TRAVEL AND TOURISM
The tourism industry is one of the world's largest industries -
second only to oil in terms of monetary turnover. It was the fastest growing
industry.
A travel and ticketing course from an institute of good repute is
of tremendous help
Personal characteristics - One must
have the right aptitude for being a part of the tourism industry. One should
have a flair for communicating one's thoughts clearly. If you love challenges
enjoy interacting with people and have a dynamic approach, and then you will be
one of those lucky few who can proudly proclaim that you get paid for a job you
love doing best. It is an exciting and glamorous profession which will allow you
to spread your wings and boost your morale and personality.
Employment avenues - Opportunities
exist for becoming Information Assistants at these office counters, who are
employed to answer the queries of tourists and help them plan their itineraries
in India, or who can be posted for "welcome service" at the
international and domestic airports, greeting tourists on arrival and helping
them solve any problem they may have on where to stay, how to get into town and
so on. The Government of India Tourist Information Offices are scattered
throughout the country at the more popular tourist centers, and also overseas
in the most promising tourist markets of the world.
Personal characteristics - The job
is interesting and requires a quick and lively mind, a freshness of response
even to hackneyed questions, and offers opportunity to acquire and garner
information at first hand, especially of the lesser known places which deserve
more prominence on the tourist map of the country.
At senior Government positions, there is enough scope for creative
contribution to the advertising and publicity aspects of tourism promotion, and
of scientific planning of the rapidly growing industry.
Transport Services
Air transport- Total
concept of travel has been revolutionized by air travel after the Second World
War. It has greatly helped development of tourism as it exists today.
Working in an airline - on ground as in flight - is a more
tempting option for many. Government has granted new land rights and even
additional flights to foreign airlines such as Aeroflot, British Airways and
Royal Jordanian. Expansion of airline network results in more jobs both at the
ground and crew level. Some recruitment for both categories is done locally.
Cathay Pacific regularly recruits staff in India.
About 15-18 vacancies of flight attendants are filled each year
and those selected are given an attractive package deal. In Hong Kong the
flight attendants receive rental assistance payment in addition to their five
figure rupees basic salary, considerable travel concessions, a comprehensive
medical assistance scheme and a non-contributory long: retirement gratuity.
Those looking for a job in a foreign airline can expect gains from
time to time. The Indian aviation scenario, however, is grossly overstaffed and
underpaid compared to their foreign counterparts.
While there is an aura of glamour about airline jobs, it is a
rather strenuous job. A Flight Attendant or an
Air Hostess has to get used to pressurized cabins and remain
poised even at an unearthly hour like two attending to all kinds of passengers.
There are emergencies - crash landing, hijacking, etc., which situations are
requiring grit. An Air Hostess or Flight Attendant is trained to remain
composed and appear clam even in a crisis.
also are recruiting Indians for counter jobs and some like Pan Am,
British Airways, Air France, etc., have Indian flight attendants and hostesses.
A degree or diploma in tourism is needed for a gro.und job. Taking
advantage of this, a number of spurious institutes have sprung up in the
country, offering what they call an airlines diploma. Most of these institutes
are not recognized and anyhow need careful verification.
Road transport- Road
transport too provides employment.
There is considerable scope for self employment particularly for
the educated where knowledge of a foreign language is an additional asset.
Coaches and tourist cars with educated drivers are in increasing demand.
Facilities for bank loans for acquiring these vehicles are available.
Commercial Services
Travel agencies :- Planning
a vacation or a 'business trips can be difficult and time consuming. Travelers,
therefore, seek the assistance of travel agents. Travel agents have the information
and know-how so as to make the best possible travel arrangements, with their
clients' preferences, budgets and other requirements in mind.
Consider, for example, the contrast between arrangements for an executive
with a tight schedule and for a family of four on a restricted budget both planning
a visit to Hong Kong. For the executive, an agent would arrange a first class
flight, a Hotel suite that could be used for business meetings and a limousine
ready upon arrival for business calls.
While for the family, the travel agent would recommend economical,
off season, all inclusive package and special air fares. The agent would suggest
a wide range of hotel facilities and arrange the most economical but
pleasurable trip. The agent generally also arrange for car rental or escorted
bus tours, suggest local tourist attractions and restaurants and acquaint the
family with the city's climate.
For international travel the agent also provide information on
customs regulations, required papers (passports, visas, and certificates of vaccination)
and the most recent currency exchange rates.
When making travel arrangements, travel agents consult a variety
of sources or information on departure and arrival times, fares and hotel
ratings and accommodations. Most travel agents rely on computers for up to date
information on fares and schedules. Travel agents may devote some of their time
visiting hotels, resorts and restaurants to rate presentations to social and special interest
groups, arrange advertising displays, and meet with business managers to
suggest company sponsored trips.
Travel agents spend most of their time behind a desk conferring
with clients, completing paperwork, contacting airlines and hotels for travel arrangements
and promoting group tours.
Employment avenues - Though
travel agents are working in all part of the country, they are concentrated in
major population centers since the best business opportunities exist in these
places. At
Self employment is common
feature in this sector.
Commercial Services - Personnel
Career prospects in travel are evident at the airport itself, the
first point of contact for a tourist. Besides those already explained,
opportunities exist in the following: Immigration Department -
Immigration is the first counter where the visitor has to be serviced. T e
Government and industry agree that we should have a separate
immigration cadre. A beginning has been made for training the first batch.
Curriculum in some universities new provides for teaching of immigration procedures.
Customs Department - The
services have been in existence for a long time as a separate cadre and as the volume
of traffic increases, the number of counters will have to be considerably
increased. Refer to Chapter on Civil Services for information about training.
Guides - Young graduates who have a flair for
history and languages could work as licensed guides.
Is t guides are in growing demand. Tourist guides are paid
handsomely and their work is interesting. They
language is greatly helpful. The Indian Institutes of
Travel and Tourism Management (lITM) offers a ful fledged empanelled
as a guide. This is a short duration course.
Training in cultural tourism is most popular. This Trade is now diversifying.
It could absorb more people.
For instance, a party seeking adventure tourism would be
interested to enlist the participation of like minded youth in the host
country.
$104 billion investment for airport expansion
Passenger capacity of
the world’s three fastest growing airlines — Emirates, Qatar Airways, and
Etihad — is on pace to quadruple to 200 million passengers by 2020, warranting
GCC governments to spend a total of $104 billion for airport expansion over the
next few years, a latest aviation industry forecast said.
The
“explosive growth” in passenger traffic triggered by these airlines has
necessitated the large-scale expansion of existing facilities, the report
noted. “By 2015, Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi international airports will have a
combined annual capacity of 190 million passengers.
Jamal Al Hai, Executive Senior
Vice President for Communications and International Affairs at Dubai Airports,
said the Airport Show is taking place at a time when AED500 billion is expected
to be invested to increase capacity of the UAE airports to 250 million
passengers by 2020, including $8 billion for the Dubai International
development.
In
2010, Dubai alone handled more cargo than all the other GCC airports combined.
In
its recent forecast, Boeing predicted that Middle Eastern airlines would
require 2,340 aircraft by 2029 with a total value of $390 billion as the
regional industry expands; Airbus also forecast that by 2028, the Middle East
fleet would triple in size.
Qatar targets 24m annual
passengers in new airport
Doha: Qatar will have a
world class aviation hub catering to 24 million passengers per year when a new
airport opens in 2010, officials said.
New Doha International
Airport's steering committee, said the airport is set to become a regional
transfer hub competing with other major international airports of the Middle
East and Asia regions.
The
current airport handles 4.2 million passengers a year, whereas the new airport
will be able to handle 12.5 million a year after the first phase of
construction. After its ultimate development in 2015, the airport will handle
50 million passengers, two million tons of cargo and 320,000 aircraft landings
and take-offs each year. Phase one will open in 2012, giving the airport a
passenger capacity of 24 million people a year and allowing the transportation
of 750,000t of cargo. The airport will have a five-star luxury hotel and a
three-star transit hotel.
The
complex will also include a centrally located 48,000 square metre cargo terminal
(750,000t/y) with 15m clearance, which will be among the 20 largest cargo
terminals in the world. There will also be hard standing areas for the
passenger terminal, an 80m ATC, hangar space for two A380-800s and three A340s,
plus a 70,000 square metre maintenance centre with mezzanine levels for access
to aircraft top decks.
To
accommodate the extra gates, the terminal building will extend to 416,000
square metres and would be capable of handling more than 50 million passengers
a year, 320,000 aircraft movements and two million tons of cargo.
Dubai Airport Project
Concourse 3, which will cater solely for Emirates Airline
flights, is spread over 500,000 square meters and 11 levels. Featuring 20
contact gates and 13 remote stands, all capable of accommodating Airbus A380
aircraft, Concourse 3 will boost Dubai International’s capacity to 75m
passengers per year.
The opening of Concourse 3 is part of Dubai Airports’
US$7.8bn Strategic Plan 2020, which aims to boost Dubai International’s annual
capacity to 90m passengers by 2018 through several airport and airspace
expansion projects.
The
UAE, in particular, has aggressively pursued this model over the last decade
and consequently rapidly climbed up in international rankings; with 48 million
passengers in 2010, Dubai International is now the world’s fifth largest
airport. Al Maktoum International
Airport — will be able to handle 70 million passengers. This is gigantic
considering that the population consists of only a few million, including guest
workers. The target market is clearly the global citizen. Dubai Airport has doubled
in size every few years. Abu Dhabi and Qatar are following suit.
Abu Dhabi Airport expansion plans
to go ahead despite recession
Abu Dhabi
Airports Company (ADAC) announced another major milestone in the development of
Abu Dhabi International Airport. Terminal
3 will enable the airport to serve up to 12 million passengers a year, an
increase of more than 5 million. Midfield Terminal Complex will be able to
handle more than 20 million passengers a year. To take a larger share of the global airline
market will see it increase its airport’s capacity from 7 million passengers a
year to more than 40 million a year.
Cargo
handling capacity will also increase to 2.5 million tonnes a year. The most
expensive element of the project is the $6.8bn Midfield Terminal.
Kuwait unveils $2.1bn airport
expansion plan
Kuwait
International Airport has unveiled its US $2.1 billion expansion plans which
will more than double its annual passenger capacity. The master
plan for the new terminal building, designed by renowned UK-based architect
firm Foster + Partners, will see the airport’s annual passenger capacity
increase to 13 million passengers per year, with further development allowing
it to accommodate up to 50 million passengers per year. At present, the airport
has a capacity of around 5.69 million passengers per year and can accommodate
46,930 aircraft.
Riyadh airport to triple capacity after expansion
Riyadh airport to triple capacity after expansion
Riyadh’s King Khaled
International Airport
The capacity
of Riyadh’s King Khaled International Airport is expected to triple when
expansion work that is set to begin in November will be completed in three
years, senior officials of the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) said
here yesterday. GACA’s has a plan to implement mega development projects in the
near future to further expand its network of 28 airports that handle about 54.5
million passengers a year. The new King Abdulaziz International Airport Jeddah
is expected to be operational in 2014 and its capacity would rise to 30 million
passengers a year with the completion of the first phase of the project. The
new King Abdulaziz Airport will serve 30 million passengers by 2014. King
Khalid Airport will be expanded to welcome 25 million passengers and Prince
Muhammad airport will be developed to welcome eight million passengers.
King Abdulaziz International Airport, in Jeddah, is being renovated and expanded as part of a three-phase, US$11.3 billion project, which is due to be completed in 2035. The purpose of the project is to increase the airport's capacity from 15 million to 80 million passengers per year. Expansion is also taking place at Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Airport in Medina - the first that GACA is developing under a PPP contract - to increase the hub's passenger capacity by 14 million every year up to 2016. Phase 1 of this project will be costing US$ 1.5 billion.
King Abdulaziz International Airport, in Jeddah, is being renovated and expanded as part of a three-phase, US$11.3 billion project, which is due to be completed in 2035. The purpose of the project is to increase the airport's capacity from 15 million to 80 million passengers per year. Expansion is also taking place at Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Airport in Medina - the first that GACA is developing under a PPP contract - to increase the hub's passenger capacity by 14 million every year up to 2016. Phase 1 of this project will be costing US$ 1.5 billion.
The new airport will have a single passenger terminal for
both Saudi Arabian Airlines and foreign airlines and will cover an area of
678,000 square meters. About 51,700 square meters inside the airport will be
allocated for shops while a 6.5 square-km area outside the airport building
would be set aside to implement investment projects such as hotels, hospitals,
recreation centers, aircraft maintenance facilities and light aviation
industries.
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