How will an internship abroad prepare me for a career in Tourism?

Fancy a career in tourism but not sure if it will be for you, why not try it out for size with an internship?

It’s not just about waiting at tables

Tourism in itself is a massive industry and although table waiting and hotel housekeeping are a part of it, they’re the only jobs in tourism! If your ambition is to not only to travel, but to be part of the travel industry then a career in tourism may be just the thing for you.

Whether you’re studying Leisure and Tourism or just love working with and for people you’ll know that what matters most is experience and personality; you need to love communicating with all sorts of different people and working in a customer focused environment. Tourism isn’t your average 9-5 and you’ll be more than likely to be rushed off your feet most of the time, flexibility and the love of a good challenge are also essential qualities required for a sometimes testing but always rewarding profession.

What can an internship give me?

It’s true that studying the Tourism industry academically can give you a great insight into all of the strategies and figures involved, what it takes to manage a company, and give you a good understanding of customer demand and supply. A degree will also set you in good stead with any company as it shows you have a high level of skills and knowledge to bring to any marketing or operations team. Tourism, however, is all about the people and perhaps more in this industry than any other experience has vital importance.

An internship can give you a wealth of experience in just a few months and best of all; it will be directly hands on. You could be working right in the heart of your chosen sector; planning and executing marketing campaigns or setting up and organising tours yourself! After all the best way to prepare to enter the industry is to get a taste of it first, it shows you that you can do it and it’ll be clear to future employers that you know what you’re doing and how to do it!

Why go abroad?

Having an already pretty good knowledge of Tourism as we’re sure you already have, you’ll know how important it is to know your product. When you’re sending your customers off to the other side of the world it’s a good idea to know something about where you’re sending them and what they can do there, it’ll enhance their experience and make you really good at your job!

An internship can give you an in depth knowledge of the structure of the tourist industry abroad, the politics of committees and community groups and how to apply all of the skills you’ve learnt so far in a business environment. It’ll also be a fantastic cultural experience! Eating the food, seeing the sights and meeting the people your statistics are all about make it so much more real and give you such valuable insider’s perspective! Developing a little cultural sensitivity can give you an edge that few other candidates will have. Having worked in country, you’ll know all of the positives and pitfalls that people working in the services industry come across and will then be able to accommodate not only the needs of in country staff but the needs of the communities they’re working with!

Sustainable tourism is becoming more and more important and it’s hard to know which elements of the industry affect a country the most, unless that is, you can see it for yourself. First hand experience will mean you can see exactly what’s damaging to the local community and all that handy tourism knowledge will mean you’ll know how to start fixing it once you’ve gotten your hands on that dream job!

What options do I have?

There are so many options out there, take some time to carefully consider which one is for you. Do you want to work in event management? Sports administration? Hotels? Resort work? Working for government bodies? Marketing consultancies? You can gain experience in several sectors in varying lengths of placement; anything from a few weeks to a few months, or if you decide you like it all that much you could end up bagging a full time job and staying a few years!

The choices go on and on and so do the locations! Wherever people travel there are opportunities to gain experience in tourism. So, it’s up to you to decide what will suit you best, do you fancy working in hospitality and hotel management in Queenstown one of New Zealand’s biggest tourist attractions? Joining the pioneering responsible travel movement, and developing responsible but no less exciting adventure activities in Costa Rica? Or a spot of advertising and marketing in Ghana, one of the most beautiful jewels in Africa’s crown?

Raring to go? Then here are a few useful resources to give you a helping hand;

http://www.internabroad.com/search.cfm

�Working in Tourism: The UK, Europe and Beyond: The UK, Europe and Beyond - For Seasonal and Permanent Staff’ by Verite Reily Collins

http://www.i-to-i.com/campfire/travel-guides/44-Are-internships-abroad-worth-it-

http://www.i-to-i.com/campfire/travel-guides/77-Internships-at-home-versus-overseas-

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