Hospitality and Tourism – Explained

Turks & Caicos Islands thrives on the hospitality & tourism industry as the backbone of the nation’s income. When we think of this industry, we usually draw from the tourism side, but hospitality is everywhere around us from grocery store clerks to travel agents to gas attendants and even chefs! The hospitality & tourism industry is vast and varies, encompassing many different careers, but there’s an important question to ask before diving into these careers…

What exactly is the hospitality & tourism industry?

To fully grasp the understanding of the popular hospitality industry, we must define it:

The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes lodging, food and drink service, event planning, theme parks, transportation, cruise line, travelling and additional fields within the tourism industry – Wikipedia

The hospitality & tourism industry can be categorized into 4 main career pathways: Lodging (Accommodation); Recreation, Amusements & Attractions; Restaurants & Food/Beverage Services; and Travel & Tourism. (Events Management can also be considered a career pathway depending on the source.)

Job requirements

The educational requirements are different for all the jobs covered under the hospitality & tourism industry, so make sure to research the specific career you’re interested in. There are jobs that don’t require a degree past high school, but you’d want to make sure you have some education beyond high school for a more prosperous career.

Jobs that require education beyond high school include events planner, hotel manager, animal trainer, and culinary chef. You can find a list of jobs in the hospitality & tourism industry here at O*Net OnLine, an online career exploration tool. The specific education required for these and other jobs will depend on the professional level you aspire to achieve in your career.

How to Stand Out

Careers in this industry are heavily customer service-oriented. No matter the venue, you’ll always be catering to customers” (the people you are providing a service to) on some level. Some skills valuable skills you should have in this industry include problem-solving, verbal & written communication, team work, and leadership & delegation.

Career-specific skills will be needed depending on the career, such as having a marketing education and background to apply the right skills in that role, having an education and background in human resources to fill that position, etc. You will develop and acquire more refined skills as you increase your level of education.