As the global tourism industry is still recovering from the crippling Covid-19 pandemic, millions of tourism jobs are expected to return. As anticipated, the negative situation created by the pandemic brought significant rearrangements in the tourism sector based on this new reality.
Concerning employment, the demand for specific tourism jobs in 2021 has skyrocketed. These high demand tourism positions are crucial to safeguard a safe and smooth transitioning to global travel that had received a big impact.
Tourism jobs in 2021 that you Should Consider
Online Travel Agent
In the past years, travellers have started to move away from the traditional brick and mortar travel agents who used to be the backbone of international travelling for decades.
As internet penetration went up with digital technology, many travel agents went bust due to not being competitive. Those lucky enough to survive this wave of digital disruption had to deal now with COVID and the subsequently stagnant travelling that is not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels before 2023.
But as big travel agents go bust and there is a broader thirst for personalized travel planning, more independent travel agencies find room to compete in the market.
Travel Insurance Agent
Among the tourism jobs in 2021 that have high demand, there is also the travel insurance agent. As Covid-19 ruined many travelling plans in 2020 and travellers lost money, travel insurance agents have become a must. To avoid unpleasant situations like the above, many travellers now want to have the safety of an insured trip.
This job may be more related to the financial sector than tourism, but if you have worked in tourism or want to, positions in both sectors require competencies, like sales skills, that are important.
Smart Tourism Technology Developer
Becoming “Smart” is a new trending topic for many industries, including tourism. In essence, to turn “smart”, tourism jobs in 2021 need a broader application of ICT technology, mobile communication, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and virtual reality to develop innovative tools and approaches to improve.
Smart tourism is more sustainable, efficient and increases the competitiveness of businesses and destinations. Based on the new health protocols in place for Covid-19, innovative technology can help reduce crowds and queuing or reduce the interactions with staff.
If you are a developer and want to work in tourism, this is one of the best tourism jobs in 2021. This would be your best chance as there is currently a high demand for smart technologies in the sector.
Airbnb Host
Airbnb has been here with us for some years now, and it seems that it has solidified its position in the tourism sector. While Airbnb acts as a competitor to many traditional tourist businesses like hotels, one does not exclude the other.
On the one hand, it has been criticized for gentrification in tourist areas worldwide and the subsequent rise of rents making locals unable to find cheap apartments to live in. On the other hand, it has empowered property owners to make their properties fully-fledged businesses to earn significantly more amount of money.
The modern tourist desires to get away from touristy places and have authentic experiences while living like a local. Airbnb allows them to live along in local neighbourhoods and in homes that follow the traditional architecture of each place.
But, even if you do not own a property, you can use the Airbnb platform to work as a tour professional offering unique experiences in your area. These could include wine tasting in local wineries, local food tasting, and tour guides to see your destination through the eyes of a local.
Conclusion
As tourism is still under transformation from Covid-19 and we are still waiting to see the results of this process, the above is some of the tourism jobs in 2021 with the highest demand according to the current needs. These are greatly influenced by the public demand for safer, healthier, more innovative and personalized travelling that allows tourists to travel more confidently than last year.
The Flexi-Tour Project
Flexi-Tour project is an Erasmus+ project that supports professionals in the tourism sector during these volatile times. As digital technology in tourism is becoming more and more prevalent, tourism professionals need to make sure that they can keep themselves up to date in terms of skills and that their businesses follow the digital transformation currently undergoing. Flexi-tour trains tourism professionals to meet the current skills demands in the labour market and promotes lifelong learning to increase the competitiveness of tourism businesses in local communities with the use of technological innovations.
You can learn more about Flexi-Tour project by visiting the official webpage.
