Industry leaders have called on the sector to step up efforts to attract new staff in the face of the continuing recruitment crisis.
Speaking at Travel Weekly’s first People Summit, company bosses said the onus was on travel businesses to do more to promote the sector and tell new recruits why it was a “great place to work”.
Dame Irene Hays, owner of Hays Travel, said: “We have a real opportunity to demonstrate in these times of challenge and adversity what a wonderful opportunity it is to work in travel.
“I don’t think we are doing enough to showcase what a wonderful industry this is. It’s really important we all do our best.”
Hays has taken on 542 apprentices since September last year and has a further 30 going through the company’s induction process.
Royal Caribbean vice president EMEA Ben Bouldin urged firms to up the ante on marketing to entice more people to consider a career in the travel industry.
He stressed: “We have to put more effort into marketing our sector.”
He said he would be “open to all avenues” in terms of working in conjunction with other parts of the industry to attract staff to the sector, adding it was also important potential employees understood the “fun factor” of working in travel.
He added: “We have got to market our brand offer more effectively than before. We have to position ourselves as a brand that people are interested in having a look at.”
USAirtours chief executive Guy Novik said incentivising existing staff to promote a career in travel to their friends and family had historically worked very successfully to aid recruitment.
He said: “Over the years our biggest source of new staff has always been staff recommendations. We already incentivise staff to do it. No-one will recommend us if we are not a good employer.”
The Travel Network Group said it supported its members to bring in new staff by helping them take on apprentices through a national scheme.
Chief executive Gary Lewis said: “It’s about being creative. We have a whole apprenticeship structure in place at head office that members can tap into to get someone locally to work in their shop.”
He added that smaller businesses such as TTNG agencies had to be more innovative in their approach to recruitment and think about ways to offer more flexibility to attract staff.
Pictures: Steve Dunlop