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Industry Overview - Hospitality and Tourism

Overview
The hospitality and tourism industry has changed more than a little since hotels and motels were created.  Today, there are more billions of guest rooms around the world, and tourists and business people spend about multi-billion dollars each year on travel globally. The industry includes biggest international chain of hotels like Sofitel, Novotel, Sheraton, Hilton, Marriot so many others. Today, the industry employs multi-million people directly and even more than that indirectly. For example the following personnel are employed by the hospitality and tourism industry:
Accountants, nurses, salespeople, lifeguards, park rangers, street cleaners, car rental agents, blackjack dealers, caterers, cruise directors, the tennis pro, the golf course groundskeeper-the industry employs these folks, waiters, receptionist, hotel managers, banquet managers, head waiters and so on.
Although many in the industry work in behind-the-scenes positions, those on the front lines-travel agents, front desk clerks, tour guides, and so on-must be enthusiastic and articulate. And in most any position, you'll need to have a love of service and a strong attention to detail. In the end, your job is about how satisfied you've made the customer.
Despite the size and complexity of the industry, today many of its arms are interconnected by technology. Computer systems now allow people to reserve airline tickets, rental cars, hotel rooms, and tours-all at the same time. These computer systems are called computer reservation systems (CRSs) or global distribution systems (GDSs). The biggest change in the travel industry in recent years has been the rise of the Internet. Earlier before internet existed, we had to speak with the travel agent, or call hotels and airlines directly, to make the travel plans. But as Internet usage spread, it became possible to use the new technology to research destinations and compare prices, or visit websites that provide all that information in one place.

Recession and Recovery
The economic recession has caused businesses, individuals, and families to cut back on their spending on travel, and fears of terrorism have made many folks even less inclined to travel. The results have included lower industry revenues, layoffs, and a tighter job market. Today, though, there are signs that people are starting to travel more and that the industry may be recovering. Industry analysts are expecting increasing demand for hotel rooms and seats on airline flights with an increase in job opportunities in many sectors of the industry.

Lodging
The lodging sector, which serves both vacationers and business travelers and which made billions in revenue, consists of hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfast providers, hostels, and places where you can stay the night. Lodging types include budget accommodations, mid-priced lodging and high-end luxury hotels, as well as hostels, campgrounds, and bed-and-breakfasts. Major players in this sector include Carlson Companies, Cendant, Hilton, Marriott, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Accor, and Choice Hotels.

Resorts
These are destinations built around a specific activity, attraction, or target demographic. Unlike the lodgings sector, this sector is focused squarely on the vacation market and includes timeshare accommodations.

Gambling
Only few countries and cities used to be the only places that came to mind when you mentioned the word casino but in recent years this sector has been growing around the world. Gaming businesses include casinos, riverboat casinos, racetracks, and racetrack casinos. Casinos can be stand-alone attractions, or can be combined with lodging facilities to make gambling resorts. This sector employs large number of people today.

Attractions
This sector comprises all the places you might visit as your primary destination while on vacation, as well as all those places you might stop to check out en route to your primary destination. In other words, everything from amusement parks and roadside attractions to notable natural landscapes, famous or historical buildings, and in some cases entire towns or cities. Universal Parks & Entertainment, Six Flags, Cedar Fair, and ClubCorp.

Travel Agencies and Travel Packagers
Travel agents and packagers help travelers plan their business trips and vacations. Travel agents help business travelers and tourists plan and purchase everything from airline tickets and car rentals to resort stays and attraction tickets. Travel packagers put together trips for individual tourists or groups of tourists, arranging for everything from hotel stays and restaurant reservations to tours guides, theater reservations, and sports lessons. Smaller travel agencies and packagers are more likely to focus on a single market, activity, or location. For example, one travel packager might focus on singles tours, another might offer only surf tours, and another may concentrate on tours of Asia.

Cruise Lines
Cruise lines are included in this profile because while other modes of transportation, like airlines, are primarily about getting passengers from place to place, on a cruise ship the trip is the focus. Indeed, cruise ships are essentially floating resorts, with all the activities and amenities of resorts of every kind. Major players here include Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Royal Olympic, and Star Cruises.


The outlook in the hospitality and tourism industry varies depending on the position and sector you're interested in working in:

• Opportunities in hospitality, which have been fewer than usual during the recent economic downturn, are projected to grow at a slightly greater rate than jobs overall.
• For travel agents, the outlook isn't nearly so bright, due to the growing popularity of travel websites for planning trips and making reservations among both individual and corporate travelers.

The hospitality and tourism industry is especially sensitive to the overall economy; when things are tough in the economy, business people tend to travel less, and would-be vacationers tend to scale back their travel plans, if not cancel them altogether. Events of global significance, such as terrorist attacks and disease epidemics, can also hurt the travel business. Be aware that, occasionally, the industry will go into a downturn, and that when that happens nobody's job is completely safe.A final note: Adventure travel is one particularly hot spot in the travel business these days. Competition is tough for positions in this sector, but jobs here should continue to grow in coming years.

Join the Industry, See the World
In an industry built around travel, it makes perfect sense: Many in hospitality and tourism get great discounts on everything from hotel and airline rates to event tickets. Imagine a trip to an exotic location every year. Imagine staying in four-star or five-star hotels.

In the Hospitality and Tourism there is always a place for you.
Working outdoors, way out in the desert, deep in the woods, or overlooking the ocean.
Surfing, or mountain bike, or working to preserve the environment?
Park rangers, lodging managers, golf pros, action-sports tour guides, and performing artists at theme parks and resorts.

Challenging
Customer service is the foundation of success in hospitality and tourism. In most jobs in this industry, you'll almost always be facing deadlines. Say you're a housekeeping manager. Will all the rooms vacated this morning be ready for new guests at the 3 p.m. check-in time?
Or say you're a travel agent. Are there any luxury-hotel rooms available this weekend? If there aren't, you won't be receiving any commission.
Or you're a tour guide, and one of your guests hasn't returned from the shopping excursion yet-even though the bus is supposed to leave in 3 minutes.
You'll find the usual array of corporate positions within the hospitality and tourism industry: marketing executives, salespeople, accountants, HR specialists, and the like. But the majority of the career opportunities in the industry are in more customer service-oriented areas.
Following are descriptions of some of those careers:
Restaurant Manager, Executive Chef,
Concierge, Lodging Manager, Meeting/Event Planner, Travel Agent, Corporate Travel Manager, etc.