Careers in the Travel Industry
May 01, 2017
By : Inspired Woman Magazine

traveljobs_infographBy ND Tourism

Did you know 42,614 jobs are supported by the travel and tourism industry in North Dakota? Travel impacts all 53 counties in the state. Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure, or business purposes.  And it has become a popular global leisure activity.

Hospitality Industry: Several billion dollar industry!

The hospitality industry consists of restaurants, hotel, shopping areas, or even amusement parks. They consist of multiple groups such as facility maintenance, direct operations (servers, housekeepers, porters, kitchen workers, bartenders, etc.), management, marketing, and human resources.

In America, Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) can be a business major in either as a Communications, Marketing, Advertising, or Public Relations and Finance.

With concentration in:

  • Food Management and Operations (Examples: Food Science & Preparation, Food and Beverage Operations)
  • Lodging Operations (Examples: Hotel Operations, Resort Management, Lodging Management, Financial Management, and Cost Control for Hospitality Organizations)
  • Global Tourism (Examples: Travel and Tourism Management, Hospitality, and Research Methods)
  • Sustainable Tourism (Examples: Natural Destination Management, Responsible Tourism, Green Tourism and Eco-Tourism, Alternative and Environmentally friendly ways of working in Tourism )
  • Tourist Attractions Management (Examples: Heritage Attractions, Arts and Cultural Attractions,  Retail Attractions, Natural Attractions)
  • Entertainment Management (Examples: Theme Park Management, Theatre Management, Cinema Management, Live Music and Music Festival Management).
  • Event Management (Examples: Hospitality Sales & Catering, Hospitality Marketing Management)

Hospitality Education

Hospitality programs offer students the chance to study such subjects as tourism management, environmental tourism management, sport tourism management, hotel and resort management, and event tourism management. Students learn about the challenges the industry poses, as well as the future opportunities available. Most programs combine classroom time with practical, hands-on experiences. This combination creates graduates who are prepared to lead the hospitality industry by using their managerial and technical skills. Several large corporations such as Marriott, IHG, Hyatt, Starwood, Wyndham and Hilton Hotels have summer internships in training programs for students majoring in Hospitality and Tourism Management, to help students get valuable work experience.

Students in these programs study a curriculum that is designed to help them understand all the factors that go into making a guest service-oriented enterprise function smoothly. Courses may include financial management, lodging, golf management, tourism, event management, and vacation ownership. Graduates may go on to hold jobs such as banquet manager, dining room supervisor, guest services manager, or food services director.

The 34th annual National Travel and Tourism Week is May 7-13 where communities across the country will celebrate what travel means to American jobs, economic growth and personal well-being. Travel is a pillar of economic growth, creating jobs at a faster rate than other sectors. More than half of all travel industry employees—a total of 4.3 million—earn middle class wages or higher.

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