Hey fellas,
Hope you are doing great.
As a tourism student, I’m often asked a lot of questions, so I just decided to answer all those basic questions which I often come across and all that you need to know about it.

So, let’s begin
Let’s start by defining Tourism
What is Tourism?
Tourism comprises the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes.
Who is a Tourist?
A Tourist is a person who travels outside his/her place of residence for any purpose like business, leisure, entertainment and stays at another place for more than 24hrs and less than a year.
Who is a Traveler?
A Traveler is a person who not just travels, but gains experience by interacting with the locals, trying out different cuisines, and stepping out of their comfort zones.
A tourist stays within their comfort zone, traveler makes an effort to meet people from all over. A Tourist only sight sees, but a Traveler converses with locals

When is the World Tourism Day celebrated?
The World Tourism Day is celebrated every year on the 27th of September.

Now, some basic terms
UNWTO – The World Tourism Organization is the United Nations specialized agency entrusted with the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.
IATA – The International Air Transport Association is a trade association of the world’s airlines founded in 1945.
ICAO – The International Civil Aviation Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It changes the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth.
Let’s move on to Types of Tourism. There are 2 types of tourism ie- International and Domestic Tourism.

International Tourism : When people visit a foreign country, it is referred to as International Tourism. International tourism further divides into two types; Inbound Tourism & Outbound Tourism.
Inbound Tourism : This refers to tourists of outside origin entering a particular country. When people travel outside their host/native country to another country, then it is called inbound tourism for that country where he/she is traveling.
Outbound Tourism : This refers to tourists traveling from the country of their origin to another country. When tourists travel a foreign region than it is outbound tourism for his own country because he/she is going outside their country.
Domestic Tourism : The tourism activity of the people within their own country is known as domestic tourism.
The main questions I come across is about my degree and what do I study, the subjects and what is the future in Tourism.
Let me tell you about my degree, I am pursuing Bachelor’s in Tourism and Travel Management (BTTM), it is a four year course including training of a year. After that I want to pursue Masters in Tourism Management ( MTM), earlier I was planning on doing it from IITTM ie Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, but now I intend to do it from IGNOU ie Indira Gandhi National Open University. I’m currently in my last semester.

The subjects I studied were –
Introduction to Travel and Tourism Industry, Tourism Geography, Tourism Products of India, Emerging Trends in Tourism, Adventure Tourism both land,water and air based, Food Tourism, Airlines Management, Transport Management, Hotel and resort MGT, Accounting, Research Methodology, International Tourism, Rural Tourism, Customer Relations and Service Industry Management, Eco Tourism, Airlines Ticketing.
Career in Tourism
Tourism is the fastest growing Industry and the potential is enormous and encouraging for students opting for Tourism.

The public sector has opportunities in the Directorates and Departments of Tourism of the Centre and the State as Officers, Information Assistants, Tourist Guides etc.
The private sector has opportunities in travel agencies, tour operators, airlines, hotels, transport and cargo companies etc.
Overview of Jobs in Tourism and Travel :
- Be a Travel Agent/ Open up your own Travel Agency
- Tour Guide in a luxury train like Palace on Wheels or just a Tour Guide
- Travel Writer, Travel reviewer
- Travel Publicists
- Aviation: Cabin Crew ( Air Hostess, steward), Ground staff and operations
- Event Planners/ Organisers
- Tour Operators
- Hotel Manager, receptionist, front desk, concierge/travel desk.
- Adventure Sports Guide/Trainer
- Sales and Marketing
- Public Relations/Human Resource Manager
- Itinerary Planner
- Foreign Exchange
- Destination Manager
- Interpreters
- Travel security
- VIP lounge services
- Luggage potter
- Tourist information centre representative
- Online customer service representative
- Travel Blogging
- Vlogging
- Write Travel Magazines
Another question that I’m often asked is that Is Hotel Management and Travel and Tourism the same ?
Hotel Management and Travel and Tourism Management are often considered the same but are two different streams under the hospitality course sector.
The basic difference between hotel management and tourism management is- hotel management is a field that focuses on all aspects of operations including hotels, restaurants, cruise ships, amusement parks, country clubs, and convention centers while tourism management focuses on tourism development, management of the travel industry, tourism marketing, and tourism services.
You cannot do a course in Hotel Management and land up in Cabin Crew services. Although you can do Tourism and land up as a receptionist at a hotel.
So, these were some of the few questions and answers on Tourism. I also gave you guys a good overview of Tourism and Travel Management.
Hope you had a good experience reading this post and you gained knowledge on the subject.

What do you think about this post and how it helped you let me know in the comments section below!
Stay connected for more and I’ll be back soon…