If you’re the kind of person who’s never happy unless they’re on the move; if you’re the kind of person who is always to be found pouring through Lonely Planet guides and planning your next trip’s itinerary, chances are you have a passion for travel.
If that’s the case; if you live and breathe travel, then finding a career that encompasses the world of travel is likely to be the holy grail, and you know what? It’s far easier to achieve than you might have thought.
One of the best ways to run your passion for travel into a career is by becoming a travel blogger or vlogger – someone who gets out there and reports what they see for the people back at home who may be considering visiting a given destination themselves or maybe just living vicariously through the blogs they read and the vlogs they watch. However, there are lots of other roles, from tour guides to travel agents that can also be great career choices for travel lovers too.
Sound good? Here’s how to get a career in travel in 2021:
Focus on what you want to achieve
Before you can achieve anything in life, you need to focus on what exactly it is you want to do and why. This will give you the motivation, and a pathway to follow to get you to your goal. So, do you want to travel the world reviewing high-end restaurants for money? Do you want to be a travel writer? Do you want to educate people about the beautiful places on this planet that are under threat? Do you want to work for the TSA? Then take a TSA CBT test prep course. Work out exactly what you want and only then can you find a way to make money doing it.
Take a risk
Turning travel into a career is not easy, if it was, we’d all be doing it! However, it is possible, but you will probably need to take a risk or three before you find your feet. If you want to be a successful travel vlogger, you need to get out there and start filming your travels; you then need to upload those travels on the internet for everyone to see. That is scary stuff! People will be watching you and judging you and there’ll be nowhere to hide, but if you want to succeed, you need to take the plunge and film that trip to Tokyo or document your trip to Denmark on Instagram or whatever. There is no getting around that fact. This applies to pretty much any travel career too – taking the first step is tough, but it is a must if you want to get anywhere at all.
Give up your day job (or don’t)
This is a difficult point because many of us have various obligations that we need to fulfil and we would not be able to easily give up our day jobs to pursue a career in travel. If you are one of those people, it could be a good idea to keep a day job for the time being.
Of course, if you have few commitments, or you’re willing to take a really big risk and you have a little money saved up, there’s nothing like quitting your job, buying a round-the-world ticket and jumping right into the world of vlogging or travel writing or whatever to make you sink or swim. It’s a gamble, but it might be one that you’re willing to make to live the life you really want?
Have an angle
If you want to have a successful career in travel, then you need an angle. If you play it too broad, you may end up interesting nobody at all, which means you will not make nearly enough money to survive, let alone thrive. Your angle could be anything from running an eco-travel agency to exploring theme parks around the world and documenting them in vlog posts – just try to make it something that people will actually be interested in, and which you will have plenty of enthusiasm for because at the end of the day, people will know if you’re faking it and they will not buy.
Have confidence
If you want to make it in this particular career, then it almost goes without saying that you need to be confident in all that you do. If you believe you can do it, you are one step closer to actually doing it. So, try not to doubt yourself, make the best content/pitch/resume you can and let your passion shine through, and eventually, you will get there. Travel is all about passion and knowledge and if you have both, and it is obvious that you have both, you can make it in your chosen travel career for sure.
Connect with people
In terms of vlogging, for example, f you can build a connection with your audience, they will follow you wherever you go. They will want to know if you managed to find the best dumplings in Osaka or the most thrilling theme park ride in the world, and they will keep tuning in to see how you are doing. So, as well as creating content, make a real effort to connect with your audience, talk to them, and build a rapport, Doing so will benefit you immensely.
Of course, connecting with people is useful no matter what your chosen travel career might be. Networking is a great way to meet people who are already doing what you do and pick their brains on how you can do the same. It is also a good way to hear about new positions first, and get recommended for your dream job.
Make your own job
Of course, if you’re struggling to forge a career in the world of travel, you could consider, for example, learning how to book Universal Vacations and starting your own travel company, or getting your scuba diving certification so that you can travel the world working at various beaches and resorts to support yourself, while also teaching fun and valuable skill. You could even set up your own website or blog just like this one. If there isn’t a market for your skills in the world of work, forge your own path instead. There is always room in this world for self-starters who are willing to get out there and take what they want from the world and starting your own business is a really good way of showing the world what you’re really about.
Stay focused
When you end up working in the travel industry, you may be jetting off to various far-flung destinations at regular intervals. it’s easy to get caught up in the travel and forget about the work part of the equation, but if you do this, you could potentially end up losing your dream job due to poor performance or letting your business go under because you are not dedicating enough time to it. Don’t let that happen, and stay focused on the goal – working in the travel industry. Sure, you can have fun and take some time out in the sun, but you need to get the job done too.
Never give up
Sometimes, it can feel like getting your dream job in the travel industry will never happen, but more people than you know are blogging, vlogging, running tourism companies, and living their dreams. If you truly want it, you just have to keep plugging away at it and looking at it from new angles. For example, if you can’t make it as a blogger, maybe you’d be better off working as a tour guide? Teaching English online is now also an excellent option. If you want something badly enough, there is always a way to get it, even if it doesn’t quite come in the form you thought it would.
Keep up to date
Whether you want to be a vlogger, a tour guide or a travel agent, it is vital that you keep your working knowledge of travel up to date. No one is going to have confidence in you if you don’t even know the basics about the thing you are supposed to be most passionate about, so take the time to read travel journals, books and magazines, and maybe spend some more time going off the beaten track when you do travel so that you know more and have more to offer as a result.
If you’ve been dreaming of turning your passion for travel into a career, what is stopping you? Life is too short to not do what you love, and as you can see, it is not nearly as difficult as you might have thought to get into the travel industry and make waves. Of course, it’s not easy either – it will take time, dedication and creativity to make a success of your new endeavour, but won’t it be worth it when your life is even more immersed in the world of travel than it was before?
