How can you gain valuable experience in Travel and Tourism as a beginner?

- Understand your scope of work in the assigned job as it's a huge domain and precise details of what your JD is, plays a vital role in understanding your role. - Visit the destination/places before you start selling them - Experience everything as a customer at first - Hear from the industry experts - Evaluate your competitors on how they're selling the same product - Participate in collaborative activities where you get to partner with leading organizations to sell specific activities and destinations - Self-development through professional certifications and courses - Peer learning Keep learning throughout the journey

Volunteering for a travel-related cause can provide a newcomer with valuable insights into the travel industry. Undoubtedly, it offers a glimpse into the nature of the work involved, while also fostering personal growth in one's career. Building connections with others and acquiring new skills can bring a fresh perspective to one's approach to work and pave the way for advancement.

Taking online courses and mentioning them in your resume, not only will give you an extra skill compared with other entry level applicants, but will also give the employer a hint about your real motivation and involvement.

This is the great way to learn about destinations and different travel products. There are various course available now directly from different tourism boards who gives complete information about the product along with certifications which are useful for personal growth when the newbie starts his career in job or even when he starts his own business in Travel industry. If anyone wish to have more information about these online courses, please DM me and I can help them with various courses.

To acquire a foundational understanding of the Travel & Tourism industry, it is advisable for beginners to immerse themselves in the workplace alongside experienced travel professionals. This hands-on approach allows individuals to grasp industry-specific terminology and hone customer interaction skills. Additionally, advancing knowledge can be achieved through online courses and active participation in relevant travel events and exhibitions.

There are various community groups and clubs which serves as platform to thr travel industry people in which lots of discussions, events and of course networking happens. These groups will help a newbie to gain knowledge about tours and tourism product and also help them connect with right kind of supplier so that passenger can enjoy their holiday. One of the groups which I can suggest is UTA and UTEN which operates large number of WhatsApp Communities and helps connect lot of travel agents and tour operators.

Any hands on experience you can get, grab it! Courses and qualifications can support your application for travel jobs but the practical experience you gain from an internship will be far more beneficial. As a recruiter, if we are looking for someone for a junior level role then we'll look to see if they have shown an interest in the sector via a qualification but if they've also done an internship then that's a huge selling point. Entry level roles are often in demand so any work experience you've already gained in the sector is invaluable.

I believe this is the best way to gain valuable experience as you get to work in various departments and get to know the working of a travel agency, tour operator or airlines.

I started off after obtaining a BTEC in business studies with travel and tourism. Then I was walking in town and saw a sign on a local Thomas Cook branch door. I did not read it properly but it said open day in a town nearby. I went and got in on the ground floor, doing rail, and admin, then got trained slowly but surely in the art of corporate travel. I have never looked back in real terms. So applying for any ground level jobs can help. I would also say if you are at college, hopefully they will ground you in the basics of fares and ticketing, GDS, rail, and all aspects of corporate travel.

Interships are very beneficial as it provide exact work environment which the newbie will work in future. - Dont see money here. Whatever you earn its fine. - See the type of work you are offered. Do your best in it. - Ask your seniors before taking any decisions. Better to ask then regret later. - Come first to work and go last. This will give you more time and more insight about work environment. - Try to learn otherthings outside your scope of work. Eg. if you given operations, learn how to make products. - Dont be oversmart. More smarter people are inside the workplace who knows in and out of the travel industry.

When you want to get into travel, think of all segments of the travel industry (including business travel!), and do not be afraid of starting from scratch. When you are seeking an encore career, it can feel weird to go back to an entry-level role, but this is how you will learn the specificities of the sector / segment, and then, your professional skills and experience will get you the confidence to progress within the company. Internships, on the other hand, are great to build network and get noticed, there is not better assessment than seeing you at work! So,take your chance, start again!

Be prepared to be office based..You can learn so much by being around and listening to colleagues across all departments that you just don’t get when working remotely. Hybrid working offers huge benefits, but if you’re starting out, there’s no substitute to asking questions - first and foremost, travel is a people business.

There are positions that are quite basic and require no skill but can allow you to learn from other guides and easily progress. For example, as a northern lights guide I need to be a good photographer and of course know how to guide and explain about northern lights. By working as assistant, just helping with beverages, assisting customers etc. you get to hear those explanations and to practice photography until you can be a main guide in no time, and it's a position that doesn't require a lot of skills or experience

Feedback is the only way to really progress; along the years I have learned that it does not fall from the skies. It is totally legitimate to ask specific questions to your managers on your performance, it will show them that you care about your development. I also learned that feedback does not only come from 'above': the colleagues you work with, in your team and in other teams, are very well placed to tell you what you need to start doing and what you need to stop doing. It's an aspect of Radical Collaboration: every feedback is valuable! So, go get your questions and ask your managers and peers a bit of their time around a hot drink (because like everything, seeking feedback can be done in a friendly and fun manner : )

I am a massive believer in LFO, learning from others. Be curious, ask questions, share what you have read, heard and learned, and seek other people's views to get deeper. Knowledge is multifaceted, travel is a broad (very broad!) industry. Nothing to be afraid of: worse case scenario, you get a no and you move on to the next person!

Apart from joining travel clubs you can also join travel and tour associations in your country to understand the regulations and trends in the travel industry. You need to attend tourism workshops to stay abreast in the industry. Follow an expert on social media for more education.