WHY STUDY TOURISM?
Raised eye brows and surprised fill glance is what I often encounter on broaching the topic of Studying Tourism… The question that pops up is, “Tourism??? Do you have to study it in the first place? So, due to rare nature of the subject I thought of offering insights on what are the benefits that one can get after opting for Tourism Studies as a major subject.
1) GO GLOBAL
Tourism is indeed a global industry. Tourism Graduates can easily fetch employment internationally thus activating the globe of opportunities.
2) PROJECT WITH PRIDE
Studying tourism empowers the learners to better interpret India to the world and various components attached with it like monuments, traditions, culture, food, nature, environment and much more with pride thus creating the better image of India in the minds of the foreign tourists and a sense of pride about the rich culture in the minds of domestic tourists . This is because the students are trained extensively on subjects like Tourism Destinations, tourism products of India, cultural and heritage tourism of India etc.
3) SCOPE WITH HOPE
By studying tourism you position yourself right in the very center of service. You will learn skills that are transferable to many other industries. Being a service and human-to-human industry, it is also one of those that will need hard-working and creative people in the future. Studying tourism truly widens the scope as students can fetch both on field and off-field jobs.
Most jobs in the tourism industry are about creating experiences for the traveler. This is what makes this industry especially interesting. When you are studying tourism you will learn how to create these memorable experiences. When you are working in the industry, you will need to be able to adapt and improvise what you have learned as.
Jobs can range from ticketing agent, reservations executives, operations executive, holiday expert, product development executives, destination sales personnel, Tour Managers, Tour Guide, Events Manager, Concierge, Site Supervisor, Activity Managers, site managers, rangers and many more…
4) COUNTLESS AND ENDLESS OPPORTUNITIES
First and foremost tourism is a global industry. From Antarctica to space there are tourists everywhere. Studying tourism gears you up with COUNTLESS AND ENDLESS opportunities in different sectors within the grand umbrella of Tourism Industry. Be it working in Travel Agencies, Tour Operating Companies, Airlines, Airports, Visitor Information Centers, Theme parks, Cruise Ships, Excursion handling companies, convention centers, destination management companies there’s always more in the store with no end…
5) BEYOND 9-5 AND 4 WALLS OF OFFICE
How about working on a tree top in the midst of a forest, working in your cruise cabin while sailing on Pacific Ocean, making the game lodge in a national park amidst wilderness as your office, This is the only stream that allows you to convert the exotic locations around the world into your work space as work in tourism is a blend of on desk and on field tasks. Variety is a spice of life and working in tourism fills your life with plenty such moments…
6) BE CREATIVE
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If you are a great conversationalist, love to innovate, love to create memorable moments for others, can think on the feet, can calmly handle difficult situations that arise then studying tourism can help you to sharpen these. This is because, when you study tourism you study wide range of subjects like Marketing and Sales, Human Resources, Economics, Finance, Operations Planning, sustainability and many more. Study of such a wide range of topics can certainly trigger the flow of creativity in you.
7) OUT OF SUITCASE
If you are smitten by wanderlust and don’t want to return to the regular life, you still need the money to survive. And the only field that enables you to do this is Tourism. REMOTE WORKING enables you to live out of suit case and treat the meandering soul in you with exotic locales while raking in the moolah to be spent for your next journey.
8) SKILLED YOU
Learning allied subjects along with the domain specific subjects ensures holistic development and equips one with the skill set that can be applied in many other areas within the services sector. The learning in tourism is a harmonious amalgamation of classroom learning and on field learning. It is a practice-oriented field and an interesting one. It is in constant growth and needs more and more skilled workers and innovators every year. There are so many good reasons why you should study travel and tourism.
9) IT’S JUST SUPERB FUN!
It’s a real FUNN to work in tourism as no two days can ever be identical. This being a people oriented industry one ends up meeting different kinds and types of people almost every day. It’s not only about meeting people but also about understanding their culture, traditions, behavior, mentality etc. It’s the field with the maximum scope for cross cultural engagement. One can truly develop multi-cultural competence in this sector as work involves interacting and coordinating with people of different nationalities. It’s SUPERB because your clients will always remember you as a perfect HOLIDAY PERSON for diligently designing that perfect holiday package for them by packing in plenty of fun and frolic.
10) YOU SHOOT UP GDP
I mean literally you are a party to it… did you know that tourism earns maximum FOREX for any country. Being a part of this sector enables you to contribute to this trend. No wonder some developing countries bestowed with nature’s bounty, heritage, history are retorting to Tourism to ameliorate their ailing economies.
11) TRAVEL FOR FREE
Successfully working in tourism entails that one needs to have superior destination knowledge. Which can mean knowledge on attractions, accessibility to and at the destination, exotic locales, best areas for tourist to stay, accommodation options at the destination and much more. And, no amount of virtual research can be sufficient for this. You have to be there at the place physically to understand these things and the nuances connected with them. This means that you get to travel on a sponsored trips frequently either as a group guide or for the purpose of familiarizing oneself with the destination. This travel truly broadens your horizon and truly shapes you as a person as you learn to celebrate diversity.
