WTTC Campaign Looks to Change Industry’s Image
Members of the travel and tourism industry are being asked to participate in a new World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) campaign to help change the perception of a career in the sector.
People are being asked to create their own 15-second videos to explain why they love working in travel and tourism. Chris Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton Worldwide is being joined by other industry leaders including Raymond Bickson, CEO of Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, and Thulani Nzima, CEO of South Africa Tourism, in kicking off the Instagram campaign, which is intended to demonstrate the career opportunities available.
The campaign comes on the back of new research from WTTC, which shows that travel and tourism holds opportunities for job creation to address the youth unemployment and gender inequality issues faced by countries across the world. The findings show that the sector employs a higher proportion of women and young people compared with the workforce as a whole. The high proportion of youth in the industry is forecast to remain the case for the next 10 years.
However, serious challenges have been identified, when it comes to the understanding and profile of the sector. As David Scowsill, president and CEO, WTTC explains, people need to be persuaded to consider travel and tourism as a career option.
“Travel and tourism helps transport people to all corners of the world, immerse them in different cultures and experiences and provides a livelihood to millions worldwide. It’s a fantastic Industry to work in but we need to increase awareness of career opportunities. Graduates need to be moved away from always only considering banking or finance or law as careers with opportunities for progression and security and see travel and tourism as an excellent career option. We believe this campaign can play its part in doing that,” said Scowsill.
Scowsill emphasizes the idea behind the campaign is to increase information, clarity and visibility of travel and tourism careers.
“Travel and tourism offers work-life balance, international opportunities, travel and good benefits. But we need people to realize this. People in the travel and tourism industry have a great thing in common… we love travel. So there are no better people to sell the sector and be brand ambassadors to help shift perceptions.”
In the video, people are being asked to answer one of the following questions:
1) How or why did you decide to start a career in the travel and tourism industry?
2) What has been the most fulfilling (or inspiring) moment in your career?
3) Who has been most influential to you in your career?
4) Why would you recommend a career in travel and tourism to someone?
5) How has a career in travel and tourism affected/changed your life?
The videos then need to be uploaded to Instagram, tagging @WTandTC and hashtagging #TourismMatters for a chance to win a prize. A first prize of US$1,000 and runners up prizes of US$500 and US$250 will be awarded by WTTC to spend on a travel event of the winner’s choosing. The following video on YouTube explains the campaign in more detail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgISUCCkNZw .
