by Maria Karafoulidou, Director of Tourism Department Delta 360 /HR Expert
I was asked to list 10 reasons why I would recommend a young person to pursue a degree in Tourism. Honestly, I sat down and thought for a few minutes which reasons I mention to a person when they visit me at my workplace, in order to convince them to study in Tourism.
Guess what! I found many more than 10! But I want my text to be to the point, so let’s discuss the most important ones among them:
1) Acquisition of unique experiences
The experiences of a tourism professional are very powerful, rich in emotions and based on human contact, service and human – client care.
2) Easy placement in the labour market
One of the most important factors in choosing a profession is undoubtedly the time between studies and placement in the labour market. Tourism professionals usually open the door to a bright career in the industry already from their studies years.
3) Variety of profession choices
When one is involved in tourism studies, he simultaneously cultivates his employment opportunities in many other industries besides hospitality: cruises, airlines, travel agencies, car rentals, catering, yachting, butling and a lot more.
RELATED ARTICLE: Customer diversity: One size doesn’t fit all HERE
4) Rapid career development
Particularly in seasonal hotels, the potential for employee development is really high. Although seasonality is not always an ally in the hotel recruiting process, development and training when and where offered become an important helper and motivation for an employee in the field.
5) Getting in touch with other cultures & places
A hotel employee can, if he wishes so, take advantage of the nomadic nature of his profession. Having the right skills, he can build a career both in Greece and around the world. In other words, he can become a professional without boundaries or barriers!
6) Great networking opportunities
A hotel employee can create a very good networking environment. He is able to make very good professional contacts that will eventually help him and – why not – develop him professionally and personally.
7) Qualitative, clean & pleasant working environment
It is, after all, special and enjoyable for an employee to spend his day in a beautiful, clean and often luxurious workplace. It is an image that an employee accompanies with his equally thoughtful uniform appearance.
8) Skills development
Through day-to-day work, a hotel employee gets the chance to exercise his foreign language skills, especially in English. A single season is enough for him to feel so much confident in talking in different languages!
RELATED ARTICLE Hard VS Soft skills: Hospitality Edition HERE
9) Employee benefits provided
When an employee works in a hotel away from home, employer pays for his cost of living, food and travel. This allows employees to save money and often encourages them to choose an employer far from home.
10) Guess what
Lastly, I would ask all young people out there, who are interested in Tourism, to study in the industry and discover all the other reasons alone!
To finish up, let’s not forget that the ultimate reason for studying in Tourism is the endless willingness of offering and serving the others… Hope I helped you make the most suitable choice for you!
