Travel and Tourism courses | Top 5 courses you must know about!

Travel and tourism are two of the fastest-growing industries today. People enjoy traveling, going on adventures, and sharing travel stories on Instagram now more than ever! This has resulted in an increase in domestic and international tourism, and you can be the one to fulfill this demand. With various travel and tourism courses available today, it’s become possible to make a career in what you love doing!

If you are a hippie wanting to pack your bag and go for a trek with friends, there will be hundreds of travel agents and travel organizations willing to take you. Moreover, paid leaves or sabbaticals are available for employees to travel the world. 

But becoming a part of these organizations will take some effort. To know how to make a career in this domain, I suggest you keep reading! Let’s jump right off to what a travel and tourism course is about.

What is a travel and tourism course?

If travel, hospitality, business, and customer services entice you, there are ample opportunities to study these under many travel and tourism courses. 

You can opt for a diploma course in travel and tourism after the 12th grade or choose to do a bachelor’s. Moreover, you can opt for travel and tourism courses after graduation too. 

Now, let’s get to the top 5 travel and tourism courses you can pursue abroad.

1. Bachelor of Tourism Management / Diploma in Tourism Management

Bachelor’s in this subject is a 4-year-long course while a diploma in tourism course is of two years. This course provides you with in-depth knowledge of tourism and hospitality trends. As a result, it inculcates practical aspects of tourism, including business, tourist behavior, customer service, etc.

2. Bachelors of Arts / Event and Tourism Management 

This is a 4-year-long course that focuses on the skills required to administer and manage event service businesses. From planning the event, and sponsoring to promoting and managing finances, travel and tourism management course covers the basics for all. Once you’ve covered the groundwork, planning and organizing global events (like the Burning Man Festival) will take you to exotic places around the world!

3. Bachelor of Communication and Media

This 4-year-long course will help you create a strong foundation in the national and international communication and media industry. The course focuses mainly on communication and research, which are essential to the travel and tourism domain. 

4. Diploma in Social Science, Extended Tourism Management 

This one-year-long course offers disciplines with a particular knowledge and skill base. It will help you inculcate skills like sophisticated communication, strong research, analytical thinking, and flexibility. What you learn here will give you the headway you need to go a long way in your travel and tourism career.

5. International Hospitality and Tourism Management

This 3-year-long course involves planning, managing, recreation, travel, and customer services. If you are passionate about improving your communication skills to deal better with customers, you can choose to go for this course and maximize visitor opportunities. 

Specializations in travel and tourism courses

Depending on your interest, you can choose to study or work in the following areas of the tourism industry-

• Domestic Tourism
• International Tourism
• Outbound Tourism
• Business Tourism
• Adventure Tourism
• Wildlife Tourism
• Medical Tourism
• Wellness Tourism
• Pilgrimage and Spiritual Tourism
• Cultural Tourism
• Dark Tourism
• Culinary Tourism
• Celebrity Tourism or Film Tourism
• Educational Tourism
• Cruise Tourism
• Rural Tourism
• Space Tourism

Best places to pursue a travel and tourism course

While travel and tourism courses are available in many countries, we have collated a list of some best places to study the subject. 

• Switzerland
• The USA
• The Netherlands
• France
• Canada
• UK
• New Zealand
• Malaysia
• Singapore
• Sweden
• Ireland
• Australia

Top universities for travel and tourism courses

Now that you have made up your mind to pursue this domain, here’s a list of the top five universities where you can make a flourishing career in travel and tourism.

These institutes offer some of the best travel courses for you to pursue- 

1. EHL – Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne- Switzerland.
2. University of Nevada, Las Vegas – the US.
3. Glion Institute of Higher Education – Switzerland.
4. Les Roches Global Hospitality Education – Switzerland.
5. Swiss Hotel Management School – Switzerland

Shortlist from the list of travel and tourism courses above, choose a specialization, and use that to choose which universities you want to apply to. Once you’ve chosen the universities, make sure you fulfill the eligibility criteria for the program.

This will involve writing College Essays, preparing for the GRE/GMAT and IELTS/TOEFL, and securing Letters of Recommendation. You might also need to re-look at the skills you need to excel in the Travel industry.

What are the skills required to excel in the travel industry?

Travel and tourism may sound like the most interesting field to pursue as it comes with some perks, but it is not for everyone. You need to put in some work. Hence, work on some skills before beginning the tours and travels course. These talents can be attained by doing some certifications, internships, etc.

Here is a list of skills that you should focus on if you want to enter the travel and tourism industry-

Knowledge of computer reservation systems 

Knowing the basics of Computer Reservation Systems or Central Reservation Systems can help you handle the data entry and manage administrative tasks. 

Awareness of the global culture 

As this field has to do with traveling, it is required that you be well aware of the global culture and various aspects of the travel business. 

Customer service 

This is one of the most important skills to have in the travel and tourism industry as it helps you gain more and more clients. With better customer service, you can build more contracts. Therefore, I would advise you to work towards honing your customer service skills to thrive in this industry. 

Airfares and ticketing skills

This is again an important skill to have in hospitality and travel management. It will help you deal with ticket bookings, generating and accepting fares, and much more. 

Language skills

Possessing good interpersonal and language skills is a must to excel in this industry. Therefore, be well versed in at least one language other than English (more than one is a bonus). Besides this, being a people person would definitely help you step up the ladder of success in the travel and tourism industry. 

Geographical knowledge 

As someone working in travel and tourism, it’s always handy to know about the geography, history, art, and architecture of different places. This is where your research and networking skills will help you out.

Handling foreign currencies and money 

Handling the financial aspect of this field is equally important. Having the knowledge and experience on foreign currencies, their policies, etc., will help you in the long run.

Job opportunities in the travel and tourism industry

Okay, so you’ve decided to go for a bachelor’s degree in travel and tourism. Now what? What are the possible job roles that you could opt for? Here is a list of opportunities you can pursue after completing your graduation. Begin by checking the different courses available and their eligibility criteria.

• Holiday/Travel Agent
• Tourism Manager
• Travel Officer or Travel Agency Co-ordinator
• Travel Counselor or Travel Consultant
• Airlines Staff
• Tourist Guide
• Transport Officer

More about travel and tourism 

So, there you have it, a sneak peek into the world of travel and tourism as a career option. I hope this article helped you gain some clarity regarding the same. If you feel stuck at any point while researching about studying abroad, reaching out to us might help. We’d be happy to help you make it to your dream university. 

All the best!

Liked this blog? Read:Travel guidelines 2022 | Travel internationally with these clear guidelines

FAQs

Q1. What is the salary of a travel consultant?

Answer- The average salary of travel consultants is around INR 3,05,000 per year.  

Q2. Is there a 2-year travel and tourism course?

Answer- You can pursue a 2-year diploma in Travel & Tourism Management.

Q3. What subjects do you need for travel and tourism course?

Answer- You will need subjects such as-

• Business economics
• Economics 
• Geography 
• History
• Tourism
• Accounting  

These are a few of the many subjects you would need for tourism.