How to become successful in the field of travelling? What are the causes in this field

Dear Vivan,

You are jumping into one of the most promising careers. Before you go ahead, ask yourself if you are mentally prepared for this sector where the opportunities are vast and varied. You must also have the requisite qualifications so that you don't start at the very bottom and struggle your way up the career ladder.

If you are in 10+2 you can go for BBA in Tourism and Travel, which is a 3-year course. And, if you are a graduate you can opt for MBA in Tourism and Travel Management. There are also industry-approved diploma courses in the field. Close to 60 institutions, including 40 public universities offer programmes in Tourism and Travel.

Now let's talk a bit about Travel and Tour Operations.  A travel agent sells vacation or holiday ackages while a tour opeator literally operates the tour.  It's the duty of the tour operator to create a tour plan, confirm accomodation, guides etc. In short, right from planning to execution of the tour programme,  the tour operator has abig role to play.

Different types of tour operation comprise: Outbound/inbound/domestic/specialist tour operators. The first three are broadly related to places of tourist interest while the last one caters to adventure tourism, extreme weather, or extreme sports like spotting a snow leopard etc.

Tour operation comprises development of tour packages, research, field visit, negotiating contracts, pricing, etc. it's also important to note that nowadays job roles of a tour operator and travel agent has blurred to such an extent that both terms are used as synonyms. However, a travel agent majorly looks after the travel component of tour opeation like air or train ticket booking, hotel reservation, car rentals, travel insurance etc.

In a nutshell, travel agents and tour operators play a vital role in the business of tourism, which is expected to contribute Rs. 8,50,000 to the country's GDP by 2020. So get the right qualifications, groom your personality, get some level of competency in foreign languages other than English and get set and go! Best of luck!!!