Ireland may not be home to any of the world’s seven wonders (although the pollution in the Liffey is just as famous), but we depend on our booming tourism industry, which employs 145,000. Luckily tourism is an international industry that only seems to grow as the world develops and itchy feet have become a global phenomenon as modern advancements make travel easier and cheaper.

A career in tourism can be extremely broad, from carting a group of Irish-Americans via the Ring of Kerry to organising a Patrick Kavanagh pub-crawl around Dublin: the possibilities are both endless and diverse. The industry calls for its employees to have a high level of specialisation and training, and foreign language capabilities are also very beneficial to your prospects.

Our hunger for culture, experiences and sun holidays shows no signs of slowing, so for people with the right combination of business and communication skills, a course in the tourism sector could be an excellent opportunity.

Education
School leavers interested in tourism have a number of CAO options to choose from at higher certificate, ordinary degree and honours degree level (levels 6, 7 & 8). Courses titles to look out for include Tourism, Tourism Marketing, Travel & Tourism, Business Studies (Tourism) and Business Studies (Tourism & Languages). The CAO points required range from 150 to 350. Some courses require a D3 or better at higher level (or B3 at ordinary level) in a foreign language Leaving Cert.

Students taking a third-level course in Tourism will encounter a mixture of tourism-specific subjects such as Heritage, Culture & Tourism, International Tourism and Eco-Tourism, as well as general business modules like Financial Accounting, Human Resource Management and Marketing. Courses generally feature a language option (French, Spanish, German or Italian), while IT and Tourism Law courses are also included.

There may be opportunities to spend a semester abroad, or to take a work experience placement as part of the course.

There are also a large number of further education courses available in Tourism, including some run by Fáilte Ireland that are available in the institutes of technology.  These cover subjects such as Tourism Studies, Travel Agency, Retail and Service Skills, Customer Relations, Information Technology, Marketing and Tourism Analysis.

Options after Qualification
Transport companies (including major airlines, ferry and rail companies), tour operators, travel agencies, promotional bodies, and heritage and entertainment attractions all provide career opportunities for tourism graduates.

Students who complete an ordinary degree course often have the opportunity to study for another year at college and graduate with an honours degree. There are also postgraduate opportunities for tourism graduates in areas such as International Tourism, International Business and Recreation & Leisure Management.

The Work
A tourism officer essentially promotes a particular area – local, regional or national. The work involves devising and co-ordinating marketing campaigns, producing tourist information and organising festivals, events and exhibitions. It can also mean travelling to other countries to generate interest in your area, and working with local tourism businesses to help them improve their facilities and attract more customers. Some tourism officers work in specific areas, such as heritage tourism or genealogy tourism.

Tourism Reps are usually employed by a tour operator or hotel and tend to work in popular holiday destinations and resorts. The basic brief is look after, and possibly travel with, a group of tourists; greeting them at the airport, showing them the sights, organising activities, selling longer day trips, and also dealing with problems that arise such as lost luggage or faulty showers.

Travel agency staff helps customers to decide on their holiday and travel plans. This involves checking the availability of tour packages, flights, hotels, car hire and coach operators, and making bookings on behalf of their clients. They also advise on issues such as vaccinations, visas, passports, insurance, weather conditions, restaurants and tourist attractions.

Personal Qualities & Work Environment
Enthusiasm and energy are the key features necessary. An ability to communicate and connect is also needed in the tourism industry. Resourcefulness is a characteristic that will stand to you in everyday work. 

Tourism is extremely suitable for those wishing to avoid office life. A lot of employment would include outdoors work in pleasant environments – like the beach! However, working in tourism involves hard work, the hours can be long and irregular, and resorts or destinations that are great for a few weeks can lose their novelty after a whole season.

The Money
Travel agency employees earn approximately €20,000 when starting off, which can reach €40,000+ with several years’ experience.

Jargon
Sustainable tourism: aims to meet the needs of present tourists and regions while protecting and enhancing the opportunity for the future
Incoming or inbound tourism: refers to visitors from other countries coming to the Ireland
Outbound tourism: refers to Irish residents traveling abroad
Eco-tourism: Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people
Genealogy Tourism: When ancestors of emigrants return to the home country to find out about their family histories
Busman’s Holiday: A holiday where you end up doing the same things that you do when you are at work

Job Titles
Tourism Manager
Tour Guide
Travel Rep
Travel Agent

Further Resources
Fáilte Ireland
Baggot Street Bridge
Dublin 2
Phone: 1890 525 525
Web: www.failteireland.ie and www.ireland.ie
Email: info@failteireland.ie

Tourism Ireland
5th Floor Bishop’s Square
Redmond’s Hill
Dublin 2
Tel: 01 476 3400
Web: www.tourismireland.com
Email: corporate.dublin@tourismireland.com

Irish Travel Agents Association
Heaton House
32 South William Street
Dublin 2
Tel: 01 679 4169
Web: www.itaa.ie
Email: info@itaa.ie

DiscoverIreland.ie
Web: www.discoverireland.ie