Careers
In the present decade, more than ever before, greater numbers of people are
travelling farther from home, for both business as well as for pleasure. This is
a trend that has proportionately extended the variety and complexity of needs
and expectations of tourists the world over. Consequently, the tourism industry
has witnessed an unprecedented boom. Hotels and travel agencies have
therefore had to standardise and professionalise their operations, - providing
a wider range of in-house facilities and incentives, in order to stay ahead in this
keenly competitive field.
The tourism industry is inter-functional in its operations - various overlapping
industries like hospitality, leisure, surface transport, civil aviation, travel and t
ourism, hoteliering and catering form an important and integral part of this industry.
Travel and Tourism
Travel and Tourism is probably the world's largest industry.
The main reasons for travel today are leisure, business and government work
the first two providing the majority of the industry's client el. The travel and tourism
industry is the largest foreign exchange earner among all our industries and
currently provides direct employment to over fifty lakh people, and indirectly
covers possibly all areas of economic activity.Moreover,the number is likely
to increase with massive plans for future expansion, creating a demand for
skilled, trained personnel in various spheres of the industry
Hotel Management
Hotels are amongst the most visible and important aspects of a country's
infrastructure, both generally as well as vis-à-vis tourists. The quality and
availability of accommodation at any destination determines its inflow of visitors.
At the present rate of growth of Indian Tourism, the future for those attempting
to make a career in Hotel Management is extremely bright. The Department of
Tourism expects that by the end of this century, the annual requirement for
hotel rooms will be around one lakh-signifying a sizeable increase in the
number of hotels and skilled personnel required to run them. The requirement
for manpower too is estimated to be 45,000 .
With increasing internationalisation, jobs in Hoteliering are also likely to open up
internationally, offering better remuneration and opportunities for travel as
well as prospects of professional and personal growth.
ELIGIBILITY AND TRAINING
It is relatively easy to enter courses designed for Travel & Tourism. The main
areas such as travel agencies, transport, jobs at hotels, airline work all have
good institutions that give training for about minimum 1-2 years with an
adequate amount of practical training. The institutions run on the guidelines
provided by the Indian Institute of Travel and Tourism Management and accurate
information can be obtained by contacting the institutions directly.Some of the
admission criteria is given in the Information on Institutions section.
Eligibility :
Students can enter the undergraduate courses with a Higher Secondary
certificate while the post-graduate courses, require graduation in any field.
The Indian Institute of Travel and Tourism Management This a reputed National
centre for the education, training and research in the 'travel and tourism'
management field. It is an autonomous organisation on the Ministry of
Tourism, Government of India. It gives substantial amounts of help to graduates,
directly and also via the Universities to enter the careers dealing in tour operation,
leisure management, transportation,accommodation and interpretation services.
It aims at reaching complete professionalism of all human resources involved
in tourism, through the academic courses.
The Institute works in collaboration with the International Institute of Tourism
Studies at the George Washington University and receives lot of academic
support. Programmes are being developed with many international universities
(Univ. of Calgary in Canada, New School of Social Research, New York and
many more) for the purpose of faculty- exchange programmes, sharing of
facilities and knowledge which will benefit students and faculty equally.
Eligibility & Requirements to enter these courses -
Graduate degree; - Age should not be more than 28 years SC/ST/OBC/
Ex serviceman + 5 years; - an entrance exam needs to be given at the
specific places - Bhubaneshwar, Calcutta, Chennai, Delhi, Gwalior and
Mumbai, which consists mainly of General Knowledge questions
and secondly, an interview. Number of seats available at each
centre is quite limited - only 50 - which makes entry very competitive.
