Travel and Tourism Organizations Education and Training

How to prepare for employment in tourism organizations
By Kate Esposito If you love to travel and entertain, you could find yourself quite at home working for hospitality and tourism organizations. Areas where you may want to seek employment are with councils for travel, travel agencies, travel associations and tour operators.

While starting a career with a travel association only requires a high school diploma, the field can be very competitive. The following types of training will help you get to where you want to go faster:

1. Obtaining a bachelor's degree or certificate in hospitality or tourism management;

2. Taking additional courses in a specific area of travel, such as ecotourism;

3. Traveling extensively, especially if you wish to work for international tourism organizations.

Look for schools that offer travel and tourism organizations education and training

Enrolling in a degree program can help you discover if travel association employment is really your calling. You can spend four years on a bachelor's degree or start working in the field sooner with a certificate program that takes two years or less.
Try:  Consider travel agent training through Gatlin Education Services. This company provides online training on how to use computerized booking systems for travel and tours, which will be useful no matter where you work. If you'd like to go the bachelor's degree route, check out Degree Directory's page on hospitality management for a list of recommended schools.

Research travel and tour organizations and choose a specialty

Instead of targeting all travel and tourism organizations to obtain employment, specialize to make yourself more marketable. You can do this by taking more targeted travel courses through travel association training centers.
Try:  Visit the Vocational Information Center's website for a huge listing of tourism specialties. Once you've chosen one, find a program to supplement your degree or certificate. For example, look at Tallahassee Community College in Florida if your interests lie in ecotourism; for example leading diving trips and planning adventure travel.

Book a few trips through travel organizations to learn how the process works

One of the best ways to become a well-rounded travel professional is, of course, to travel. Booking your trips through a travel organization will teach you about the customer experience and also help you get an idea of what you would change once you start working.
Try:  Attend the Travel and Tourism Research Association's annual conference. That way you can experience the kind of trips it organizes and learn more about tourism research at the same time. Also, take a vacation through STA Travel while you're in school. This premiere student travel association handles hundreds of arrangements for students, young adults and teachers.

• Before you decide to train to work for travel organizations, keep in mind that most positions entail an extensive amount of time away from home. Though it may sound exciting at first, it can become difficult if you wish to settle down and start a family.