TMI Academy of Travel Management & Training

Travel and hospitality industries are restructuring after past world events and the uncertainty surrounding future events. This is challenging, and at times like this, education, training and re-training become particularly important for all personnel in the travel industry. Uncertain times require different skills than those needed in times of growth; we are required to be innovative, pro-active and creative.

What the industry needs is courses with new skills and perspectives needed in uncertain times, new locations for some courses and new methods of delivery for some (on-line courses), as well as many of the standard topics and formats we have offered over the years.
Though the times are tough for travel professionals, training and education in the field provide us an opportunity to acquire new skills and broaden our perspectives.

Training programs are an effective way for employees to gain knowledge, expertise and certification. It is also an excellent way for mid-career managers and supervisors to learn new techniques and trends in travel management and upgrade their skills.

WTO (World Travel Organisation) has observed that the economic growth has imbibed in man the desire to travel more and more. The ever-increasing speed of conveyance and communication has further increased the intensity of Travel. This growth rate is estimated to increase by 7-8 % annually and thus, there is greater need for trained personnel available to meet the growing challenges.
 

A good training program in this field must include:

• Historical Background of the places of interest

• Geographical knowledge to formulate convenient iteneraries

• Emphatic knowledge about the mode of conveyance available

• Knowledge about various types of accommodation available to suit all pockets

• Sociological understanding of various customs/ traditions

• Rules and regulations pertaining to customs, immigration, health etc.

• Knowledge of schedules and time tables.

• Knowledge of the trading facilities available

• Knowledge f the prohibitions (if any) in various countries, the dos and donts applicable.

• Personality development in terms of communication and PR skills, Customer Relations and client handling, confidence building etc.

The dynamic travel industry is ever changing in its outlook, needs, requirements and expectations. As a professional in this industry a person needs to be highly skilled and motivated, besides having a pleasant personality and great communication and PR skills.  Education in our industry is not restricted to technical skills training like Ticketing, Computerized Reservations etc.

We need to educate entrants into the field on subjects like Marketing, Customer Relations, Business Management, and Conversational Skills as well.

However, not every individual is blessed with all these qualities. But they are not unachievable either. And this is where the need for soft skills training and education in the field of tourism arises.

Travel Industry as a whole encompasses all aspects of the trade including Airlines, Travel agencies, Tour Operating Companies, Various Airport Operations, Destination Management Companies as well as Hotels and the hospitality sector.

Education therefore becomes essential in these specific fields. An aspirant into any of these sub sectors must be equipped with the requisite technical skills. For instance, to be successful in the field of Travel Agency Operations, one must have complete knowledge of the way a travel agent functions, what are the necessary licences required, the infrastructural background needed, as well as the knowledge of formalities such as visa, immigration, ticket bookings, etc.

Training can and should take place at all points of a person’s career. It is human nature to be averse to monotony. And so, some learning is required at all times. Learning can be in any form, whether on the job or off the job.

Recently, a survey was done by Vincent Palacio in Belize, the objectives of which were to:

• Inform the Tourism Training Unit of the current and projected priority training needs of the tourism industry in Belize.
• Guide the Unit as to what courses to prepare and provide to the industry.
• Provide direction and focus to existing tourism training institutions countrywide as to what courses should be offered.
• Provide rationale for cost-effective training in a concerted and organized manner.
• Allow industry owners to develop a plan of action for tourism training in their establishment.
 

According to this survey, it was found out that the most popular mode of training is on the job training. 86% of the respondents of the survey use this method to train their staff, 20% use in-house classroom training, 6% use the services of an external trainer, 13% send their employees to local training institutions and only 5% use outside training institutions.

Current Type of training

The most popular time for conducting training is during the daytime (42% of the respondents) with training on weekend (90%) as the least favorable. However in our country, with hectic work schedules, day time training on weekdays may not be feasible for working professionals, and for this reason the concept of part time and weekend programs is catching on.

The main purpose of the Belize survey was to determine tourism training needs as reported by the industry itself. In order to do so, respondents were asked to indicate “all major training needs” among the various categories of staff.

The training needs were identified at the Managerial, Professional, Skilled/semi-skilled and Unskilled levels.

At the Managerial level the courses were Customer Relations, Marketing, Leadership skills, Product Knowledge,Financial/Accounting, Communications and Human Resources Management. At the Professional level the courses were Customer Relations, Communications, Financial Accounting, a Foreign Language, Computer Skills and Marketing.
At the Skilled/semi- skilled level the courses were Customer Relations, Communications, Tour guiding, Computer Literacy, Foreign Language and Financial Accounting.

And at the Unskilled level the courses that should be developed are Customer Relations, Communications, Foreign Language, Watering,
Across all four levels there were some common trends, the need for training in Customer Relations and Communications.

When looking at the type of training that is currently being undertaken by the various sectors of tourism operation, “On the job training” is used the most across all sectors. In the accommodation sector, 90% use on the job training, 18% use in-house classroom training, 7% use external trainers, 14% use local tourism training institutions, 3% use regional tourism training institutions, and 3% uses international tourism training institutions. This trend was similar across the different sectors of tourism operations. The table below shows the breakdown

Type of Training used by different sectors of Tourism Operations (percent)

Looking at the above figures, we may say that the industry needs well-trained people, and the people need innovative training techniques. It is upon us to be innovative and creative in our approach and designing of training programs. Training programs should be such that they are effective, interesting, informative and cost effective.

One may conclude that now more than ever, in these times of change, arises the need for change in our approach and technique of training our personnel.

top

Tmi Academy Of Travel Management & Training
E-4 Defence Colony
New Delhi-110064
Ph-55677433,9873102243
Contact Person-Monika Suri/Kamna Tandon

top