Most people spend a lot of time researching and planning their trip. It is essential during the high season and events such as St Patrick's Festival to book travel, accommodation, tourist attractions and popular restaurants well in advance.

Tourists also require practical information regarding passports & visa requirements, travel & health insurance, vaccinations, car hire and important cultural differences.

Internet review sites, influencers and social media are playing an increasing role in directing tourists to destinations and experiences. The Film industry in Ireland has showcased Ireland’s spectacular scenery, culture and heritage, increasing tourism.

Nearly 95% of our overseas tourists arrive by air and 5% by ferry, with the UK and USA making up nearly 60% of the market. Others arrive by cruise ship or on a coach tour. Over half of our tourists visit Ireland for holidays or leisure, emphasising the importance of the business traveller.

Ireland has a strong presence in the aviation industry and are major employers, as are ferry operators, Irish Ferries and Stena Line.Ryanair is the largest airline in the world as measured by stock market capitalisation. Aer Lingus is the flag carrier of Ireland and has a long tradition of promoting Ireland as a destination around the world.

Is this Sector for me?

People working in this sector enjoy meeting new people from different cultures, backgrounds and walks of life. Every day is different. Your role would involve helping tourists with their itinerary, recommending places to visit, resolving queries and ensuring they get the most out of their trip.

This sector offers a diverse range of working environments from hotels, tourist information offices, tour operators and even airlines and cruise ships. The flexible hours involved in this sector, which could include weekends and evenings, make it ideal to balance study or family life.

People who work in this sector need to be good communicators and problem solvers to deal with unexpected situations. You should be organised, friendly, welcoming and have good people skills. Possessing a friendly and calm disposition can also be helpful as some people can become stressed during their travels.The ability to work as part of a team is essential. You will gain valuable transferable skills which are highly sought after by employers. Language skills are also very useful and will open up fantastic travel opportunities for you.

The level of skills and training needed for jobs in this sector vary. Health & Safety training is often required to ensure that tourists’ experiences are safe and enjoyable.

What roles can I choose?

A wide range of careers focus on providing information to tourists during their trip. Fáilte Ireland has over one hundred Tourist Information Offices and Information Points employing Travel Advisors.

Airline cabin crew and cruise ship staff are often the first point of contact for tourists, with world-wide travel a perk of the job.

Travel Agents help research and plan itineraries while Guest Relations managers in hotels assist customers with travel arrangements and recommend attractions and activities. A good tour guide with expert knowledge and passion for a specific topic, historical or cultural attraction, can really enrich peoples’ travel experiences.

Aside from taxi drivers, thousands of coach and bus drivers also work in the tourism industry, some specialising in unique sightseeing tours such as Viking Splash.

There are a whole host of other creatives involved in the industry such asTravel Photographers,Travel Writers, Content writers, Bloggers, Vloggers and Influencers. Many of these work on a freelance basis.

Read about James’s role as Owner of Killaloe River Cruises or a day in the life of the General Manager at Dead Centre Brewing. Check out Jack’s experience as a Business Tourism Intern at Fáilte Ireland which included a trip to Las Vegas. Whatever your interest the sector offers unrivalled opportunities to build your career from the ground up, retrain or upskill.

Begin your career journey today

There are many different routes to join this dynamic sector helping tourists to plan and explore. Any work experience will give you valuable customer service skills.

You may prefer to go to college where there are many courses at different levels.A broad based qualification in Hospitality Management is a good starting point. There are one year FET courses, such as Airline & Travel Industry Studies which will kick start your career and have progression routes to many CAO courses in the tourism sector. You may like to train as a Photographer, Bus Driver, Regional Tour Guide or a National Tour Guide. If you want a career change or to upskill, there are postgraduate options which open up many rewarding careers in tourism related sectors, both nationally and internationally.

As well as this sector, there are an abundance of live jobs and other career opportunities in hospitality and tourism.