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Career Profiles

Tourism

As mankind moves further into the 21st century the excitement of travel and the spirit of place inspire people to explore and discover the world as never before. Tourism delivers the experience of elsewhere. Whether it is caviar and vodka in a Russian hotel or beer and whitebait with the locals in a Hokitika pub, travellers revel in the magic of new experiences. Governments and businesses are involved in making the magic happen on a large scale, creating jobs, wealth and opportunities for diverse cultures to understand each other. But it is not as simple as waving a wand. Tourism competes for resources and business. It affects people and the environment in a variety of ways. The industry is constantly addressing these issues.

A globally growing industry

Increasingly people have more disposable income to spend, while air travel allows the speedy displacement of massive numbers of travellers. In 2005 the tally of tourists arriving at international destinations reached a record 808 million. In addition, millions more domestic tourists travelled within their own countries. These visitors need services and infrastructure to welcome, accommodate and entertain them. Their hosts need skills to welcome the paying guests and to refresh their goods and services through innovation. Typically, where masses of people are involved in prolonged and diverse activities, there is a need to study, analyse, and monitor human behaviour, to predict trends and foresee consequences.

The World Travel and Tourism Council has established a 'New Tourism' strategy. The strategy advises governments worldwide to manage the growth of industries, employment, and the environment. Tourism impacts on global and national economies, on human cultures, societies and natural environments. To ensure sustained growth in the industry, tourists, their hosts, governments and commercial enterprises work to protect the environmental and cultural attractions that draw visitors to their countries. In 'clean, green' New Zealand, whose varied and wonderful landscapes attract so many travellers, the environment is a primary consideration.

Why Study Tourism?

Tourism is an exciting area of growth, commerce, research and innovation. Degrees in tourism tend to be vocationally oriented. Domestic and global opportunities for employment are excellent. As the sector grows and becomes more complex it needs a well trained workforce that understands its working, management and marketing. A degree in tourism provides background knowledge of the industry, and transferable skills that can be applied within a range of public and private sectors. Careers in tourism contribute signifi cantly to the economy, to increased understanding of human behaviour and to building relationships with other countries.

Tourism is consumer driven

Whether they are inbound, outbound, or domestic, tourists travel for a variety of reasons: holiday; recreation and leisure; education; business; a change of weather or routine; to visit family and friends; to experience something different, exciting or challenging. An emerging group of savvy travellers are becoming an important target market for New Zealand. This group of people like interacting with the destination they visit. They travel regularly, have a tendency to spend more than other visitors and participate in a wide range of tourism experiences. They actively participate in the natural environment, are environmentally and culturally aware and seek authentic, new experiences. These tourists are an important target market for the New Zealand tourism industry. Niche tourism is a growing area and this accounts for the emergence of specific types of tourism: heritage; garden; wine; lighthouse; film site; pop-culture; gambling; disaster; pilgrimage; sport; ancestry; adventure; ecotourism and more.

Download a complete copy of Career View on Tourism below.

Career View on Tourism is part of the Career View series produced by Career Development and Employmentat Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. While the booklet was originally developed for a New Zealand audience, we believe that graduates in Australia will also find the information within it relevant and useful.

Check out the excellent resources available on the Victoria University of Wellington's Careers homepage at www.vuw.ac.nz/st_services/careers .

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