Nowadays, developing a successful career has become one the greatest human desires. Career men and women all over the world strive to develop a successful career in their lifetime. Primarily, a career refers to an occupation that is undertaken by an individual for a significant period of his or her life and which has opportunities for advancement or progress. It is the job or the series of jobs that an individual engages in during their working life and how one progresses to better positions in their occupation (McKay, 2017). Therefore, in this respect, a successful career refers to a situation where professional gets to showcase their talents, live their passion, fulfill individual values while making a living that can support them and their families (Farren, 2013). It is, however, important to note that the definition of a successful career may vary from one individual to another. What one person may regard as a successful career may not be what the next person regards as success (McKay, 2017). Therefore, it is important for every individual to determine what a successful career means to them. In the tourism industry, professionals get many opportunities to advance their career and achieving their personal career success goals (Farren, 2013). In this industry, networking with people from various backgrounds plays an important role in advancing one’s career opportunities. However, there are various challenges that they may encounter while working in the tourism sector. Therefore, to develop a successful career in the industry would involve defining personal career success objectives, networking with people and identifying the possible challenges that one may face while working within the sector.
Having a well-established network has become an essential part of human life. By and large, it is a vital career development skill. Primarily, networking refers to tapping into the connections that one and having a career conversation with the person with the purpose of exploring careers or looking for a job. In tourism, networking can help an individual get a job or advance their career. It is worth noting that networking can either be done face to face or through online platforms. By and large, a face-to-face networking is important as it helps an individual in developing personal connections with people and helps to gain maximum benefits in one’s career. In addition, face to face networks are advantageous because they enhance the level of trust between the parties involved (Young, 2015). Additionally, it is easier to exchange information and ideas. Most importantly, this form of networking opens to the possibility of an individual building more contacts who can help in advancing one’s career (Honeycutt, 2017).
Nonetheless, this does not mean that online networking is less beneficial. Online networking also has numerous benefits (Madar, 2017). Firstly, online networks can help an individual to meet new people in their career path that can help them in advancing their careers. Additionally, they save on time and costs involved in setting up face-to-face meetings (Advantages of Online, n.d.). What is more, online networks provide an opportunity to meet new people across the world and develop meaningful career relations that can help one grow.
Building and developing networks during the course of one’s study and after comes in handy when one is looking for a job opportunity. As such, these networks can act as mentors or even connect you with people in the tourism industry, and therefore help in securing a meaningful job in the industry. Thus, students should strive to build meaningful networks in and out of school.
The tourism industry is associated with a wide array of professional benefits. One major benefit of working in this industry is that it allows an individual to explore their creativity as the industry involves constantly offering new products, packages and experiences to clients. Therefore, the creativity of an individual is explored. In addition, the industry provides great opportunities for career development and growth (Top 10 Reasons, n.d.). Furthermore, the industry allows workers to work with people from various backgrounds therefore helping them to develop their interpersonal skills and capabilities (Goad, n.d.). It is also worth noting that working in tourism provides a professional with the opportunity of touching and changing the lives of people through interactions and new experiences (The Many Benefits, n.d.). Most importantly, the tourism industry offers the professional benefit of transferable skills. That is to say, the skills used in the trade can be used in almost every part of the world.
As an individual that aims at working in the industry, there are various expectations. First, one expects to work in an environment that supports creativity and fulfills their passion for career advancement. Additionally, an individual expects to get new experiences every now and then as the trade involves interacting with people from all over the world. Furthermore, one would expect to acquire a global skill set while working in the sector.
There are various entry level roles in the tourism industry. They include hosts or hostess, tour guides, front desk clerk, among others.
The position of a host or hostess involves various duties and responsibilities. A host(ess) is In charge of making the first contact with the client and is therefore in charge of making the guest feel welcomed at the facility. Additionally, it involves managing incoming calls, making reservations and cancellations. At other times, the position may involve making special event bookings and selective administrative tasks.
The position of a tour guide involves escorting tourists to places of interest such as museums, cruises, galleries, game parks and other well known landmarks. It also involves describing the tour points, their history and importance to visitors. A tour guide is also expected to respond to the questions that the tourists might have.
A front desk clerk is responsible for handling the front office operations such as reception and administration duties. Often, it involves answering phones, responding to inquiries, distributing mail, and greeting guests and directing them within the facility (Henderson, 2018).
Of the three entry level positions, the tour guide position would be more suitable as it offer the opportunity to learn more about tourist destinations of the world. Additionally, it involves interacting with people from all over the world, thereby offering an opportunity to network and share ideas with other people. For this reason, this is the best option for me.
Despite the many benefits associated with working in the tourism industry, there are various challenges that may arise from it. These challenges include seasonality, poor pay and unequal treatment.
One major challenge faced by workers in the tourism industry is the seasonality of demand for tourism products. As such, the seasonality of the industry affects all aspects of the supply side including the labor market, marketing, business finance, and stakeholder management. Particularly, the labor market is affected in terms of the nature and quality of employment as workers are affected by the possibility of losing their jobs when the season is low (Jolliffe and Farnsworth, 2003). In Australia, for example, the peak season falls between December and February. Afterwards, the low season begins and runs from May all the way too August (Best times, n.d.). Thus, the main challenge posed by the seasonality of the sector is the sustainability of the jobs.
In order to cope with the seasonal nature of the industry, one would have to look for an alternative employment that would ensure a stable income during the low season period in the tourism sector. This could be in the form of freelancing activities online or part-time work in the hotel industry as the skill set between the two industries overlap.
When compared to other industries, the wages and compensation offered to workers in the tourism sector is significantly low. According to The Guardian (1999), very few tourists are willing to pay to more than the nominal fee to tour personnel despite the fact that they may possess exemplary guiding qualifications. Another study conducted in 2012 reveals that most tourism jobs are low paying, offer little or no employee benefits and are seasonal (Gleason, 2012).
Just like when dealing with the seasonality challenges of the industry, the problem of low compensation and no benefits can be overcome by getting a second job to complement the income earned from the tourism industry. Also workers may join unions and demand for better pay and working conditions from their employers
Just like any other industry, the workers in the tourism industry have reported unfair or unequal treatment from their employers in the industry. As such, some management officials tend to favor some employees more than others, something that significantly affects the morale of workers (Aynalem, Birhanu and Tesefay, 2016).
Employees can overcome this challenge by ensuring that they communicate to the top management their concerns about unfair treatment at the workplace. In turn, this would go a long way in creating equal opportunities for all workers in the industry.
Conclusion
All in all, all factors taken into consideration, a career in the tourism offers lucrative benefits. These advantages include an opportunity to change people’s lives, live one’s passion and exercise creativity. However, there are various challenges associated with the sector, among them low pay, unfair treatment and seasonality of jobs. Therefore, before setting one mind’s to pursue the career one must clearly define what they would regard as a successful career and determine if a job in the industry would fulfill those expectations.
Reference List
Aynalem, S., Birhanu, K., and Tesefay, S. (2016). Employment Opportunities and Challenges in Tourism and Hospitality Sectors. Journal of Tourism Hospitality, 5, pp. 257.
Best Times to Visit Sydney. [Online] US News Travel. Available at: https://travel.usnews.com/Sydney_Australia/When_To_Visit/ [Accessed 21 May. 2018].
Farren, C. (2013). What Is a Successful Career? [Online] Mastery Works, Inc. Available at: https://www.masteryworks.com/newsite/clientimpact/impact_archives_feb2013.htm [Accessed 21 May. 2018].
Glleason, K. (2012). Is tourism a low-income industry? Evidence from three coastal regions. [Online] Journalist’s Resource. Available at https://journalistsresource.org/studies/economics/jobs/tourism-industry-wages-u-s [Accessed 4 May. 2018].
Goad, G. (2012). Career Beginnings: A Guide To Entry-Level Positions In Hospitality & Tourism. [Online] Talent Egg. Available at: https://talentegg.ca/incubator/2015/05/15/career-beginnings-guide-entrylevel-positions-hospitality-tourism/ [Accessed 21 May. 2018].
Henderson, K. J. (2018). Duties of a Front Desk Receptionist. [Online] Chron. Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/duties-front-desk-receptionist-1336.html [Accessed 21 May. 2018].
Honeycut, L. (2017). The Importance of Face-to-Face Networking in a Digital World. [Online] Entrepreneur. Available at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/288530 [Accessed 21 May. 2018].
Jolliffe, L. and Farnsworth, R. (2003). Seasonality in tourism employment: human resource challenges. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 15(6), pp.312-314.
Madar, A. H. (2017). The importance of online Networking through social media. [Online] WMPU. Available at: https://wpmu.mah.se/nmict171group4/2017/03/10/online-networking-through-social-media/ [Accessed 21 May. 2018].
Mckay, D. R. (2017). What is a Career?. [Online] The Balance. Available at: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-is-a-career-525497 [Accessed 21 May. 2018].
The Guardian. (1999). All work and low pay. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/1999/aug/14/2 [Accessed 21 May. 2018].
The Guardian. (1999). All work and low pay. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/travel/1999/aug/14/2 [Accessed 21 May. 2018].
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Top 10 Reasons for a Tourism Career. [Online] go2HR. Available at: https://www.go2hr.ca/careers-tourism/top-10-reasons-tourism-career [Accessed 21 May. 2018].
Young, M. (2018). The Importance of Networking Online and Offline. [Online] Tweak Your Biz. Available at: https://tweakyourbiz.com/management/2015/02/25/importance-networking-online-offline/ [Accessed 21 May. 2018].
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