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| Event Calender » 20 Jul (Wed) A specialised management degree adds value to get promotions in travel and tourism sector. Well-qualified personnel have an edge over others in this exciting sector. |
| PGDM in Travel and Tourism |
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FAST FACTS
Programme: PGDM in Travel and Tourism
Top colleges: Indian Institute of ommerce & Trade
Management (Delhi, Gwalior, Bhubaneswar, Nellore), National Institute of
Tourism & Hospitality Management (NITHM), Hyderabad, Kerala
Institute of Tourism & Travel Studies (KITTS)
Job areas: Online portals, Travel agencies, Airlines, Cruise lines, Hotels, Ministry of Tourism
Designation: Management Trainees, Managers, Tour
Mangers, Product developers, Market Researcher, Guest Relationship
Managers, Itinerary Designers, Tour Planners
FOR Jayant, an
extrovert, friendly, sociable, BSc hospitality graduate, a brief stint
at the Taj hotel made him realise his real calling. He shares, “It was
upsetting for me to work in the rigorous, repetitive, sweaty and
enclosed confines of the kitchen. I pondered over my strengths, gaps and
found myself to be fit in the tourism industry.” He opted for PGDM
at ITTM (Delhi) to explore a people-oriented job. Today, he is proving
his skills at the sales division of Cox & Kings. Though hospitality
and tourism management are spoken of in the same breath, there is a thin
line of difference. Hospitality management prepares a student to work
in the field of catering, accommodation whereas tourism management
revolves around the core area of tourism.
| Personality traits |
- Good selling skills
- Knowledge of current rules
- Interpersonal skills
- Awareness about destinations
- Passion for geography and travelling
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Stopover at new locales, culture
The industry gives good returns and
perks. “Interacting with people from different cultures excites me most
about the profession,” feels Arif, Senior Consultant at SITA travels,
India’s leading in-bound destination management company. He entertains
Canadian clients by preparing thrilling packages. Considering it a high
point he says, “I travel extensively across India, with all expenses
borne by the company.” Two-year PGDM prepares managers at higher levels
offering steep salaries,” affirms Dr. Charusheela Yadav, Assistant
Professor, IITTM, Delhi. Though experience matters a lot in the
industry, for your promotions, a management degree adds value. So it
could be either PGDM or MBA.
Entering the field
You must be a graduate to enrol for
the programme. The selection processes vary from institute to institute.
Most institutes conduct entrance exam and ask for CAT/ MAT
score. For Jayant, the structure of entrance paper was similar to MAT.
He advices exam-takers to keep abreast of current affairs and reasoning
questions. IITTMs, KITTS, Kerala, NITHM, Hyderabad are ranked among top colleges, and a Faculty a IITTM , Nellore gives us a snapshot of the programme.
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Q. Many colleges offer diploma, PG, MBA degrees. How will you assess them?
A. Academically
speaking, I don’t find much of a difference in the course contents. It
is the teaching methodology which rules the roost. The Post Graduate
Diploma in Management (PGDM) equivalent to MBA is more
technical-oriented as compared to diploma, certificate or crash
programmes. At PGDM level, along with core travel and tourism subjects,
one also learns management theories. So definitely, it has an edge over
other courses.
Q. What is your stance on distance learning courses?
A.
The degrees which are available at the click of a mouse are convenient
and highly economical. But they are weak in terms of creating speedy
career growth. If you compare distance learning with regular courses,
then certainly, it falls flat over providing recognition, practical
knowledge and college placements which help many fresh graduates to get
hired in reputed companies like Cox and Kings, Thomas Cook, Yatra.com,
SITA Travels, Makemytrip.com and many others. Most of them prefer
regular learning courses.
Q. Tell us about the key areas of concern in travel and tourism industry?
A. Exploitation
of the locals and resources, trafficking, and pressure on the natural
habitat are issues to be addressed. We have to make tourism ecologically
supportive. Service providers should approach community level
development which can be achieved by enhancing local culture and
tradition. Being responsible to oneself and sensitising others to be
responsible would solve a chunk of the problem.
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Assured placement
Prof. Yadav reveals, “We have a batch
of 93. And all 93 are placed. But their salaries differ according to
their calibre.” All top-notch companies like Thomas cook, SOTC, TL World
Wave, Leisure Holidays, Creative Travel, Cox & Kings,
Makemytrip.com approach the institute on a regular basis. This clearly
indicates that tourism industry needs people.
Job role
Travel managers assess the needs of
tourists and make best possible travel arrangements. They create
packages - manage the travel and stay of the tourists, provide details
regarding the transport facilities, transport rates, currency exchange
and the visa work. Ticketing professionals work on a particular
application called GDS – Global Distribution System. Interested students
must learn softwares like Worldspan, Amadeus, Galileo or Sabre to excel
in the ticketing field. “I learned them during training programmes
conducted by the experts of Air India at my institute,” says Subhabrata
Bhattacharjee, Operational Manager, Indigo .
At times, there is an added advantage
for those who have qualified IATA (Indian Air Transport Association).
The short course is all about learning airlines industries, different
types of codes (city/ country), geography. “The value of an employee
doubles up, if he has done IATA consultant course. The company hires him
for the post of subject matter expert with a starting salary of Rs.
25,000,” reveals Bhattacharjee. An event manager will involve in the
activities of conducting seminars, conferences, exhibitions
announcements, marketing, writing proposals. Abhilasha Bahadur, Trainee
Executive was brimming with confidence, when she spoke about her role in
anchoring events, besides her usual writing, marketing and sales
profile at Fair Fest Media Limited.
Job scenario
With India being a unique conference
destination for its exotic cultural and heritage sites, the MICE tourism
(Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions) is fast gaining
popularity. In most companies, there is an exclusive division promoting
MICE services. There is a huge demand at the entry level as one-to-one
guest/ client contact is high. You will find pressing need of freshers
in sales divisions. Whereas at the operational level, more experienced
people are at the service as tour managers, product developers,
itinerary designers and tour planners.
Positions vary from company to company as per different nomenclatures.
Usually, a PGDM student will start off his career as Management Trainee
and then graduate to a Senior Executive/ Ass Manager/Deputy Manager –
eventually you take care of office operations, vouchers and more. Travel
portals, travel agencies, hotels, airlines, travel agencies, cruise
lines, event-based companies are embracing qualified travel
professionals. In the public sector, there are opportunities for
freshers as information officers. The candidates are selected by the
Staff Selection Commission through a competitive exam.
Salary talk ”I can give around Rs. 12,000 to
15,000 to a fresher. We consider 9 months as a catch up period. If we
see him improving then we go on to increase his salary,” shares Neena,
Senior HR Manager, Cox & Kings. The levels of salary may shoot up to
Rs. 40,000–50,000 depending on experience, specialisation and
recognised managerial degrees. Sanjay, Senior Manager, Thomas Cook
discloses “Good salaries depend on your X factor. Someone who has a good
product knowledge, speaks a good language can grab a fat cheque.”
The real challenge
It is a profession where a person gets
to know people of different temperaments. “Some days we receive vague
or agitated calls from the customers.” This sentiment resonates with
every travel professional you speak with. The travel managers have to
mould their minds according to clients’ needs and bring out favourable
packages. Also, global recession followed by terror attacks in Mumbai
had badly hit the tourism industry. The demand for travel declines with
any change in a country’s well being. Crises such as war, tsunami,
natural disasters may directly hit salaries of travel employees.
Booming industry
The opening up of skies to private airlines has resulted in easy flow of
domestic and international flights in the country. With India receiving
100,000 foreign tourists every year, the country epitomizes one of the
most potential medical tourism markets in the world. According to R.N
Pandey, Additional Director, Ministry of Tourism, “Industry is moving at
a good pace. Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during 2010 were
5.58 million as compared to 5.17 million during 2009. Several recent
initiatives and events like Commonwealth Games, T-20 IPL matches had
favourable impact on the sector,” he said. This growth will indeed
translate into more jobs in this sector .
 Flavour of MNC culture in the air
Jayant GhelotManagement Trainee, Cox & Kings, India
“Cox and Kings is the
dream company to work with,” expresses Jayant with a radiating smile.
His hard work was noticed during his summer training, which compelled
them to absorb his skills when he applied for a job. The interviewer
probed him on technical, interpersonal skills and appointed him in the
sales division to look after MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences
& Exhibitions).
There were several other kinds of work - air ticketing,
travel implants, Bharath Dekho (domestic services) and Duniya Dekho
(international services). Travel implants are basically the tie-ups with
the big companies where all travel needs are catered to by the travel
company concerned.
Jayant randomly calls
reputed companies to find their MICE requirements. “We provide incentive
travel programme to the dealers of the company. It’s a B-to-B affair
where we organise corporate dinners, corporate evenings, annual meets,
conferences,” he adds. His face relaxes when he shares about closing
work by 6.30 p.m whereas operations department works for long hours.
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Select colleges offering Management Courses
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Location |
Indian Institute of Commerce & Trade
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Delhi, Gwalior, Bhubaneswar, Nellore |
| Kerala Institute of Tourism & Travel Studies |
Trivandrum, Kerala |
| National Institute of Tourism & Hospitality Mgmt |
Hyederabad |
| Dibrugarh University, Centre of Mgmt Studies (CMS) |
Dibrugarh, Assam |
| Institute of Mgmt Sciences (University of Lucknow) |
Lucknow |
| Institute of Management Studies (IMS), Ghaziabad |
Ghaziabad, UP |
| Regional College of Management (RCM), Orissa |
Bhubaneswar, Orissa |
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