How to Flourish as a Travel and Tourism Professional in Australia

[mary yohanan]

Tourism careers in Melbourne and other major cities across Australia are taking off as the travel and tourism market in Australia continues to grow year on year. This means lots of exciting new opportunities are out there for anyone already working in this industry, or for those looking to break into it. Take a look at these key tips on how to do well on this exciting career path, and watch your future soar along with the visitor numbers.

Be prepared for the working conditions

There are many different roles on offer in the travel and tourism field. Some involve long hours or unsocial shift patterns, they may be desk based or require working outside at times, mean working with the public or with numbers and words only. Basically, to do well, you need to discover where you shine and develop that into a career, rather than force yourself into the wrong role.

Polish up your customer service skills

Whether it's face to face, on the phone or over email, many tourism jobs involve working with the public, who are, of course, your customers. It's a given that you already like being around people, but learning how to really listen, make small talk, and smile regardless of how much your feet ache will make a huge difference to how successful you are in the job.

Be super organised

Most tourism careers in Melbourne involve key skills such as being able to prioritise tasks, retain and record information properly and, of course, to multi-task as necessary. It's a fast-paced industry with various responsibilities, so to do well you really need to be on the ball.

Master a second (or third) language

Although not everyone's a natural linguist, there are plenty of mainstream languages which can be picked up to some extent pretty easily. If you enjoy learning then tackling something less common such as Japanese or a Scandinavian language would give you a very good edge over others when it comes to tourism careers in Melbourne.

Get qualified

You don't always need an armful of certificates or diplomas to break into the tourism industry, but anyone looking to do well will always benefit from attending courses which deliver specialist knowledge. This is especially crucial if you are looking to move from one section of the travel industry to another. Applying for a ticketing job when you can prove you know how to operate the computer system obviously puts you ahead of applicants who don't.

Never stop learning

From informal networking to hear about how peers and colleagues approach work tasks, to attending training sessions and conferences, there are always ways you can demonstrate your commitment to learning and growing.

There are plenty of ways you can grow and thrive in the Australian tourist and travel industry, whatever your skill set, interests, abilities or preferences - so don't hold back, it's all out there waiting for you.