The travel industry appears more confident than other sectors in relation to recruitment activity, as companies prepare for costs to rise from April.
A survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) of 2,000 firms across the economy suggested that just over a third are planning to reduce their headcount through redundancies or by recruiting fewer staff.
But travel recruitment specialists told Travel Weekly they had not encountered hiring freezes, despite the upcoming rises in employers’ national insurance contributions and the minimum wage, with reports pointing to a job market that is generally performing well.
“We’re busier than ever at the moment due to a positive start to the year for the travel sector,” said MBM Travel Executives director Lisa Ntim.
Harp Wallen managing director Kristina Wallen highlighted the resilience of the travel industry and pointed to particularly high levels of activity in the recruitment market for middle-management and senior roles.
“We’re having a good start to the year and we’re recruiting some interesting people,” she said, adding: “We’ve been busier in the six months from September than we were in the same period last year.”
C&M Travel Recruitment noted that its data suggested there had been a 132% rise in the number of new travel jobs advertised last month compared with December, giving January the highest total since the same month in 2024.
The number of candidates seeking jobs rose last month by 99% compared with December and by 12% compared with January 2024. The figure was the second-highest January total in the last 14 years, behind January 2023.
The number of applicants being placed in jobs dropped by 20% compared with December, but remained at the same level as seen in January 2024.
C&M Travel Recruitment managing director Barbara Kolosinska said: “After an unusually busy December, it was very pleasing to see the momentum carry into January and create a hot start to 2025.
“It’s clear that lots of travel talent have chosen the new year as the perfect time to re-enter the job market, with last month being the second-busiest January in a decade for candidate registrations.
“What’s equally important is that there was also a big increase in companies creating new travel job opportunities last month, which rose to their highest level in a year.
“We’re already seeing this activity convert into a strong month of placements in February and while it’s far too early to create an accurate forecast for the year ahead, we’re hopeful that the positive start will continue throughout 2025.”
Gail Kenny Executive Recruitment director Laura Davis said there had been a “steady flow” of new roles being advertised this year, as businesses focused on trading during peaks.
Red Planet Travel Recruitment managing director GP Singh-Marwa described the job market as healthy, adding that strong demand for travel was fuelling high demand for staff.
“Companies are busy with bookings, and you need staff to make those bookings,” he said.
The upcoming hikes in employers’ costs would fail to make a significant dent in recruitment activity, he predicted.
“It may affect the very small companies, but I think the mid-sized and bigger companies will adjust to the cost within their sales,” he said.
The CIPD survey suggested that 42% of companies are planning to raise prices, while a quarter said they are cancelling or scaling down plans for investing in or expanding their business.
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