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Once upon a time, children would follow their parents into the travel industry because they realised the many wonderful perks that were available such as travel discounts, free flights, priority booking and many more besides. Ah, the good ole days!

This is what it was like when we started in the travel industry and it was definitely one of the reasons that attracted us to look for a career within the sector.

And yet today, things are quite different. The money, bonuses and such benefits are simply no longer available. You’re lucky if you’re offered above-average holiday provision and health care in your package, and that’s just not comparable to other sectors.

The travel industry and its leaders need to make a shift and turn the sector around. We’d love it to be competitive again as an attractive and financially viable career option for younger people to keenly enter the industry.

But where to begin?

We think if the pandemic has shown us anything, it’s that business people will always have to travel. It might look differently than it did before and as sustainability becomes more of a focus companies are certainly having to step up and take responsibility for their carbon footprint, however, it STILL was one of the first things business leaders reinstated as the world opened up again. So travel jobs will always be in demand and there is a good level of job security compared to many other sectors. In fact, we see the demand consistently growing.

“According to GBTA’s Business Travel Index Outlook report, business travel spending will reach $1.4 trillion in 2024 and nearly $1.8 trillion by 2027”.

But the way we recruit is also changing and that needs to stay up to speed in order to build a stronger and more impactful industry. We endeavour to do our part, but there’s far more to be done.

For starters, standard offers are no longer good enough.

· Benefits need to be far more competitive and relevant.

· Clients need to learn to read the room and offer what candidates actually deserve, not what they think is good enough or ‘standard’.

· Values must be matched to the offer you put forward. Values are becoming increasingly important and relevant to candidates as they look to align theirs with your companies.

For example, if you say you prioritise the mental health and well-being of your employees as an important value within the business then offering just 20 days holiday does not reflect this. Offer more, despite whatever may be ‘standard’.

We could go on, but the point here is that we LOVE this industry and know that it has so much going for it. We’d love nothing more than for it to be known as a thriving, attractive sector to work in with career opportunities in abundance.  We feel that leaders must be bolder, more ambitious and even less risk-averse to make the changes that we need to attract and retain exceptional people. If we begin to do this, we can create a truly enviable industry that others will want to become a part of.