, although I can definitely see that there would be perks. Just having to deal with the different time zones and the interrupted sleep would be really difficult.
I was watching a TV show where they were following a bunch of people going through air steward training and I was actually surprised at how intense the training can be. It always seemed like such an easy job in the travel industry, requiring nothing more than a nice smile and the ability to calm people down when necessary, but there seems to be a huge amount to learn.
On the episode I was watching they were practicing what would happen if an airplane was to land in water and how all the equipment worked. The equipment was fairly amazing, but I was very impressed by the skills that the people in training needed to operate it as well. And that's just one example of a scenario they need to know in order to fly with that company.
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