Growing Travel and Tourism Industry is Creating Millions of Jobs across Asia Pacific Every one out of 10 jobs in the world is backed up by this sector
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With the digital transitioning into the core of every business and every industry, the disruption in the employment landscape of the Asia Pacific is well underway. The present job market has come a long way from what it actually had been a decade ago as it is no longer a bit similar to what it had been earlier. The businesses which have always enjoyed the stature of a successful business realize the massive potential for revenue growth and competitiveness that digitization brings, and so, there occurs a tectonic shift in the hiring trends and the job opportunities. With every innovative and new business model coming into existence, the skill set in higher demands is bound to change through all leaps and bounds.
Job Creation
Travel and tourism industry is one such sector, which is evolving at a rapid rate creating more job opportunities for the youth. Research suggests that every one out of 10 jobs in the world is backed up by travel and tourism. In 2017, the worldwide tour and travel industry turned out to be 10.4 per cent of global GDP with 313 million employees, says the report of World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
As of now, there are endless job opportunities for the youth in travel agencies, tour operators, ticketing officers, transport officers, logistics, hotel management, airlines, and cruises. Seven or eight years from now, travel and tourism is expected to create 20,037,000 jobs directly, concentrated in Asia and Africa region. The countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Northeast Asia are emerging as a new hub for travel and tourism. India is one of the fastest growing nations in terms of employment growth in travel and tourism with a GDP growth forecast at 6.7 per cent per year.
Besides India, China and Japan also dominate the travel and tourism employment in the Asia-Pacific region.
Better Opportunities
Tours and travel activities in the age of Internet generate new revenue streams as it allows travel brands to identify versatile preferences and interests of the travelers and accordingly design their business model. Earlier, the opportunities around tours and activities had been dismissed by job seekers, for the industry stood highly fragmented and not standardized. However, the digital transformation of the industry joined the dots and expanded the tails of small travel brands which relied on phone calls and paper ticketing. Today, travel brands are turning up to the latest technologies such as AI and blockchain for producing authentic and better booking experiences spearheading the demand for data analysts and scientists, process automation experts, information security analysts, robotics engineers, software and applications developers, and blockchain specialists. An urgent need for digital marketing experts is realized by such travel brands, which can effectively market their services online and win more customers online. SEO executives, content writers, e-commerce, and social media managers are massively hired to keep pace with the growing trend of travel and technology.
As the entire growth and revenue of tourism depend on the travel and accommodation experiences, hotel brands are making the best out of the opportunities to deliver the travelers a luxurious-leisure experience in an affordable package. Modern design aesthetics, better use of digital technology in connecting the travelers, redesigning the communal spaces in the midscale hotels attract more footfalls. The hotels are the new obsession of the entrepreneurs and investors as they are cheaper in developing, require small staffs, and generate more revenue.
Many airlines are also making big investments in airport and fleet expansions for catering and capitalizing on the growing demands in tours. Airlines are now upgrading the fleets with attractive amenities to meet travelers' expectations, such as new seats, overhead bins, power for devices, and satellite Wi-Fi services. No doubt, the airlines are in a race to obtain aircraft financing, fleet upgradation, and expansion which will open up hundreds of jobs in medical departments, ground services department, engineering and maintenance, and cabin crew. The job aspirants can apply for jobs in the aforementioned departments and get hands on the best compensation package, insurance, and benevolent scheme offered in the industry. Grabbing the opportunity to travel across the globe, jobs in airlines have become the prime choice of many.
The Restaurant Effect
The restaurant market has also emerged as competitive with growing tourism. For restaurant brands to become successful, they have to promote themselves exceptionally well along with offering good food at the best prices. Restaurants have to work on the menu value, quality, right managers, and the qualified staff for projecting agile business growth. Jobs like restaurant managers, chefs, and executive managers are in great trend. Along with the degrees in hospitality and business management, the candidates should have a sound knowledge of the restaurant software such as OpenTable.
As the face of the travel and tourism industry across the Asia Pacific is taking a new shape, there is a growing need of upgraded skills and talents, leading transformation in the current job profiles. The specific workforce skills essential to perform the new-age job and tasks are shifted from the average level to the advanced. And that's why tourism is made part of education and academic curriculum in many universities.
