Profession Tourism Manager: Responsibilities, Skills, Requirements

A tourism manager is a profession that many dream of. Recently, traveling abroad has become especially fashionable, so such specialists are very popular and in demand on the labor market.

What are the features and prospects of the profession? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this specialty? What are the requirements of employers? Read more about this in our material.

If we talk about a brief description of the profession, the job of a travel manager is to make your travel dreams come true. However, this description is quite romantic. The fact is that many people who love to travel tend to become tourism managers. but it should be borne in mind that traveling alone and helping other people organize travels are completely different and little related to each other.

So, the work of the tourism manager is quite multifunctional and consists in solving a number of problems. Depending on the specific place of work, superiors and job descriptions, responsibilities can vary significantly. So, in some travel agencies and companies you can find universal specialists who, by their functional capabilities, are handymen and can perform almost any task.

In larger companies, the internal arrangement is completely different: in such companies, ticket managers, specialists who directly communicate with clients, legal personnel who assist in obtaining visas and insurance, as well as other highly specialized professionals are distinguished.

Like any other profession, the position of tour manager is characterized by a large number of advantages and disadvantages. That is why, before you go to study in this area or find a job, you should familiarize yourself with all the characteristics.

First of all, consider benefits of work.

• Perspective and career growth. The tourism industry is rapidly growing and popular, so there is a constant demand for professional staff. Accordingly, getting a similar profession, you can be sure that in the future you will be provided with a place of work.
• The ability to travel. Despite the fact that the routine work of the tourism manager in itself is not connected with constant travel, there is a possibility that you will go on permanent business trips or even work abroad. In addition, company employees often receive discounts on tours.
• High salary. Due to the fact that for the most part travel companies are private business organizations, highly qualified specialists with relevant work experience, knowledge, skills and professional skills can rely on a rather large material reward for their work.

However, despite the large number of positive characteristics of the profession, there are negative points.

• High stress level. In the process of work, tourism managers on an ongoing basis have to solve a variety of issues and force majeure. For example, customers canceled the order at the last moment, they cannot get the necessary documents, canceled the flight, there are no empty seats in the hotel, and so on. Moreover, even in such situations, the manager must remain calm and professional. Only in this way will it be possible to solve a particular contentious issue, as well as satisfy customers.
• Responsibility. Performance of duties contains a high level of responsibility. So, the tour manager has to deal with personal data of clients, their confidential information, with large amounts. All this implies a responsible, attentive and disciplined work of a specialist.
• Seasonality Despite the fact that traveling around the world is available at any time of the year, the work of travel agencies is seasonal. The most active will have to act during the holidays and vacations, while passive periods may occur outside these time periods. Accordingly, your income may vary regardless of your efforts.

The manager working in a travel agency provides a fairly wide range of services. So, his responsibilities include communication with the client, booking tickets, interacting with government agencies regarding paperwork and much more. In this regard, the tour manager must know all the internal processes of the company.

Let's consider in more detail and specifically what the tourism manager does:

• develops and builds tourist routes;
• organizes excursions;
• comes up with entertainment programs;
• book tickets for airplanes, trains, buses;
• book places in hotels, hostels;
• negotiates with international partners;
• draws up documents (for example, visas, insurance and others);
• compiles and sells complete travel programs;
• conducts marketing campaigns;
• receives calls;
• advises clients (in person, by telephone, by e-mail).

In order for the tourism manager to be able to perform his professional functions at the highest level, he must meet some of the requirements that employers put forward.

For example, large and prestigious travel companies will hire only those specialists who have specialized higher education. Some employers accept specialists with any higher education, and small firms can hire a person who has completed the relevant courses.

One way or another, but there are other, more general requirements. Refers to them Knowledge of foreign languages. Moreover, the more languages ​​you know, the more serious your advantage compared to other applicants.

Also important Be pretty confident and sociable. The ability to speak beautifully - An important feature of any tourism manager, as he spends a significant part of his time communicating with clients.

Sales skills will be an absolute plus, because you have to persuade the client to use the services of your travel company. The ability to hold a large amount of information in the head and good memory are also very important.

The tourism manager needs to know and be able to quite a lot. This applies to both professional characteristics and personal qualities and character traits. Consider a few skills that are useful to every tour manager.

• Non-conflict. This character trait will be relevant for all employees of a travel company. The fact is that not every your client or business partner will be satisfied with services or cooperation. In this regard, conflict and stressful situations may arise that need to be able to smooth out.
• Ability to make decisions independently. In the process of work, controversial difficult situations may arise when you will not have the opportunity to think about the situation for a long time or turn to the authorities. In this case, you will have to make a decision quite quickly and independently, as well as be prepared to bear responsibility for it.
• Sociability. Communication with clients and business partners is an essential part of the work of a tourism manager. Therefore, such a profession may not be suitable for a closed and shy person.
• Computer skills. The tourism manager should be an experienced and active user of both the computer and the Internet. In the process, it will be necessary to use a variety of programs for planning and reporting. And also you need to be able to find the information you need anytime, anywhere.
• Knowledge of the tourist market. It is very important to navigate in all new trends and fashion trends. Only in this way will you as a specialist remain relevant and competitive in the labor market, and your company, in turn, will be popular among customers.
• Marketing knowledge. You must know the basics of the advertising business, be able to correctly submit information about your activities, as well as the activities of your company.

Each tour manager receives a salary for his work. Moreover, it can be formed in different ways.So, some agencies offer their employees a clearly defined rate, and the salary of other specialists depends on the number of tours issued and sold by them. In addition, the size of the salary depends on the position of the employee in the company: whether he is the head of the department or an assistant. In general, the tour manager earns an amount in the range from 20,000 to 100,000 rubles (and sometimes even more).

The relevance of the profession in the field of tourism and hotel business is increasing every year. In this regard, new tourism companies and agencies are constantly appearing on the territory of our country. Young professionals begin their career path precisely in such organizations. However, over time, many of them create their own company with a large number of subordinates or become individual entrepreneurs and provide services privately.

Almost every young specialist begins his career in the tourism sector, getting a job in a travel agency. Often, those who have just graduated from the university are taken on the post of assistant, secretary or assistant to an already established tourism manager. In this position, a young man learns the basics of the profession.

After that, you can get the position of the tour manager directly and be fully responsible for compiling the tours. Moving up the career ladder You can become the head of a department, branch or even the whole company.

In addition, you can become a highly specialized specialist. For example, managers who can organize a business trip (for example, to a business forum or conference) are popular. The organization of individual tours (for example, for representatives of show business) is also considered prestigious work.

If you want to receive the profile education of a tourism manager and become a highly qualified specialist, then after school you need to go to the appropriate educational institution. So, after the 11th grade, you can go to higher education institutions (universities), and after the 9th grade, you can go to college. Here you will get all the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities from scratch. Besides, some universities help their graduates with internships, internships, and even job placement.

To get a specialty, you need to take clearly defined subjects, which you should learn about in the admissions office of your chosen university.

Due to the fact that obtaining a higher education takes a rather long time, this option is not suitable for everyone. Many undergo distance learning and complete specialized courses. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that a person with a diploma will have an advantage in the employment process.

People engaged in tourism activities respond differently about their work. For example, many are disappointed in the profession, since it (for the most part) is a regular office job, and not constant travel and creative campaigns. In this regard, a very It is important to evaluate in advance all the advantages and disadvantages of the profession, as well as your strengths and weaknesses, so that you do not regret your chosen career path.

On the other hand, many tour managers respond positively about their position and say that it can bring desire and perseverance high income. And also many are attracted corporate discounts on tours.

In general, the choice is yours. But remember that in this area there are both positive and negative traits.