In The Travel Industry
In the case of world travel, studies have been done showing that half of all baby boomers or people aged 45 to 59 dream about it. The people who are over 55 account for 32 percent of all hotel accommodations purchased in the United States here. A lot of these people who spend large sums of money on restaurants, lodging, tours, and sightseeing are leisure travelers.
It will not take a crystal ball to predict the impact of aging but active baby boomers on the travel industry. Taking trends toward early retirement and a healthy economy into consideration, the demographics forecast an unprecedented boom in the travel industry. Here, nearly always good news for job seekers and career changers is an industry boom. You should explore your options if you are considering work in the travel industry.
Aside from being a travel agent, do consider positions in marketing, Web page management, sales, and publishing as well. When it comes to this, consider the niches that serve mature travelers such as the group tour industry. When it comes to a growth area with increasing competition from new companies, these are packaged tours for seniors according to a group travel manager for a travel agency. Here, several job opportunities include bus driver, tour guide, planner, customer service representative, and marketing specialist. When it comes to this travel agency, their trips are meant for seniors and so mature drivers and escorts are especially appreciated here. A majority of their drivers are retired postal workers and city bus drivers. It is a good bond which exists between the passengers and the drivers because they share the same humor and outlook and they are of the same age. Travel agents can benefit from training even though no specific training is needed when it comes to many of the jobs in the travel and hospitality industry.
It is starting as an outside travel agent before making the leap to running your own agency that is advisable the vice president of marketing for a retail travel agents association said. By booking travel arrangements for family and friends you may receive a commission from an established agency. In this case, you can capitalize on the trend toward senior travelers by considering a special training program, such as the certification as a Specialist in Mature Adult Travel, sponsored by the association of American travel agents.
When she had an idea to work for the travel industry, what one lady did was take early retirement from a US company after 30 years in supervision and customer service. She sent letters and resumes to dozens of tour groups after conducting some research. The response was not heartening. What she decided to do was send another letter after several months, this one to the very top, and the vice president in charge of tours gave her a job offer.
After this event which happened five years back, she started as a part time marketing specialist and quickly added the title Tour Escort to her resume. Now, in her 50s, she accompanies groups of senior travelers to such destinations as Branson, Missouri and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In her words, she gets a lot of satisfaction from seeing people have a good time.
It can be exciting seeing the shows and sometimes getting up close to the stars when in Branson. There are other forms of enjoyment for her including the confidence expressed by groups that request her as the escort on their trips and the friendships she has formed with passengers. Through these advantages, she gets help to balance the hard work inherent in days that can start before dawn and end long after the sun has set.