travel magazine

The global tourism industry is booming presently. Number of domestic as well as international arrivals has more than tripled. The tourism industry accounts for more than $1000 billion and is expected to grow by 200% in next five years.

Tourism also in a major way contributes to the economy indirectly through its association with other sectors such as horticulture, agriculture, poultry, handicrafts and construction.

Career in Travel & Tourism

Travel and tourism is United States’ 2nd largest service export industry, 3rd largest trade industry and one of the largest employment providers. There are various courses available that can help you become a part of this sector.

If you love to interact with people, travel to various places and be a part of the service industry, then a career in tourism is ideal for you. You can choose to become a travel agent, guide, tourism manager, tour operator, adventure travel guide, airline service staff and so on.

You can either join a diploma or a certificate course in tourism and travel. You can choose a Travel Agent Certificate program, Tour operator Certificate course, Airline Certificate course, Cruise Line Certification course, Hospitality courses, Tourism Management and so on.

What you get to learn?

One needs to have a good business sense to be in the travel industry. A course in tourism will teach you all aspects of becoming an effective travel professional. Some of the topics covered are:

National and International Air travel
Cruise Lines
Railway Reservations and travel
Lodging & Accommodations
Tour packages
Fare and reservation structures
About various Destinations
Quality Management
Project Supervision
Basics of Tourism Management
Organizational Behavior
Marketing Strategies
Various jobs opportunities are available within the public and private sectors. In the public sector, you can be employed with tourism department or directorates. A lot of interesting opportunities can be found with the private sector like Airlines, Tours Operators, Travel Agencies, Hotels and so on.

Job Profiles for Various Sectors

Tourism Department
In the tourism department, employment can be found in reservations, counter staff, marketing and sales, tour planners and tour guides. One can also be with the directorates and department of tourism. You get to be involved with the planning and promotion of tourism activities.

Airlines
Airlines provide a glamorous and rewarding job option. You can find employment as Traffic Assistant, Reservation Staff, Bookings Manager, Air hostesses & Stewarts, Sales and Marketing personnel etc.

Travel Agencies
Travel Agencies use agents to promote tour packages. They make arrangements of travel, accommodations, currency conversions, budgets, special needs, tourist attractions and planning. Tour operators organize tours to the various tourist spots and manage the travel and stay of the tourists.

Hotel Industry
One can find ample opportunities within the hotel industry in various departments. You can be a part of Operations, Front-office, House-keeping, Accounting, Maintenance, Public Relations and many more interesting departments.

Transport
Besides Airlines, travels include rail services, coach operators and car hire companies. Transport includes air, road, railways and sea. Job profile for people employed with rail and road transport includes planning, chalking out the tour program, calculating costs, arranging accommodation and other facilities like food and entertainment.

Personality Traits required to be a part of Tourism Sector

People who are a part of the tourism industry interact with people on a daily basis. There are certain personality traits required to efficiently handle the various responsibilities and tasks in the travel and tourism sector.

Good Inter-personal skills
Effective communication
High level of patience
Hardworking & Responsible
Good Marketing Skills
Creative Abilities
Ability to handle Emergencies
Organizational skills
Job Outlook for Travel & Tourism Industry
Experience, Marketing Skills, Communication skills and the Size and Location of the organization determine the salary of a travel agent/professional.

Full-time employee positions at travel companies are well-paid. Job prospects both in public and private sectors are excellent.

However, the most rewarding jobs for qualified tourism professionals are in the private sector with travel agencies, tour operators, airlines, railways, hotels, transport and cargo companies etc.

Jobs in the travel & tourism industry offer good remuneration and benefits, which include free travel for employees and their families. Salaries can vary depending on the industry and are higher in foreign airlines and agencies.

When it comes to your business travel we all know that this comes write out of your bottom line, but in order to keep good customer relations this is something that you must do. One of the most common things to do is to hire a business travel manager to handle all your business travel arrangements.

Did you realize that the median salary for a business travel manager is $73,000.00 per year? (FACT) Where’s the savings?

The best way to slash thousands from your travel expenses is to out source. You can have a travel agency do the same things as a business travel manager without spending thousands doing it. By having a travel agency handle your travel arrangements, you can save anywhere from 80 to 90% depending on how many traveler’s you have. By doing this makes your bottom line more profitable.

Let me ask you, would you rather spend 73,000 or 10,000?

The responsibilities of a travel manager are to choose transportation and lodging for company employees, advise about passport and visa requirements, rates of currency exchange, all things that a travel agent is already doing. Additional perks of hiring a travel agent is they can handle convention planning and group vacation organization for employees.

One of the best benefits from hiring a travel agent over a business travel manager is that a travel agent is offered reduced travel rates from preferred vendors as to where a business travel manager is not.

By out sourcing and hiring a travel agent over a travel manager, you are not only saving from paying a large salary, but you also save by not having to provide benefits such as health care and retirement. These could easily bring the cost of hiring a business travel manager to well over $100,000.00 a year. That’s Insane!!!

There are so many more benefits from hiring a travel agent over a business travel manager because they are so much more knowledgeable in the travel industry. How, when, and where travel is booked whether online or offline is very important when it comes to saving money on your business travel. These are techniques that only travel agents will know because they deal directly with travel vendors. Nine times out of ten a business travel manager will either call a travel agent or go to a travel agent’s web site for their information.(FACT)

Haven’t we learned in the past couple of years that foolish spending is not the way to go? Look at what it has done to big business. It’s time we get smart and trim the wasted fat. Wouldn’t you rather spend the money growing your business than hiring someone that’s probably looking out for them self rather the company?

When looking for a travel service for your company make sure that they have incentive and rewards programs. Look for a service that has the customer’s best interest at heart.

While most of us enjoy holidays and traveling, many find the associated travel anxiety tough to bear. Travel anxiety isn’t a disease but it is rather the fear of the unknown. Fear of travel is usually caused by several factors. Some people may worry about their house and pets when they are away while others might have had unpleasant traveling experiences during their previous trips. Others are afraid of flying. Some fret that the trip will turn out to be a disaster and worry about all of the details. All of these are examples of worries related to travel that can lead to varying degrees of uneasiness. Regardless of the causes or intensity of your anxiety, it can really compromise the pleasure and excitement of your trip.

Although, travel anxiety is common in both experienced and novice travelers, most travelers have positive traveling stories to tell. Probably, they learned how to manage their anxieties and have regained the joy of travel. It is not too late; you can also overcome travel anxiety by following a little advice. The following 5 tips to stop travel anxiety could prove invaluable to you in planning your next holiday.

5 Tips to Stop Travel Anxiety

1. Spend time making Preparations Prior To Your Trip

From past experiences, to think of the details and annoyances that bothers you about traveling. For example, you think that your house will be in a mess once you step out of the door hire a house cleaner to clean your home prior to your return. If flight travels frightens you, you can equip yourself with your iPod or your favorite book to keep you busy while you’re traveling. Simply make a list of those things you think you’ll require in your trip and those things you won’t want to be left running while you are away. The time spent organizing, planning and taking care of all the details well in advance will help to stop travel anxiety.

2. Don’t Procrastinate

Some people are well aware of their travel anxieties and they’ll often avoid taking care of the details; eg. booking a ticket, packing, etc. They will make excuses, avoid and procrastinate due to previous poor experiences with traveling. Just because you have travel anxiety doesn’t mean that avoidance will eradicate your fears. If you really want to take control over travel anxiety, get yourself involved in the action by preparing early and taking care of all necessary details. Keep in mind, travel fears are just made up fears and they are never real.

3. Learn How to Cope Up With Flight Phobia

For those people who worry about flying, you may wan to dig a little deeper to find the root of this fear. Get to know exactly what frightens you. Are you are acrophobic or claustrophobic? Perhaps the mechanical sounds bother you or air turbulence puts the fright into you. All of these fears are irrational meaning you can counter them with rationality. Airlines have strict safety measures on board. Once you are aboard, try to listen to attendant instructions to calm your nerves. Also, use anything that you like such as music to disrupt your thoughts while you are traveling.

4. Meditate

To effectively manage their travel anxiety, many individuals use meditation to gain control. Meditation makes use of a kind of self-hypnosis, so you can calm your nerves and mind down. Various self-hypnosis scripts designed specifically to ease travel anxiety can be found online. Meditate on these scripts and your mind will be at ease during your time of travel. The scripts are great tools of converting people’s subconscious minds into a friend rather than a foe. Instead of having a subconscious mind that is deep-seated in travel anxiety, you’ll have a subconscious mind that is confident and not frightened of flights.

5. Get rid of the Unknowns

Illuminate your travel shadows by doing a research prior to your trip of things you’ll expect to encounter once you’re at your destination. Apart from visiting various travel blogs, you can also use travel guides to become well-informed with your destination point. Go online and checkout your accommodation so you will know what to expect. Have your looked into travel from the airport to the hotel? What about meals and special dietary requirements? The little unknowns add up and will add to your travel anxiety.

Besides the 5 tips to strop travel anxiety strategies listed above also ensure that you maintain proper communication using Facebook, MySpace, etc. Keeping the communication channels open with loved ones back home will keep you connected.

Observing the 5 tips listed above is a great way to start you on the path of happy travels. Best of luck!

My name is Clancy Davies and I am the creator and author of the website, “Alleviate the Anxiety”. I have specialized in the field of education and personal growth for nearly 30 years and enjoy helping people solve their personal issues and reach their maximum potential.

Travelling is one thing that you may find common in everybody’s hobby nowadays. In fact, it is a passion for many. People are getting busier and stressed out with each passing day. And traveling is the only thing that can help them to cut off from their busy schedules and get a bit relaxed. As a result, more and more people are in continuous search of online travel businesses that can help them plan their dream holidays. This has led to a massive rise in the competition in the travel business industry. You have to be distinctive to make your online travel business a success.

A considerable amount of work goes into setting up your travel business, enhancing the showcase, and getting the desired number of customers. And a few mistakes here and there can ruin your venture even before starting.

Here, are the most basic mistakes that you must avoid or it might kill your online travel business even before it takes off:

1. Not offering complex travel services
People can easily plan their routine point-to-point tours or trips with the help of the Internet. What they need is someone to help them plan their trips with varied & complex requirement combinations. You must allow the customers to create and plan their travel packages as per their convenience. Providing regular travel packages will do no good to your online travel business but will instead lead the customers to continue planning their trip on other travel websites.

2. No prompt support
Customer satisfaction is the first & foremost requirement in the travel business. You should be within your customer’s reach at any point of time. Yielding prompt support to your customer’s queries & complaints can save many of your customers from moving on to other travel portals. Try giving quick solutions and clearly mentioning all the instructions can help your business from getting bad reviews on Google & other social media platforms.

3. Poor user interface
It’s very simple: “People buy what they look at and like”. So, it becomes necessary to have an attractive and engaging user interface. Customers should be easily able to traverse through your travel portal and get all the things they want. Your travel portal needs to have a simple yet classy design with an appealing call to actions, appropriate sorting filters and easy payment & checkout options. All these will help the customers to take up your proposal at the most opportune time.

4. Not having a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
There are numerous travel websites on the Internet. Following the same strategies like them won’t do any good to your business. It’s tough to beat them & move forward. At this point, you need to have a Unique Selling Proposition (USP). USP is the thing that differentiates you from the rest of the crowd. This means that you need to deliver something that none of the businesses from your niche does. For example, you can transform your business message to sell expert advice & personalized services rather than some deals, offers & discounts.

5. No promotions or marketing
Promotions or marketing is the best way of reaching out to your target audience. Most of the travelers start searching online or on the social media platforms before planning their trip. Lacking marketing and promotions will make you lose some of your potential customers. You can hire an Internet marketing company to do this task for you.

6. Lack of personalization
People don’t like to spend much time browsing all the options. They prefer websites that provide them with relevant suggestions as per their needs and interests. In this scenario, personalization can help you. Personalization allows you to learn about each customer so that you can suggest relevant solutions aimed at their needs and interests like What is their budget? What hotel brand do they prefer? Are they flexible with their dates? etc.

By doing just a bit more than your competitors, you are sure to stand ahead of all the other online travel businesses and guarantee that you have a continuous flow of travelers for quite a long time to come.

In 2021, due to lockdowns and mandates, more people than ever before began to look for ways to earn money working from home. In particular, many looked at blogging as an online business. The problem though, was that many of them didn’t really know how to make money from a blog. So just how can it be done?

Keep reading and I’ll go through 3 steps that you need to take to become an online blogger.

First, you need to find the right niche to work in. You need to find a “hungry market,” people who are looking for information to read and looking for products to buy.

It also needs to be a niche that you’re interested in because you’ll be writing a lot of blog posts about it.

Once you know what you’ll be blogging about, you then need to create a blog. This is simple to do using all the blogging software available. You can even set up a blog for free through platforms such as Google’s own Blogger service. Blogger has been around for years and is used by many successful bloggers, including me.

Once you’ve set up your blog, fill it with useful content, products to sell, and onsite advertising for extra income. Some bloggers earn thousands this way, selling products online as affiliates, and earning money through PPC advertising.

Once you get enough pages set up, it’s time to market your blog to get as many visitors as possible. And if you have an email subscription box on your blog, you can stay in touch with all those who sign up.

Marketing can be paid for, or can be done for free through social media and article directories. When you’re first starting out, it’s better to use free marketing, although you can go ahead and pay for it if you want to and if you already have the funds. Personally, I’ve never paid for online advertising for any of my website and blogs. Perhaps I’m leaving money on the proverbial table by marketing this way, but my online success over the years has been good without it.

And that’s the 3 steps you need to take. Choose your niche, set up a blog, join an affiliate network to find products to promote, and market your blog in as many places as you can to get thousands visitors. Just make sure you’re marketing in the right places to get the right kind of visitors.

So what are you waiting for?

Get your own money-making blog set up and running today.

Although, we hear, a lot of opinions, about, interest rates, and their trends, and impacts, very few people seem to understand, the significance, and importance/ relevance, of these rates, in several areas of our lives! After, many decades of involvement, in political campaigns, leadership, leadership training/ planning, real estate, financial sales and consulting, etc, I strongly believed, one benefits, by understanding, more about these, and how they affect, many things, in our lives! Whether, related to personal, organizational, and/ or, public finance/ spending, home ownership and related costs, credit – related issues, business matters, stock and bond pricing, etc, interest rates, truly, significantly, matter! With, that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, examine, review, and discuss, 5 of these areas, and how the cost – of – money, makes a significant difference.

1. Bond prices and interest rates: The price of a bond, generally, is inversely – related to interest rates! When these rates go down, prices, rise, and when they go up, the inverse occurs! Bonds have, what is known, as, a par – value, which is the price, paid, at the end of the term. Markets usually set these at 100, which represents $1,000 per bond, at maturity. However, during the period, the pricing can rise or fall, which impacts, liquidity – related issues!

2. Mortgage rates: For the last few years, we have been witnessing and experiencing, record – low, mortgage interest rates, which have helped the overall, real estate/ housing market, especially, in terms of, pricing increases! In most areas of this country, we are seeing, home prices, at their highest levels, ever, by a significant, dramatic amount! When this rate, is low, a home buyer is able to buy, more – house – for – his – bucks, because, his monthly payments, are so low! Consider, however, what might be the potential ramifications, and impacts, when these rates, will, inevitably, rise?

3. Consumer credit: Low costs of borrowing, help the automobile industry, in terms of consumer financing, etc! Although, not as much as other vehicles, rates on credit card debt, are lower, and there are often, shorter – term, promotions, offering deals! However, since, most of these are variable, and based, on some index, etc, what happens, when there is an increase, in this?

4. Business borrowing: Another area affected, is business cost of borrowing! Presently, they have had access, to relatively, cheap – money, which helps in reducing the costs of borrowing, overall operations, purchasing inventory, etc. But, what happens, when this, ticks – up?

5. Impacts on stock market prices: For some time, because bonds have paid so little, in terms of dividends, etc, many have considered, the stock market, the only game, in – town! In addition, many corporations, have seemed, better – off, than they probably are, and we have witnessed, a higher, ratio of prices to profits, than in the past! How long will this last? How high can it go?

Many factors impact these issues, especially: actual and/ or, perceived inflation; consumer confidence; politics/ government actions/ the Federal Reserve, etc. The more you know, and understand, hopefully, the better – prepared, you will be!