What laws should a tourism manager know. Tourism magazine and more. Providing clients with information

Profitable travel agency [Advice to owners and managers] Sergey Vatutin

What a Tourism Manager Should Know

So, we have decided that knowledge of tourism, knowledge of the material part is necessary, but what kind of knowledge is needed? How to understand exactly what a manager knows about tourism? What are the main points for control do you have (Table 4)?

Table 4. What a Tourism Manager Should Know

As you can see, we've broken down the core knowledge a manager needs into two groups. We have marked in bold those areas that are almost impossible to recognize in a short space of time. The manager just needs to have them already at the interview stage. It is practically impossible to teach the hotel base, to teach the peculiarities of countries, the main tourist destinations, seasonality, off-seasonality and other fairly global matters in a short period of time. In any case, we have not yet encountered such a method in our practice, although we are preparing it now and, perhaps, will soon announce it. But this will be discussed later.

The same thing - it is very difficult to teach a manager about sales psychology and sales techniques in a short period of time. It is sales, sales skills, what is worth paying attention to, the very approach to sales and knowledge of the hotel base - these are very long-term matters. Therefore, it is almost impossible to teach them in a short time. The usual font indicates those areas that are quite realistic to teach in a short time, but if the manager is proud of his knowledge of the search program, the fact that, for example, he is well versed in the documentation, but does not know the countries themselves, does not know how to sell - this is not the best acquisition. At the same time, if a person sells well and understands countries, has often traveled by himself and does not know any program, booking methods or some legal issues, this does not mean that he is not suitable for you. These topics can be mastered in two weeks if you do it closely. Let's go through the points. Tour operator - travel agent relationship. In order to understand them, in addition to some kind of introductory lecture, a person experienced in tourism can study contracts with major tour operators. What are the rights of the tour operator spelled out there, what are the rights and obligations of the travel agent. See similar things in the Law on Tourism Activities, see the agreement that was adopted by the agency with the client. Already proceeding from this one can understand who is responsible for what and who should do what.

There are not so many programs that are widespread in the tourist business: a tour search system, a booking system for tour operators, they can be mastered in two to three hours. The programs in which the documents are drawn up are a little more complicated, but given that the manager there will only have to do basic things, such as filling in client data and printing contracts, vouchers, etc., this is also mastered quite quickly.

Booking methods. Of course, there are still situations when fax or e-mail is used for this, but now most of the tour operators are switching to booking-only. And there is such a subtlety here that each online operator is slightly different. And the booking system needs to be studied, but having mastered three or four systems of the main tour operators, your manager will be able to fully work.

Questions regarding paperwork. You should have clear instructions. When to book a tour, in no case should you book a tour without prepayment. What must be included in the contract, because it often happens that in a standard contract there are points to fill out and the manager can rush and not fill in some things. You must clearly state that all empty spaces in the contract must be filled in, and again, our practice shows that it is not just filled, but filled in two copies in the same way: both in the client's copy and in the copy that remains in the tourist companies. It is very important to know the penalties and penalties, for example, in the event of a client's refusal from a tour. All this, as a rule, is spelled out in contracts, on operators' websites, and it is not difficult to study it. It is necessary to understand the rules for filing claims and how to proceed with this claim (we will talk about working with claims in the following chapters).

Various documents, such as a tour confirmation that comes from the tour operator. There are situations when there are some mistakes. Therefore, be sure to check everything. Whether the flight, the airport, or the right hotel. This will be a kind of mindfulness exercise for the manager. If it is, then it means that a person can easily figure it out.

Naturally, the manager must know and have a good idea at what moment the documents are issued to the tourist, what should be included in the set of these documents, when we receive them from the tour operator, what documents must be signed when issuing documents. All these things can be mastered in a week or two of hard work, in contrast to the knowledge of countries and the hotel base, unfortunately. The priority for you should be that the manager, when you hire him, knows the countries and hotels normally. Moreover, in principle, if you, of course, do not take a super-professional, it will be good if a person knows what is called, from and to at least a couple of countries, optimally - this is Turkey for the summer season, Egypt for the winter season. If a person worked as a guide in one or another country, he, of course, already has a good idea and he can come up to you, so that further along the way you can, so to speak, pull up other countries and teach him that he is not knows about the work of a travel agent. But if a person does not know the countries and does not know, does not understand and does not like the psychology of sales, with such a manager you are not on your way.

From the book Marketing. Now questions! author Mann Igor Borisovich

138. What should be a sales manager? Does a sales manager have to be a marketer? A question that thousands of books have been written to answer! A sales manager must know the product, believe in it, know his client, his business (this is important!), He must know psychology,

From the book How to overcome the crisis yourself [Science to save, science to take risks] author Delyagin Mikhail Gennadievich

140. Who should look for clients? Who knows the company's customers better - a marketer or a sales manager? Finding clients is a task for both the marketing manager and the sales manager. But the marketer has a much larger toolkit and a larger budget for

From the book How to cheat when buying a car. Guide for the thrifty author Gladkiy Alexey Anatolievich

6.5. “Crisis of two months”: everyone should know this. Most families, like most people, experience in their development a number of objectively determined crises associated with the accumulation of experience and the transition to a qualitatively new state; the most famous of them is

From the book How to survive among sharks by McKay Harvey

Buying a car on credit: everyone should know this For many Russians, buying a car on credit is the only chance to fulfill their cherished dream and finally become a car owner. However, in your desire to realize your plans, you should not forget that on

From the book Conversations author Ageev Alexander Ivanovich

Lesson 3 Knowing something about your customer is just as important as knowing everything about your product Take, for example, politicians. Any politician will support your proposal only as long as it is politically popular or promises

From the book Profitable Travel Company [Tips for Owners and Managers] the author Vatutin Sergey

From the book Travel Agency: where to start, how to succeed author Mokhov Georgy Avtondilovich

Four Key Factors of Tourism Manager Success Let's take a structural look at what really influences the sales of each individual employee. How to influence success in the field with the help of the correct selection of employees, motivation system, training or lack of training

From the book Leadership Development. How to understand your management style and communicate effectively with speakers of other styles author Adizes Yitzhak Calderon

Tourism Manager Payroll Options A tour is considered sold at 100% payment. 1. Interest-free system: salary 22,000-30,000 rubles 2. Salary + interest: Salary 10,000-15,000 rubles. + 10% off the tours sold by the manager. Salary 15,000 + 10% after the implementation of tours more than

From the book Help them grow up or watch them leave. Employee development in practice author Giulioni Giulia

Not to know is to know something very important. If the Manufacturer does not know something, he feels extremely uncomfortable. At the meeting, not understanding what will happen next, he demands: "Doctor Adizes, tell me bluntly, what are you driving at?" Answer: “I don’t know. We'll find out soon. I don't want to get ahead

From the book How to swim among sharks by McKay Harvey

Not knowing is knowing something very important. If P doesn't know something, he becomes uncomfortable. When I coach Producers, they often ask, "Dr. Adizes, where are you taking us?" - and get confused when I say: “I don’t know, while I’m just probing

From the book How to manage slaves author Falx Mark Sidonius

Introduction. What should a manager do? Develop company employees. Help them grow. It's like eating right or exercising, you know it's right. That you should do it. But if you are like most modern managers, then you don't, or

From the book HR in the Struggle for Competitive Advantage author Brockbank Wayne

Lesson 3 Knowing something about your customer is just as important as knowing everything about your product Take, for example, politicians. A politician will support your proposal only to the extent that it is politically popular or promises especially great benefits. This does not mean that

From the author's book

What an HR professional needs to know about new technologies In order to participate in the discussion of strategic issues related to the development of technologies with company management, as well as understand how they will affect the main target groups, and appropriately

From the author's book

What an HR Specialist Should Know About Economic and Legal Issues In order to participate in discussions on economic and legal issues, an HR manager must be aware of current trends and know where to get relevant updated information.

From the author's book

What an HR Specialist Should Know About the Demographic Characteristics of the Workforce In order to participate in the discussion of issues related to human capital, an HR manager must be aware of current trends and know where to get

One of the most highly paid and prestigious professions of our time is the work of a tourism manager. There are many vacancies for this position, however, good companies choose truly professional candidates. You cannot become them just like that, in one day. You need to devote a lot of time and effort to master the profession and gain the necessary experience.

What does a tourism manager do

In general terms, the responsibilities of a tourism management professional can be described as assisting the client with travel arrangements. At first glance, everything seems simple, however, in practice, the sphere of tourism is quite extensive. Up to the point that the purpose of the trip for each individual client may differ: one goes on a vacation voucher, another needs to attend a business meeting, and the third one needs to organize this business meeting. Depending on the wishes and requirements of the client, the manager must find a competent approach to him and provide the service properly.

The job of a tourism manager is as follows:

Selection of tourist vouchers at the request of the client.
Booking air or bus tickets, hotel rooms.
Booking of tourist services (excursions, transfers, meals, car rental, conference rooms, etc.).
Advising clients on the selected tour or on the proposed trip.
Assistance in the preparation of documents that are needed for the trip: visas, insurance, passports, etc.
It is often the responsibility of sales managers to attract new customers by building the right advertising strategy.
Resolution of emerging conflicts between clients of a travel company and contractors.
Assistance in difficult situations (assistance in calling a doctor or police officers, emergency services, and so on).

Necessary qualities

Of course, now there are many educational institutions where you can master this profession. Including, there are many short term tourism manager courses.

However, if any high-quality curriculum is able to help a student to acquire the necessary knowledge, then no university will teach the ability to be mobile, polite, to be able to quickly respond to emergency situations if the student does not want to.

Ideally, a sales manager has the following personal and professional skills:

Non-conflict and stress resistance. In the process of work, you will have to deal with completely different people, both polite and not very. It is important to be able to maintain composure in dealing with them.
Ability to work with information. There are many tours, both excursion and business. There are also many excursions, hotels, travel services that can be offered to the client. In order to competently and efficiently consult him, you must first thoroughly understand the issue yourself.
Good memory. Continuing to the previous point. You need to keep a lot of information in your head. The client will not wait while the sales manager is looking for information somewhere in Google (especially if he can find the same thing on his own).
Ability for independent and logical thinking. It is impossible to indicate in the job description absolutely all the algorithms of actions in various situations. For example, if suddenly one of the tourists became ill, or there was a natural disaster during the trip, or any other situation that requires immediate action, you need to be able to turn on your mind and make the right decision.
Proficiency in several foreign languages, including Russian and English. English has long become international, therefore it is important to be able to communicate in it, especially if the manager works in the field of international tourism.
Possession of a PC, since the work is carried out in an automated mode. You need to communicate with clients not only in person or by phone, but also by email. They also negotiate with contractors by correspondence. In addition, it is necessary to correctly maintain the database.
Sales skills. Many clients hesitate as to whether they should choose this or that tour. The reasons they doubt are called "objections" in marketing language. A good sales manager must be able to work with objections, tactfully and correctly help the client to make a choice.
Knowledge of the tourism business market. In particular, it is necessary to monitor the innovations of competing companies. This is the only way to be sure of the quality of the services provided.
Understanding how marketing works. This is necessary for those professionals whose responsibilities include finding a client base and promoting the services of a travel company.

The job of a tourism manager is multi-tasking, but it is dynamic and interesting. A good specialist should be able to develop in this area, keep up with the times.

Learn constantly. It is not only about attending courses and seminars, but also about independent acquaintance with modern literature on the topic (modern - because the business sphere is changeable) and with the news of the tourism market.
Work on your communication skills, both written and oral. In this work, you need to communicate a lot, therefore it is important to be able to beautifully and competently express your thoughts.
Do not try to "hook" any tour or any service, even if your employment contract stipulates a percentage for each sale. First, most people feel when they are clearly trying to impose something on them and therefore refuse to further talk. Secondly, the very fact of imposition speaks of a lack of professionalism and disrespect for other people.

Myths about the profession

There are many myths associated with the profession of a tourism manager. Let's consider some of them:

The manager does nothing, only leads. This myth is associated with a manager in any field, many people believe that his responsibilities include exclusively managerial work. To begin with, even pure management itself does not imply idleness. Quite the opposite - a huge responsibility falls on the shoulders of the leader. A manager in the field of tourism business must be able not only to organize the work of subordinates (if there are any; there can be only one specialist or several specialists of the same level in the department), but also to competently coordinate his work in order to cope with many of his duties. The responsibilities have already been discussed earlier.
The tourism manager often visits other cities and countries for work. This may or may not be true. Most specialists in this area work exclusively in the office, without travel. An exception is high-level managers who are involved in accompanying business clients on trips.
The work resembles the duties of a service center operator: you only need to accept applications and process them. This is true, but the sales manager has many other responsibilities. Therefore, his activities are not limited only to processing incoming information from clients.

Education and training

Tourism manager - training of the profession, first of all, takes place in higher educational institutions. Many universities even offer internships or internships in large travel companies, including foreign ones.

The study lasts, on average, about four years to obtain a bachelor's degree. This is followed by a master's degree. In European countries, students can bypass this stage, since it is believed that a master's degree is needed only for those who plan to engage in teaching or scientific activities.

If there is no opportunity or time to get a full-fledged higher education in your specialty, you can try to look for courses in a tourism manager. As a rule, the duration of these courses does not exceed several months.

Features of work in different cities and countries

A tourism manager in Moscow must be mobile, be able to react to all changes in the tourism business, and his duties include the ability to work with different categories of clients.

In the capital of any country, including Russia, you can meet people with different income levels. You need to take this feature into account in order to choose the right tour for the client. If business clients contact a capital travel agency, they probably have a ready-made plan of what they need to get, as well as specific requirements for organizing a tour or event. As a rule, these requirements include assistance with moving or flying, depending on the tourist destination, organizing a business event, booking a conference room if necessary, and possibly preparing and sending invitations.

In addition, foreigners often become clients of the capital's travel agency. A sales manager in a travel agency needs to take into account the peculiarities of their mentality and, if possible, communicate with them in their native language.

Roughly the same happens in other large cities of any country. In the case of smaller cities, not like Moscow or St. Petersburg, for example, tourism managers have a little less work. First, due to the fact that the number of people living in these cities differs from the number of inhabitants of cities with a population of over one million. And secondly, the main flow of customers occurs precisely in large cities, including in regional centers or in the capital.

For this reason, the capital's travel agencies and travel agencies of large cities in any country prefer a real professional in their field of tourism. This ensures the prestige of the travel company, allows company owners to be confident in their staff. It is also much easier for them to organize advanced training courses for those people who already have their own good professional and educational base in the field of tourism. As practice shows, it is much more difficult to teach a person the intricacies of sales in the tourism sector if he has absolutely zero training or does not have at least the minimum necessary skills for this profession.

Where to look for work

There really is a need for good tourism managers now. There are enough vacancies in this regard, however, again, it is important to take into account the scale of the city. It is easier to find work in large cities.

You can use special online job search services. Typically, applicants post their resumes on them and apply for vacancies posted there from employers.

It is much more difficult to become a tourism manager without experience. Vacancies in this case will be much less and, perhaps, job search will take a lot of time.

What to include in your resume

Before looking for a job as a tourism manager for vacancies, you need to make a resume. It is it that employers consider first of all, and only then decide on an invitation for an interview.

The resume of a tourism manager should show the strengths of the applicant and emphasize the level of his professionalism.

The resume usually indicates:

Contacts.
Education received.
Work experience.
Internship experience.
Skills.
Awards, merit.
A photo is not necessary - a specialist is not judged by his appearance. In our country, this is prohibited at the legislative level.

It is much more difficult to get a job as a tourism manager without experience. In this case, it is necessary to interest the potential employer in something else: good education, internship, experience in sales or communication with clients, and so on. Don't be shy about writing your skills if they come in handy at work. The main thing is not to lie. For example, if a candidate indicates in his resume that he speaks, say, Chinese (thinking that it will definitely not be useful for him in his work), and then it turns out that the applicant lied, his credibility can be seriously undermined.

"Pitfalls" of the profession

Since the lion's share of the profession is directly related to communication with people, difficulties may arise with just this. It is great if a manager has a natural "hanging tongue" and it is easy for him to find common ground in a conversation with new people. However, there are some clients with whom it is very difficult to conduct a dialogue. You need to be able to be a subtle psychologist and choose the right words.

In addition, corporate rules differ in different travel agencies, and if for any reason you have to change your place of work, you will have to adapt to the new requirements. For example, if earlier it was only necessary to receive clients, advise them and help in arranging tours, now the responsibilities will also include filling the client base. And for this, you already need to develop your marketing skills.

The most difficult thing will be for a tourism manager without work experience. In the first months, you will have to deal with a lot of piled up responsibilities, organize the information received about the features of work. Self-learning is very important here.

Conclusion

A tourism manager is a really interesting job, although it is not without certain difficulties.

A specialist in the field of tourism must undergo high-quality professional training, be able to adapt to the volatile tourism business, quickly solve emerging problems, and find a common language with clients. In this case, he will be provided with professional growth and a dizzying career in the field of tourism.

Tourism manager Is an expert in the tourism industry who deals with the organization of tourist travel for clients. It is currently one of the most sought-after professions in the leisure and entertainment industry. The profession is suitable for those who are interested in foreign languages, geography and social studies (see the choice of profession by interest in school subjects).

The salary

Salary for 07/22/2019

Russia 20000-120000 ₽

Moscow 30,000—150,000 ₽

Short description

The tourism manager makes our dreams of a vacation that each of us looks forward to. From the outside it seems that this is the most romantic and interesting profession - a holiday every day, an opportunity to travel to distant countries on duty.

But these are different things - to have a rest on your own or to competently organize a problem-free vacation, which depends on many people and circumstances.

Tourism manager is a generic name for a profession that is multifunctional. There are generalists who know how to single-handedly organize a tourist's journey from start to finish, but most often in travel companies (tour operators), a division of labor by specialization is practiced: customer service manager, ticket booking manager, direction manager, visa manager and insurance, business travel manager, etc. Each of these specialties can be handled separately by a tourism manager without work experience under the guidance of a more experienced specialist. In large companies, organizing a tourist's trip resembles the work of an assembly line: at each stage of organizing a tour, different specialists are involved in the case.

The specifics of the profession

The functional responsibilities of a tourism manager depend on where he works: in a tour operator or in a travel agency. In a tour operator, managers are engaged in the development and formation of tourist routes, and in travel agencies, as a rule, they sell tours to customers.

Responsibilities of a tourism manager working for a tour operator:

development of routes;
drawing up excursion programs and entertainment;
hotel reservation;
redemption of tickets for regular flights;
organization of charter flights;
negotiations with the host;
registration of insurance and visas;
formation of packages of tours;
conclusion of contracts with travel agencies;
conducting advertising campaigns;
resolution of conflict situations with representatives of the receiving party.

In travel agencies, the job of a tourism manager is as follows:

receiving calls;
advising potential clients (in person and by phone);
provision of guidebooks, catalogs, maps;
study of offers on the market and optimal selection of the tour at the request of the client;
interaction with managers from tour operators;
execution of a contract with a client.

There are travel companies that combine the functions of a travel agency and tour operator.

Pros and cons of the profession

pros

the prospects of the industry as a whole and the constant demand for personnel;
the opportunity to visit many countries as part of work or on hot deals and special offers on vacation;
high wages;
the versatility of the profession of a tourism manager allows you to work with any level of education and experience, there is a job for anyone; when applying for a job, there is no strict educational qualification.

Minuses

high responsibility;
frequent stressful situations in the event of production inconsistencies and force majeure (an aircraft may be delayed, a natural disaster or war may start, tourists may not be released by customs, etc.);
trips to different countries are of an industrial nature and it is impossible to completely relax and enjoy your vacation;
tourists can bother with calls at any time of the day, and the manager must calmly respond and answer the questions that arise, solve problems with the host in favor of the client;
seasonality of work and dependence on this level of wages.

Tourism Manager Training (Education)

The Russian Institute of Vocational Education "IPO" - is recruiting students for a specialty in the distance program of professional retraining and advanced training. Studying at IPO is a convenient and quick way to get distance education. 200+ training courses. 8000+ graduates from 200 cities. Short deadlines for paperwork and external training, interest-free installments from the institute and individual discounts. Contact us!

On this course, you can get the profession of a software engineer remotely in 3 months and 15,000 rubles:
- One of the most affordable prices in Russia;
- Diploma of professional retraining of the established form;
- Training in a completely remote format;
- The largest educational institution of additional prof. education in Russia.

Invites you to get a diploma in your specialty at professional retraining courses. The Academy specializes in continuing education programs, offers a convenient format of distance learning, an individual approach to the needs of students and flexible prices.

It gives an opportunity to get a new profession in the direction of "Domestic and international tourism" on the basis of the existing higher or secondary vocational education without interrupting work and place of residence. The programs have state accreditation, therefore, state-recognized documents are issued.

Colleges

Training for a tourism manager within the specialties "Tourism", "Management (by industry)" or "Organization management" (with a specialization "Tourism") is presented in more than 20 Moscow colleges, including:

at the Humanitarian College of the Russian State University for the Humanities
Humanitarian College of Innovative Technologies
College of Small Business number 48
College of the International Academy of Business and Management.

Upon graduation, graduates receive a diploma with the qualification "Specialist in Tourism Services"

Place of work

travel agencies
tour operators

Personal qualities

high stress resistance;
iron endurance and self-control;
sociability;
organizational skills;
personal organization;
eloquence;
diplomacy;
charm;
good memory;
the ability to convince the interlocutor;
responsibility;
flexibility of thinking.

Career

An aspiring tourism manager may qualify for the position of assistant manager who is responsible for working on the phone or talking to clients. In the future, he can become a customer service manager. The average salary of a tourism manager consists of a fixed portion and a percentage. Specialists with more than five years of experience and having their own client base can count on double the salary. In the future, a tourism manager may become a deputy director of a travel agency and even a director. Tour operators provide a richer experience in tourism than travel agencies. Here you can master all the specializations of the profession in organizing a tour from start to finish. With proper diligence and striving to master all the secrets of the profession, you can grow to the position of a top manager who actually manages the tourism business and is responsible for increasing the company's profits, developing and expanding the market. His responsibilities include signing important contracts, negotiating, conducting a competent advertising policy, marketing research. Accordingly, their salaries are high.

A travel manager or tour coordinator has a high status in tour operators, whose duties include the development of individual and corporate tours. As a rule, they should know perfectly the resort places, hotels, modes of entry to different countries, be able to work with accounts, credit cards, book hotels and flights. Travel managers conclude contracts with the host, so they must be fluent in at least English, have the skills to prepare commercial proposals and negotiate, know and follow the rules of business etiquette.

Business tourism managers are also considered elite specialists, who have to deal with businessmen who are accustomed to high standards of service, clarity and punctuality, regardless of even force majeure circumstances.

Over time, many successful managers who have mastered the technology of promoting travel destinations from start to finish can start their own business.

Olga Grafskaya, general director of the tourism bureau "Bonjour Travel"

Looking for a travel job

Working in tourism lures job seekers with the opportunity to see the whole world. I almost always hear this from novice employees. Experienced employees are willing to bet that not everything is so fabulous. Any, even the most expensive medal has a downside. Our foreign partners arrange so-called information and study tours for travel agency employees. I must say right away: there are never free tours, and the conditions are completely non-royal! The meaning of such trips is to see with our own eyes what we offer our clients, to gain personal experience and express an opinion that is far from phrases from an advertising booklet.

These tours are organized out of season and are not easy trips. Every day the agent inspects several hotels, and in the countries of mass tourism it reaches several dozen. Your head is spinning and you start to get confused. Experienced specialists make notes for themselves, comments, someone is taking photos or videos. And newcomers just walk, watch and admire. And in the end they can't remember anything. One day is usually left for rest, the rest of the time is working. Partners watch who behaves in such tours, and if they understand that the agent is incorrect, he can be blacklisted and will not be invited to the next round. You can travel around the world, but if an employee is constantly on the road, when will he work ?!

Who works in tourism and why

The labor market in tourism, like many others, is also experiencing staff shortages. It is divided into two parts: these are young girls with no experience, who believe that there is nothing difficult in this area, and experienced specialists who have worked in the industry for more than one year. The disadvantage of the former is not even a lack of experience, but that many do not want to learn.

People from the second category do not need to be trained, they come with a client base, which is good for the head of the agency, but there is also a minus here. Such an employee wants to receive exclusive working conditions. They may not bring direct losses to the director, but the profit for the agency will be zero, since the manager who brought the client will receive all of it.

Fabulous salaries in tourism are rare. The situation on the market is twofold: on the one hand, supply is oversaturated, on the other, the industry as a whole is shrinking. Therefore, the salary fork for a tourism manager is from 20 to 60 thousand rubles. But it all depends on the person and his desire to earn.

The perfect travel agent resume

The most important thing in a resume of job seekers in the field of tourism is work experience. But this does not mean that I will not accept a person without experience. It is important for me that the employee is interested in earning, not receiving.

In the resume, they often write template phrases: dedication, responsibility, career opportunities. You can look through dozens of profiles and not find a single worthy candidate. How can you talk about some kind of serious career growth in a travel agency? This work is very interesting, despite all the difficulties that one has to face every day. Raising wages in tourism depends not only on the management, but also on the employee himself. During the interview, I ask the question: “Are you ready to put in the effort to attract new clients? If so, which ones? If not, why not? " Many job seekers are willing to receive a small flat fee and do nothing else. I will refuse such an employee.

Personal qualities for professional growth

In tourism, attentiveness is very important, because an insignificant mistake only in writing the personal data of tourists can lead not only to a fine, but also to the threat of disrupting the trip.

An important role is played by punctuality, the desire to develop independently and constantly learn. Explore new countries, excursion routes - isn't that interesting?

And, of course, responsibility is extremely important! Here is an example, or rather, my nightmare, which I really hope will never happen in practice. The tourist must fly on a long-awaited vacation and he needs to get a visa. The employee scrupulously fills out all the documents and takes them to the delivery. On the way, he loses the tourist's passport. You can borrow money and pay for a tourist, but what to do with a lost passport ?! To say that after this trust will be lost is to say nothing!

We teach to travel and sell travel

A travel agent can get education in specialized higher educational institutions. When tourism was booming, there were many tourism education courses. Now the industry is in decline - not only travel agencies are being closed, but also educational institutions. But the presence of a diploma, unfortunately, does not mean anything.

Tourist routine

In fact, a travel agent has a lot of responsibilities: from keeping the workplace clean to being ready to respond to their clients at any time of the day or night. The motto of our agency is “Your personal consultant 24 hours”. The agent's schedule is irregular, especially during peak seasons. In the off-season, the load is less. I do not force all employees to be in the workplace when there is no workload. Someone is engaged in self-development, someone comes up with methods to optimize their work and attract new customers. I welcome and encourage this.

Each agency has regular customers, and we keep their dossier. We store all the data in order not to ask you to send the same documents every time. We keep a history of trips, wishes, comments. Our regular customers do not need to explain what they want to get from their vacation. They only say dates and wishes for the choice of the country. Everything else is our job. Moreover, this part of routine duties is the most creative, it provides an opportunity to please and surprise the client, to guess his desires.

Hide nothing

In other industries, the practice of non-intervention of a specialist in a client's decision is adopted. It's the opposite with us. If we are talking about regular customers, then I already know what they need, and I advise based on their preferences. But if a client chooses a country or a hotel himself, I am sure to talk about the nuances that can ruin a vacation or upset a tourist. But I never insist. This is a personal choice of a person, and must be reckoned with.

For example, a couple of years ago, several of my clients wanted to go to Egypt for the New Year. I did not refuse them and lose clients. The result, I think, is well known. The Egyptian direction was closed, and it was necessary to decide on the return of funds. You could say: "Do it yourself, you chose this country, now these are your problems." But I can't afford it, and for several months I fought with partners to get my tourists back.

Nervous work

Difficult clients were and always will be. It is very difficult with people who are used to criticizing everything and seeing bad things even where there is none. It is difficult with those who first of all ask the question about the amount of the discount, without even saying what they want. Any work should be financially rewarded.

Now the situation in the tourism market is very difficult. The crisis, sanctions, imperfect legislation and, unfortunately, dishonesty and financial untidiness of partners have a very negative effect on the agent's position in the market. After all, a tourist comes to the agency and trusts us, but we are not the last resort and cannot control or influence all the links that are involved in this process. Unfortunately, this cannot always be explained, and some colleagues meet with their clients in court, although the agent has done his job 100% and even more. But the argument is simple: "We have come to you, therefore you are responsible for everyone."

A profession without a career

The job of a manager is a little bit technical from a technical point of view. But it is very diverse: new clients, new requests, new countries, new hotels. Career development takes place horizontally. There is no step-by-step promotion from an ordinary employee to the director of your own agency. I can't call it a career perspective, I think it's more like a transition to a new level. For the director of an agency, knowledge of tourism is not enough, he must understand both accounting and legislation, and know the work of a manager. You can hire employees who will be responsible for a certain segment of work, but this is materially expensive. I know of several examples of former directors of agencies who closed their companies and again went into hired employees, because they did not want a huge responsibility on their shoulders.

Sometimes employees leave. Someone - to larger agencies, someone - to a tour operator, and someone, completely disappointed, is generally from tourism. Some don't want to hear about tourism anymore, others remember this experience with warmth!

One of my partners had a travel agency in another country. Everything got tired, and she closed it. I went to rest in Georgia, and fell in love with this country so much that I stayed there and opened ... yes, yes, a travel agency! She studied the history of Georgia and herself, being the director, often accompanies the groups as a guide.

“Work for the Young”?

Many people think that a tourism manager is a job only for young people. But I disagree that in tourism, employees over forty are rare specimens. In one information tour, I met an agent who was 72 years old! She has more enthusiasm and energy than some young girls. I really respect such people.

I worked as a tourism manager for a company. My responsibilities included advising clients, selecting and arranging tours. Well, in fact, I spent whole days on social networks and read all sorts of nonsense, from time to time answering calls, and told potential tourists about the beautiful distance.

Why did I go to work in tourism? Probably because the work is interesting, forcing you to constantly develop, to learn more, not burdening with aimless paperwork in the office. Basically you work with people, and then with papers.

The main motto of a good manager: we work primarily for a tourist, we give a vacation, a holiday. We practically help people to relax.

All in all, this is not an easy job. In a simple store, the main task is to sell, here the first task is to give a person a holiday. This attracted me.

Photo: Leo Hidalgo.

The advantages of such work - this is the atmosphere and quite creative work. Here you rarely see a tourist who comes to curtail the manager's blood. Who dares to get the person planning your vacation? Telling people about paradise is incredibly pleasant: the bright pictures of tour operators are mesmerizing, and you want to go on vacation a hundred times a day, discovering new places for yourself. Another nice feature is the grateful tourists who, after returning from vacation, bring you some nice trinkets, as a gift to your beloved manager, and tell you how they rested. And at this moment you are filled with pride that you organized all this.

Of the minuses, I note that there is a lot of work in the season. There is so much of it that during a whole working day you do not have time to dine, you stay late at work, you go to the airport at 4 am to issue documents to tourists who did not bother to pick them up in advance.

The main disadvantage that causes a nervous tick in all managers is the request for burning tours. For two years now this term has not been used in tourism at all, and Thailand will never be over 10 thousand, but everyone is actively asking for it.

Operators are not stupid and no one will sell the tour below its cost. If you want a tour for 10 thousand - go to Primorye, it's cool there, and you don't need to buy a phrasebook, and there is less chance of running into one-day scammers. There is another big misfortune of managers - these are the tourists, with whom you select a tour for them, wait for them to be registered, but they go to another company.

Photo: Esmar Abdul Hamid.

Tour managers are not paid money until the tour is sold. That is, they work with you for free until the tour is issued.

It seems to me that we are doing a holiday for people. In the process of work, you come across different people and different preferences. The manager must know everything, everything is real, right down to whether the fruits are sour in a particular hotel, what the water temperature is, or how much ice cream costs on a beach in Cambodia. Therefore, we are constantly developing, we read millions of travel portals for tour managers. Moreover, the geography here is the holy of holies: none of the clients will like it if you don't tell him where on the map is the place where you send him. So the card is like a mother, the nurse of any agent.

To open your own tourist business, you need at least five years of work in the agency, so that you have your own tourist base, you can't go anywhere without it. In general, opening your own travel business is quite easy: 300 thousand is enough for documents and a small office with a computer and the Internet.

I remember we had a contradictory family. First, my wife asked us to pick up something for them in Cuba for a couple of weeks. Money, they say, does not matter. We discussed all the issues with her for a couple of days, we even chose the hotel, but then my husband writes: “You know, this doesn't suit us, we want a bus tour across Europe”. Then there is a discussion with my husband. Two days later, the same story, his wife writes: "No, we don't want a bus, we want to go to the Philippines." We had the feeling that they were just poking their fingers at the map at home and so they were choosing a vacation. In the end, they went to Portugal.

There was another funny incident with my friends. I don't know why, but from the moment I started working, everyone decided that I was a walking computer and knew all prices for all tours, taking into account changes in the exchange rate. In general, I relax with friends on the weekend, someone from the company finds out that I work in a travel agency, and asks how much will the vacation cost in February in Iceland. Moreover, the question was asked with such a serious air that if I were in the office, I would immediately start looking for an answer to the question posed, I would start preparing documents for the tour.

There are strange situations. Somehow I accidentally met my tourist on the bus. She recognized me, but I did not. She sat down with me and began to tell how the vacation was, how the children are doing. And, of course, I didn't forget to ask how much tours to Thailand cost now. I remembered the name of the tourist only when I came to the office and took out a file with passports. It was embarrassing.

Photo: Ian Sane.

If you are sociable, positive and ready to cope with difficult tasks, for example, find a cheap souvenir shop for a tourist who is currently located far away from the world, then this job is for you. Tourism is a very soulful job, and even the nastiest client can become a good companion in the future. This work does not allow the brain to dry out and the heart to become stale. Every person wants a good holiday, and we are good fairies who make their dreams come true.

It might be useful to read: