CEO speaks: A career where moments become memories
In today’s time and age, travel has become an absolute essential to do a lot of things — to relax, unwind, enjoy, attend special events, family gatherings or even for employment.
We are an adaptive species. We can tolerate brief periods of forced sedentariness. A dash of self-delusion helps but we cannot be grounded for long. So, it is important to know how to turn idle wanderlust into actual itineraries, which could be revenue-generating as well.
Travel entails wishful thinking. It demands a leap of faith, and of imagination, to board a plane for some faraway land, hoping, wishing, for a taste of the ineffable. Travel is one of the few activities we engage in not knowing the outcome and reveling in that uncertainty. But for many, the vast industry is a breadwinner.
India’s travel landscape is changing as the country emerges as a powerhouse in the tourism sector.
Indian travellers took 1.7 billion leisure trips in 2022 domestically and only about 1% travelled abroad, according to a recent report.
Indian travellers are projected to be taking 5 billion leisure trips by 2030, and 99% of those will be within the country as well, said a recent report. In the given situation, the industry provides a lot of options to explore and earn. Here is how you can be one of those living their dreams:
You can be an expat, digital nomad, backpacker, travel agent, tour guide, tourism marketer, blogger, bartender, photographer, travel writer, tour guide, telecommuter, graphic designer, festival worker, volunteer, freelance teacher, scuba diving instructor, hotel manager/concierge, event manager, interpreter, chef, sailor or a cruise crew member and the list can go on.
More and more Indians are now looking to discover smaller urban spots, including those in Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities.
Tier 2 cities in India are those with a population of between 50,000 to 100,000 while those from between 20,000 to 50,000 residents are classified as Tier 3 cities.
The recent report titled ‘How India Travels’, jointly released by Booking.com and McKinsey & Company, reveals a surge in India’s travel sector and predicts a substantial boost in their spending in the coming years, positioning India as the fourth-largest global spender in travel by 2030 with an estimated expenditure of $410 billion.
The future of inbound tourism in India looks promising provided the country continues to make efforts on multiple fronts to fully unlock the potential.
India has a wealth of unique cultural and natural attractions that can be developed as niche tourism offerings, such as heritage tourism, adventure tourism, religious tourism and wellness tourism.
Steps like streamlining visa processes, addressing safety concerns, improving infrastructure, fostering partnerships with the private sector and leveraging technology may be helpful for accelerating the growth of the tourism industry. So, if you see yourself as a part of this industry, then a travel and tourism course is what you need to consider. You will learn to plan and manage travel arrangements, hospitality, and customer service, to name a few skill sets. You get to develop your ability to multitask, communicate effectively and become an organisational genius, helping people have the trips of their dreams.
A typical travel and tourism course is an aggregate of leisure, comfort, luxury, and business travel and hospitality needs. Global Distribution Systems (GDS) are also a large part of this field. Any course in this discipline will include chiefly the fundamentals, history, business statistics and market trends, aviation management, and business regulatory framework of tourism along with basic data sciences that help you study and analyse the trends in the tourism industry.
You will also gain an in-depth knowledge of how tourism operates, airfare, industry terms, international destinations, reservations, ticketing, life and communication skills. In addition, the course will help you build your interpersonal and leadership skills to provide the best possible options for travellers and tourists.
Some of the most popular travel and tourism courses are:
B.A. in Travel and Tourism Management
B.B.A in Tourism Management
International Hospitality and Tourism Management
B.Sc. in Airlines, Tourism and Management
B.T.A (Bachelor of Tourism Administration)
B.H.M (Bachelor of Hotel Management)
Advanced Diplomas in Travel and Tourism
Some of the best places to study them are:
University Institute of Hotel Management and Tourism, Chandigarh
Christ University, Bangalore
Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla
Advanced Institute of Management – AIM, New Delhi
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
IGNOU, New Delhi
Madras University Distance Education, Chennai
National Institute of tourism and hospitality management, Hyderabad
International Institute of Hotel Management, Ahmedabad
IIHM, Kolkata
St Xavier’s College, Mumbai
Inspire Academy, Mumbai
YMCA Institute for Career Studies, New Delhi
Liverpool Hope University, UK
University of Canberra, Australia
University of Plymouth, UK
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
National University of Singapore
Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
EHL (Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne), Switzerland
University of Nevada, USA
Glion Institute of Higher Education, Switzerland
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Cornell University, USA
University of Surrey, UK
Griffith University, Australia
The amount of research that goes into choosing the right course can be mind-boggling. Since these courses are highly sought after, some universities have entrance exams to select candidates. The admission process at the diploma level also varies extensively with each university.
So, those keen to tolerate the inconvenience of body scans and pat-downs for the privilege of transporting our flesh-and-bone selves to far-flung locations, break bread with other incarnate beings and ready to explore the big and beautiful world out there, and revel in a new way of looking at things, here’s a toast to the world of breathtaking nature, which is not just a journey or a destination but a fresh perspective as well. After all, from the right point of view, every storm and every drop in it is a rainbow!
Dr Sanku Bose, Group CEO (Techno India Group)
