Types of Jobs

The airline industry is one of the largest sectors in travel. It's made up of hundreds of airlines worldwide, both big and small, and the companies that support them.

A vast array of personnel ensures that airports operate efficiently, safely and profitably.

About a half-dozen huge companies dominate this industry, with hundreds of thousands employed worldwide. Locations are most often at airports, but center-city locations are also common.

Most companies and organizations have employees who travel a great deal. To purchase and coordinate their travel, most large businesses have staff -- headed by corporate travel managers -- to oversee travel. At some companies, travel management is outsourced to travel agencies.

This is a highly diversified sector, with convention centers, hotels, visitors bureaus, meeting planners, transportation providers and the like all working together to facilitate conferences, board meetings, sales meetings, trade shows, educational sessions, workshops, exhibits and much more.

The cruise industry is one of travel's fastest growing sectors. It's divided into two large groups: onboard and land-based. In addition to the "megaships" and companies that operate them, there are also many "niche" cruise companies: small, education-oriented vessels, masted sailing ships, riverboats, sightseeing vessels, boat charters, etc.

In many businesses, travel is awarded to those who excel in on-job performance, sales, safety, etc. This is called incentive travel. Many tour-like companies specialize in designing, coordinating, operating and bringing an entertaining and motivational touch to incentive travel events.

It seems clear that much travel in the future will be bought on-line, either directly from suppliers (e.g., the airlines) or through "virtual" travel agencies and providers. Growth will be especially strong where a travel "commodity" (e.g., an airline ticket) is involved, less so when the travel product is a more complex experience (e.g., a tour).

Theme parks have become major forces in the travel industry, most especially in Florida and California. The largest ones also sell full travel packages (hotel, transportation, air and admissions) to the public

Train travel is projected to grow in the United States and it's already a major transportation choice outside the U.S. There are also "private" trains that carry tourists on scenic trips, sometimes for an hour or two, sometimes for thousands of miles.

For more information about careers in the travel and tourism industry, we recommend

Inside Secrets to Find a Career In Travel, by Karen Rubin.