A career in Travel And Tourism Management: Top Courses, Required Skills, Jobs and Salary, Top 10 Indian and International Institutions and Companies

Are you really interested in Travel and Tourism? Then this blog is especially for you. From this article, you are going to learn all about Travel and tourism industry.

Travel and tourism industry is rapidly growing and jobs in this sector are becoming highly sought after. Working in this sector will offer you a huge range of interesting roles, such as the opportunity to travel and meeting new people. If you have a passion for all these things then this type of profession will be ideal for you.

What is Travel and Tourism Management?

Tourism and travel management refers to everything related to the hospitality and travel industries. It offers extensive training opportunities for management positions in the food, accommodations, amenities, accessibility industry. It also includes working in various agencies that are directly involved with tourism and travel services.

Travel and tourism is an important part of the hospitality sector. candidates who want to make a career in the travel and tourism sector can pursue a course of Undergraduate (UG), postgraduate (PG), diploma and certificate courses in travel and tourism management.

Travel and Tourism Courses:

Undergraduate Courses

1. Bachelor of Tourism And Travel Management.
2. BBA in Tour and Travel Management.
3. Bachelor of Tourism management.
4. BA (Hons) Travel and Tourism.
5. B.Sc in Travel and Tourism Management.
6. Bachelor of Tourism Studies.

Postgraduate Courses:

1. MA In Tourism and Travel Management.
2. MBA in Tour and travel Management.
3. MA in Tourism Management.
4. MSc Hospitality and Tourism Management.
5. MA Tourism Studies.

Diploma Courses:

1. Diploma in Tourism Studies.
2. Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism.
3. Diploma in Travel Management.

Skills For Travel and Tourism management:

• Responsibility: It refers to the physical and mental activities which must be performed to carry out a duty or a task. In other words, an inferior’s obligations in any business unit will arise basically from his relationship with his superior who is given the control to get something done. Travel and tourism industry you have to take responsibility for your customers as well as the company.
• Team Spirit: Team spirit is the feeling of pride and loyalty that exists among the members of a team. Team spirit is required to make your business successful. Tourism is especially based on team spirit. If you don’t have an understanding with your employees then your organization could collapse soon.
• Discipline: Discipline means training or conditions imposed for the improvement of physical powers, self-control, etc. Discipline is one of the most important qualities of management.
• Having an outgoing and pleasant personality: Having a pleasant personality you can connect, convey and convince your customer or client easily.
• Polite demeanour: Polite behaviour is also very helpful to make a connection with your clients. It helps to maintain positive interpersonal relationships with your customers.
• Confidence: confidence is basically defined as the belief in the effectiveness of one’s own abilities or in one’s favourable acceptance by others. Confidence is much required in the travel and tourism sector to become a sales executive or manager.
• Be committed and dedicated to a task: Dedication is the basic key to success. It also helps you to improve your image and confidence. Not only the travel and tourism sector, in any management based sector you should be committed to your job.
• Ability to multi-task: multitasking is basically handling different work activities at the same time and shifting attention from one task to another. In this field, you have to be able to meet the demands of several different stakeholders without dropping the ball.
• Good communication skills: Good communication skill is the secret superpower of every employee who is working in the travel and tourism sector as well as any hospitality sector. It is actually essential for everyone in the workplace.
• Willingness to work long and odd hours: Working in long and odd hours make you a more knowledgable and experienced person. It will increase your responsibility and dedication.
• Good listener: If you want to be a good speaker than make sure you are a good speaker because you can’t speak without listening to others properly.
• Customer-oriented approach: Always help your customers or clients to reach their goals which ultimately leads to more satisfied, loyal and committed customers.
• Ability to adjust in different circumstances: It means being able to change in order to become a successful person. It is a soft skill that every organization needs when they hire candidates. So if you want to become successful in travel, tourism and hospitality sector then you should have the ability to adjust in different circumstances.

Jobs and salaries:

Before entering the travel and tourism sector as a student or employee you should have some basic knowledge about jobs opportunities and salaries in this sector. If you don’t have any knowledge about it, don’t worry, I’m here to explain to you some basic job opportunities.

Jobs	Salary
Holiday or travel agent: Who sells the tour or holiday packages for a company.	15k – 30k (India), 2000$ – 2500$ (Global) [may vary]
Tourism Manager: A person who provides travel, accommodation information, hospitality and services to the tourists, promote tourism and assess tourist opportunities for local communities.	60k – 1Lacks (India), 5000$ – 10000$ (Global) [may vary]
Travel Coordinator: Person who makes travel arrangements for individuals, groups and organization, including scheduling flights and ground transportation, booking accommodations and handling every task related to a trip.	50k – 1lacks (India), 5000$ – 7000$ (Global) [may vary]
Travel Consultant: A person who advises clients about suitable travel options following their needs, wants and capabilities.	20k – 30k (India), 2500$ – 3000$ (Global) [may vary]
Tourist Guide: A person who provides assistance, information about cultural and historical importance to people on organized sightseeing and individual clients at educational establishments, religious and historical sites such as; monuments, museums, temple etc.	2k -3k/day (India), 50$ – 150$/day (Global) [may vary]
Transport Officer: The work of this position involves the supervision and control of staff, vehicles, plant and equipment of a motor based vehicle transport service or urban transport system, utilising computer-based management and control systems.	30k – 50k/ month (India), 4000$ – 6000$/month (Global)
Airlines: Ground and In-flight staffs Sales and marketing executive HR, IT	20k – 30k/month (India) 30k – 40k/month (India) 60k -1lacks/month (India)
Hotels & Resorts: Operations Front Office Food & Beverage sales & marketing Accounting Public relations IT & HR	20k- 2lacks/month (India) 4000$- 12000$/month (Global) [May vary]
Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normal convergence in starting a business, which may include other values than simply economic ones.	Depends on your business.
Retailer (franchise):	Depends on your business.

Alternative Careers:

Freelancing:

Freelancing is considered as a new-age career. Anyone with required skills can do this job. Freelancing is including Website article writing, blog writing, photography, copywriting, virtual assistance, website designer and many more.

But as a traveller, you can write travel blogs, articles about your experience and the place for someone and earn a lot of money as a reward.

Income:

1k-10k per article (India) and 20$-50$ per article.

Photography:

Nowadays, photography has become a main career objective of some people. If you love to travel then buy a camera and learn some basic photography skills so that you can sell your Image, upload your photos with your blogs and work as a photographer.

You can also earn lot of money doing different types of photography:

• Travel Photography
• Street Photography
• Urban Photography
• Wildlife photography
• Nature photography.

Income:

for starters: 10k – 50k/ month (India) or 100$ – %500$/month (global) [may vary].

For professionals: 100k – 500k/ month (India) or 50000$ – 500000$/month (global) [may vary].

Vlogging:

Vlog is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog is a video with some specific information, supporting text, images and other metadata.

If you are a part of the tourism industry then you can do Travel vlogging, Food vlogging, Adventure vlogging etc.

Making a vlog is a very simple task. Just open your camera and shoot your activities with some vocal explanation. Then do some simple edits and publish your video on any online streaming platform. Make sure your vlog will be much informative and entertaining which can attract more people on that destination.

Earning:

You can earn by uploading your videos on YouTube and other video streaming platform. If your channel get monetized then you can earn 50k-5lacks/month in India and 500$ – 50000$/month globally with sponsorships.

Top 10 International Institutions:

A. The Scottish Hotel School, University of Strathclyde, Ross Hall, Glasgow G 52 3NQ, United Kingdom:

Course:

• Doctorate of 3rd Cycle Specialty in economy and Law of Tourism.
• Master of Science ( M.Sc.) in Tourism.

Duration: 2-3 years.

B. George Washington University, Washington, D.C, USA.

Course:

• Master’s Degree in Tourism administration.
• Doctor of Education with a concentration in Tourism.

Duration: 2-4 years.

C. University of Calgary: Canada

course: Advance Master’s degree in Tourism Administration.

Duration: 2 years.

D. University of Surrey: Surrey, England

Course: Postgraduate Diploma in Tourism.

Duration: 1 year

E. University of Sorbonne, Paris, France

Course: Postgraduate Diploma in Tourism.

Duration: 1 year.

F. University of Lincolnshire and Humberside: UK

Course:

• Bachelor of Business Administration
• BBA Hons. with specialization in Tourism.

Duration: 3 years.

G. The Netherlands Institute of Tourism and Transport Studies: Sibeliuslaan 13 4837 CA Breda, The Netherlands

Course: Graduate Course in Tourism Management.

Duration: 4 years.

H. Edith Crown University, Perth, Australia

Course: Degree Course in Tourism Management.

Duration: 3 years.

I. Centre International De Glion, CH 1823 Glion Sur, Montreux, Switzerland

Course:

• Graduation in Hospitality and Tourism Management
• Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism Management.

Duration: 1-3 years.

J. University of Zagreb: Yugoslavia

Course: Advance Course in Tourism Administration

Duration: 2 years.

Top 10 Indian Institutions:

A. University of Delhi, Collage of Vocational Studies, Sheikh Sarai, New Delhi

Courses:

• Bachelor of Travel and Tourism Management.
• Postgraduate Diploma on Travel and Tourism Management.

Duration: 2-3 years.

B. Haldia Government College, Vidyasagar University, Haldia, Purba Midnapur, West Bengal

Course: BA major (Hons.) in Travel and Tourism.

Duration: 3 years.

C. University of Garhwal, Faculty of Tourism, Srinagar, Garhwal, Uttaranchal

Course: Postgraduate diploma in Tourism and Travel Management.

Duration: 2 years.

D. Marathwada University, Marathwada, Maharashtra

Course: Postgraduate Diploma

Duration: 2 years.

E. Kurukshetra University, Department of Ancient History and Culture, Kurukshetra, Haryana

Course:

• BA in Tourism Studies.
• MBA in Tourism Administration

Duration: 2-3 years

F. Annamalai University, Faculty of Management Courses, Annamalai Nagar, Tamil Nadu

Courses:

• B.A. in Tourism Studies.
• Postgraduate Diploma

Duration: 1-3 years.

G. Godavarish College of Vocational Studies, Department of Travel and Tourism, Nageswar Tangi, Bhubaneswar, Orissa

Courses: B.A in Travel and Tourism

Duration: 3 years

H. Madurai-Kamraj University, Palkalai Nagar, Madurai, 625021

Course: Master’s Degree in Tourism Management.

Duration: 2 years.

I. Institute of Management Studies, H.P University, Shimla, 171005

Courses: Master of Tourism Administration.

Duration: 2 years.

J. Indira Gandhi National Open University ( IGNOU), New Delhi

Courses:

• MTA in tourism Administration.
• BBA in Tourism Administration.
• Diploma in Travel and Tourism.

Duration: 1-3 years.

Top Travel Companies Around the World

Here is a list of world’s top 15 travel companies, which Includes both Corporate travel management and travel agencies.

Rank	Company	Headquarters	NO. of employees
1	Expedia group	Washington, Bellevue	24000
2	Booking Holdings	Norwalk, Connecticut	24500
3	American Express Global Business Travel	New Jersey	17400
4	BCD Travel	Utrecht, Netherlands	13800
5	CWT	Minneapolis, Minnesota	18000
6	Flight Centre	Brisbane, Australia	20600
7	Travel Leaders Group	New York City, new York	4000
8	American Express travel	New York City, new York	5000
9	Direct Travel	Centennial, Colorado	2000
10	Corporate Travel Management	Denver, Colorado	725
11	Fareportal	New York City, New York	3899
12	American Automobile Association	Heathrow, Florida	4655
13	Travel and Transport	Omaha, Nebraska	1737
14	Frosch	New York City, New York	1180
15	Omega World Travel	Fairfax, Virginia	530

Top 10 Travel Companies in India

In India, the travel and tourism sector plays a significant role in social and economic aspects. It contributes 9.2% to the country’s economy. It has also generated foreign exchange to the tune of US$28.9 bn, Accounting for 5.6% of total national exports.

Now here is the list of top 10 Travel Companies/Agencies of India which are ranked based on turnover.

1. Thomas Cook (India) Ltd.

Thomas Cook is a leading integrated travel and travel-related services provider company with operations in 29 countries. It is associated with five continents through its Indian Subsidiaries and key investments.

• Headquarter: India
• Establishment year: 1881

2. Cox & Kings Ltd.

It is the longest established travel companies in the world. It has 12 own offices across India. It was founded by a British and even after the independence of India, Cox & Kings stayed on and flourished.

• Headquarter: Mumbai, India
• Establishment: 1758

3. Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd.

It is a part of Hospitality sector of Mahindra Group. It offers quality family holidays and brings to the industry values such as reliability, trust and customer satisfaction.

• Headquarter: Chennai
• Establishment Year: 1996

4. Make My Trip

Make my trip is India’s top online travel industry. It was founded by Deep Kalra in the year 2000. It offers travellers instant bookings and comprehensive choices. make my trip diversified its product offering by adding a variety of online and offline products and services. Make my trip tied up with IRCTC and launched its India operations in 2005.

5. Yatra Online Pvt. Ltd.

Formerly known as yatra.com is one of India’s leading online travel companies. The headquarter of Yatra is in Gurgaon, India. It was founded by Mr Dhruv Shringi and Mr Manish Amin in August 2006.

Yatra provides pricing, information, packages, facilities, international travel, domestic and international hotel and holiday bookings, buses, trains, homestays and cruises. yatra tied up with 84000 hotels in India and over 80000 hotels around the world.

6.SOTC Travel Limited

Formerly known as SOTC Travel Pvt. Ltd. is a stepdown subsidiary of Fairfax holding Group and subsidiary of Thomas Cook India Limited. It was established in 1949. It is providing incentive travel, leisure travel, and business travel for more than 70 years.

7. Goibibo

Goibibo is one of the leading air aggregators and the largest online hotel booking platform in India. It provides the fastest and most trusted user experiences. Goibibo is a subsidiary of ibibo Group which also owns India’s No. 1 bus ticketing platform RedBus.in and ibibo Ryde.

8. Expedia

It is one of the fastest growing online travel portals in Asia. It offers travellers an extensive selection of hotels, travel services and activities to meet every budget and activities of every kind at competitive rates.

Travellers can book everything they need for a holiday. Expedia was established in 1996 in Washington, US.

9. Travel Guru

Travel Guru is considered as India’s leading travel website. It offers you the best price on hotels, flight booking and holiday packages across India and the world. It also offers you other travel-related services like car rental, bike rental etc. It is the 9th largest travel company in India. It was founded by Ashwin Damera and Ganesh Rangaswamy in 2005.

10. International Travel House Ltd.

It is India’s leading travel management company. It was established in the year 1981. It is India’s first publicly listed travel company. For its extensive national footprint, diverse product portfolio and a strong reputation for service and reliability, it has become one of India’s Most admired travel companies.

It has a strong network of 39 offices in 19 cities across India.