Step 5 Developing reading skills

Read a passage from the book by К R. Collins ‘Working in Tourism’ and discuss it.

The World Tourism Council estimates that by the end of the XX^thcentury the tourism industry will be the world’s largest employer. At the moment travel and tourism employ one in every 15 workers worldwide.

Once only the rich travelled, but now the development of hotel and resort accommodation together with the affordability of air transport and the increase in leisure time means that it is easy for people to travel.

Whenever the topic of international tourism crops up, statistics involving lens of millions are mentioned but it is not always easy to understand how these statistics are compiled.

How can anyone count all these people who move away from their homes in search of novelty and entertainment? Of course, the tens of

thousands of Russians who take a package holiday abroad and their counterparts in North America who go south in the winter are tourists. But so are the day trippers in Britain and France who go on a cross-Channel shopping spree, a day trip to the seaside and scientists who regularly attend conferences away from home.

All these people require an army of people to service their needs.

The tourism industry is so sprawling that job definitions are not always precise. The classic tourism job is that of guide or representative (formerly known as couriers), the person who looks after holidaymakers.

Guides work in a town, city or area and usually return to base each evening whereas tour guides (managers), or directors, travel round with their clients staying in a different place most nights.

A tour operator puts together the components of a holiday package or tour, booking accommodation, travel and services. The people who work in the office in charge of the bookings, budget, etc are ‘destination managers’ most of whom were once reps or guides themselves.

A ground handler is the term for a company which looks after visitors at a destination.

Travel agents (or consultants as they prefer to be called in the US) have the job of selling the packages created by tour operators. Travel agencies are like any high street stores rather than designer studios. They are retail outlets which, like high-street stores, are often part of a national chain.

Contrary to popular opinion, working in a travel agency does not lead directly to jobs in other tourism sectors, though it is useful training for other things. Tourist information centres (TICs) employ a vast number of people. Incentive conferences serve as bonuses to the high-achieving staff in big companies, and provide a surprising amount of work within the industry. For example, a multinational electronics company might organise a luxury island holiday for those employees who have been responsible for increasing turnover in the previous financial year.

Arguably, package tourism has been guilty of harming local economies, particularly in developing countries.

From the locals’ point of view in the tourist destination, foreign tour operators employ foreign staff to look after foreign holidaymakers who pay for most of their holiday in foreign currency. There is some trickle down to the local community but not nearly as much as there would be if it provided the services to travellers and tourists.

On the other hand, packaged tourists can be better controlled, and if the company looking after them is sensitive to local concerns, this can be more

beneficial than a mass invasion of independent travellers.

Anyone who enjoys looking after people, has stamina and the will to work hard even under pressure has a good chance of finding work in tourism.

There are jobs in tourism for young and old, male and female, school leavers and university graduates, people of all nationalities. And ability to crack jokes and solve practical problems knows no limits of age, nationality, sex or background. It is one of the few industries where sex discrimination is minimal. Many heads of companies are women particularly in conference organizing.

The only jobs which women don’t seem to want are those of coach drivers, since lifting their enormous suitcases can be a challenge.

Everyone involved with the travel industry agrees that personality is more important in this sector than in most others, and in many cases even more important than qualifications and experience. Although there are behind-the-scene roles, most travel industry employees deal with public face-to-face and employers are looking for bright, enthusiastic and well- organised individuals to look after their clients. Knowledge of a foreign language is becoming more valued, though a great many people employed in the industry are still monolingual. People who speak with a pronounced accent (regional, foreign, etc) are normally at advantage, provided they speak clearly and can be easily understood by other people.

Recent years have seen a welcome and growing awareness of the damage (hat mass tourism can do. Groups which were once allowed to rampage through tourist destinations with no regard for the feelings of the locals or die preservation of the local environment (both natural and cultural) are being better controlled. Nowadays tourism bosses are beginning to realise (hat tourism has been destroying the very thing it seeks to promote, though (here is still a great deal of scope for progress in this area.

But a more mature and sensible attitude prevails today, and applicants for many posts will be expected to show sensitivity to these issues. Anyone with a background in conservation or who can demonstrate an ability to interpret sympathetically the culture of foreign countries will have an advantage. For certain jobs a background in conservation, history, architecture or other professional qualification is more useful than general tourism training.

Many attractions need local guides with specialised knowledge, basic emergency aid training, perhaps a health and hygiene certificate, plus any specialist qualifications will get you more interviews and will help you to give a better service to clients.

Task 1. Answer the questions on the text

Why does the tourist industry employ so many people?
What people are called tourists?
What are the basic jobs in tourism?
What qualities are needed for these jobs?
What is the idea of incentive conferences?
In what way can package tourism be harmful to local economies?
What is the scope of job opportunities in tourism?
Why is personality so vital in any job in tourism?
How important is knowledge of a foreign language for those who work in tourism?
Why is ecological aspect of tourism becoming so important nowadays?
What qualifications are needed for some jobs in tourism?

Task 2. Summarise the key issues of the text Task 3♦ Comment on the following issues.

Do many people want to work in tourism? Why (not)?
What are the job requirements for those who want to work in tourism in Russia?
What tourism jobs are considered highly in Russian tourism?
What jobs do not seem very attractive to you? Why?
How are jobs in tourism paid in Russia?
What tourism-related jobs require high qualifications?
What kind of job would you like to take up?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the job?
Can you compare the development of tourism in Russia with other countries and parts of the world?
What are the latest trends in tourism development in Russia?

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