Careers Explored: Travel Industry

Travel is part of everyday life for millions of people, yet many of the careers that make it possible remain largely out of sight. Airports, airlines, hotels and holiday companies may be familiar territory, but behind them is a vast range of careers that most travellers rarely see.

There are specialists deciding where airlines should fly, teams developing booking technology, and professionals working to make tourism more sustainable.

For students considering their future, the travel industry offers far more choice than they might expect. Alongside a passion for travel, organisations need people with skills in technology, engineering, marketing, sustainability, finance and data.

Lee Ison-Ainsworth, membership and strategy director at Advantage Travel Partnership, believes perceptions of the industry have not necessarily kept pace with that reality.

“I think, for many young people, the picture of a career in travel remains relatively narrow; perhaps working as cabin crew, as a travel consultant or as a representative overseas,” he says. “It’s understandable, because these are the roles people see most clearly.

“What is less visible is everything behind that customer experience; the people developing products, building technology, negotiating commercial agreements and helping travel businesses evolve.”

Lee knows something about the variety a career in travel can offer. He began as an apprentice travel consultant in a local travel agency before moving into product development and tour operations. His career has subsequently encompassed operations, technology and strategy, culminating in his current position.

Those experiences have taught me that career progression does not need to follow a fixed or linear route,” he says. “That is one of the industry’s greatest strengths: you can move across different disciplines, continue learning and develop a career around the contribution you want to make.”

So, what might some of those less obvious careers look like?

Deciding where we fly

When an airline announces a new route, it may be an exciting prospect for travellers, but deciding to connect two destinations is a major commercial decision.

Behind it are network and route planning teams tasked with working out where an airline should fly, how frequently it should operate and whether there is enough demand to make a route viable.

It is a job that combines an understanding of travel with plenty of analysis. Planners can examine passenger numbers, market trends and competitor activity alongside factors such as airport costs, aircraft availability and the connections passengers might make at either end of their journey.

The work doesn’t stop once a route has launched either. Its performance needs to be monitored so an airline can decide whether to increase or reduce flights, change the aircraft it uses or rethink its schedule.

For students who enjoy maths, analysing data and solving problems, it offers an example of how those skills can translate into a career in travel without necessarily working directly with passengers.

Routes into airline planning vary. Relevant degrees can include subjects such as economics, mathematics, business, aviation management and data-related disciplines, while some airlines also offer graduate programmes and opportunities to progress internally.

The starting salary for this type of role begins from around £26,000 per annum, depending on location.

The technology behind the trip

Searching for a flight, booking a hotel, receiving a digital boarding pass and managing a trip through an app are now everyday parts of travelling. Less obvious are the teams responsible for creating the technology behind them.

Digital product management is one example. Product managers help shape websites, apps and other digital services, identifying what customers need and working with software developers, designers and data specialists to turn those needs into functioning products.

In travel, that might involve improving an online booking process, introducing a new feature to an airline app or finding a simpler way for customers to manage their journey when plans change.

It requires more than technical knowledge. Communication, organisation, commercial awareness and the ability to understand a problem from a customer’s perspective are all important, particularly when balancing what customers want with what is technically possible.

There is no single prescribed route into product management. People enter from technology, business, marketing, design and data backgrounds, while apprenticeships and graduate programmes can offer other starting points.

Demand for digital expertise stretches well beyond product management too. Travel companies employ software developers, data analysts, UX (user experience) designers, business analysts and cyber-security specialists.

Lee says digital literacy is becoming “increasingly non-negotiable”, with AI adding another dimension to the skills travel businesses require.

AI is changing customer service (chatbots, personalised recommendations), pricing and revenue management, and even itinerary planning,” he explains. “This in turn creates demand for people who can build, train and manage these systems, not just use them.”

The salary for a role like this usually starts from £26,000, depending on location.

Making tourism more sustainable

Travel can bring considerable benefits to economies, but managing its impact on the environment and the places people visit is one of the industry’s biggest challenges.

Addressing that challenge requires specialist skills, and this is creating a range of career opportunities. Sustainability professionals can be found within airlines, airports, hotels, tour operators and destination organisations. Depending on the employer, their work might involve measuring environmental impact, reducing emissions and waste, developing sustainability strategies or working with suppliers to introduce more responsible practices.

Tourism can create jobs and bring money into communities, but high visitor numbers can also put pressure on local services and natural environments. Sustainable tourism professionals consider how those economic benefits can be balanced with the needs of residents and the environment.

Lee says the changing priorities of the industry are already influencing the skills employers need.

“Sustainability is reshaping supply chains, driving demand for specialists in carbon measurement, sustainable accommodation vetting, and policy/ compliance roles as regulation tightens,” he reveals.

The changes taking place across sustainability and technology aren’t simply creating opportunities within established professions.

He continues: “Together, these trends are creating entirely new job titles that didn’t exist five to 10 years ago – from AI product managers in travel tech to sustainability leads at tour operators – alongside more established roles that now require a much higher level of digital fluency than before.”

The routes into sustainability careers are as varied as the jobs themselves. Some positions require specialist environmental knowledge, while others draw heavily on research, project management and communication skills. Relevant degree subjects can include environmental science, sustainability, geography, tourism management and business.

A typical starting salary for this role is around £24,000, depending on location.

Finding your route

Perhaps one of the most important messages for students interested in the travel industry is that there isn’t a single route into it.

Lee’s own career began with an apprenticeship, an experience he credits with sparking the passion for travel that has remained throughout his career.

“University is absolutely not the only way in, and for many roles isn’t necessary at all,” he shares.

College and vocational courses provide one route into the industry. All Saints Sixth Form College at The Academy of St Nicholas in Liverpool, for example, offers a vocational course in travel and tourism.

Apprenticeships are another option, available in travel and tourism as well as areas such as business and digital marketing, while entry-level positions with travel agencies, tour operators, online travel businesses, airlines and airports offer another way to get started.

For those considering higher education, there are courses that can provide an opportunity to combine an interest in tourism with skills that can be applied across the wider industry. Liverpool Hope University’s degree in business management and tourism, for example, combines the study of contemporary tourism, including sustainable tourism, destination management and changing consumer behaviour, with areas of business such as finance, marketing, HR and operations.

University can remain particularly relevant for specialist careers in areas such as finance, law, marketing and data, as well as graduate programmes offered by larger travel businesses. But employers are also interested in what applicants can demonstrate beyond their qualifications.

Communication and people skills remain important, according to Lee, alongside problem-solving, digital literacy, commercial awareness and curiosity about the wider world.

Experience gained outside travel can count too. Lee adds: “A part-time job in retail, hospitality or customer service is often valued just as highly as a formal qualification.”

For Lee, however, awareness of those opportunities needs to begin much earlier.

“The travel industry needs to stop thinking about recruitment as something that starts when someone graduates,” he says. “It starts in schools. It starts with careers advisers. It starts with parents understanding that travel is a serious profession with opportunities to build long-term, fulfilling careers.”

For students considering their next step, his message is simple: “Don’t let the narrow, old-fashioned image of travel careers put you off. This industry is as much about technology, sustainability, data and strategy as it is about check-in desks and holiday brochures.”

Behind the familiar face of travel lies a much bigger industry, and potentially a career that hasn’t yet been explored.