Aging Industry Must Embrace Technology, Increase Pay To Attract Youth
By Eric Maryanov, President & Founder, All-Travel.com
Travel Agent Electronic Edition, February 23, 2004
Since the beginning of my experience in the travel industry, the use of technology has been fascinating. Way before the days of dot-com we were integrating new processes with enhanced equipment to keep my agency ahead of the times. I remember it was just 1980 when we automated back-office functions, and most of my travel peers were just adding computer systems to their frontline operations.
To start any statement with “I remember when” gives some indication of how long a person has been doing something. In my case, I have been the founding owner of All-Travel.com for 20 years and active in the industry for 24 years, and have seen a lot of transformation. At All-Travel.com we try to embrace change and adapt to its inevitability as gracefully and seamlessly as possible.
It wasn’t so long ago that we were the young folks in the business, trying to learn the ropes, get to know the players and become successful as individuals and wholly as an organization. We continued to develop, try new ideas, and make a few mistakes, and somewhere along the way, we’ve all grown comfortably into middle age and beyond. Collectively, travel is an industry of older workers who represent another way of doing business.
First it was computers, then back office automation, then the Internet and all of the opportunities and challenges it brought to the travel industry. Phone calls were slowly replaced by voicemail messages, and personal visits have given way to the endless stream of email conversations. Business has become faster, virtual and less personal, yet I believe, more efficient if you can keep up with it all.
It comes as no great surprise that those of us who have survived have done so by accepting change and technology. The ability to adapt to new and evolving environments is critical, a skill we are all capable of yet not always willing to embrace. Adaptability is not a gender, age or race preference, it is an across the board requirement of success.
But as we grow older and wiser, the differences between then and now become more vivid. Many people in our industry are retiring, and most of the rest are on the brink in a few years.
To perpetuate the value and importance of the changing travel industry, we need to seriously look at what we’re doing to encourage young people to enter and stay in this business. We love it, and fundamentally travel is still the same beast we all know. We have the responsibility to foster this interest in the next generation.
So what can we do to attract the young and Internet savvy to this business? Many trade schools and universities offer hospitality programs to help train college students for careers in travel and tourism. We should be recruiting them to come work a summer internship at our agencies. Or participating in work exchange programs where these students gain course credits toward graduation for spending a set number of hours with us getting hands-on training.
Technology, however scary for many longtime travel industry professionals to grab hold of, is actually an asset we have to offer to future employees. These Gen X and Y-ers have known nothing but push-button phones, CDs, DVDs and hand-held electronic devices, how could a little technology possibly frighten them. To them, a rotary telephone or record album is a vintage antique.
One of the greatest strengths of All-Travel.com is our collaborative online presence. We are committed to providing current information and Internet-based tools on our website. With the increase of wholesalers offering online booking engines, we can now confirm travel arrangements through the Internet without the back-and-forth of phone calls. These functions alone have encouraged resumes and interest from the 30-something pool of potential hires. Which to me is a good start.
Compensation is another key element we need to address as an aging industry. We are travel marketers. We are sales professionals responsible for knowing our target audience and selecting appropriate products and services to promote, and should be compensated accordingly.
Just like any other industry, travel needs to offer competitive salaries and reward top sales performers with pay incentives. When personal income is directly related to how hard and effectively an employee works, everyone seems to benefit from the motivated achievers.
With the combination of advanced technological tools and greater economic potential, travel will be able to draw a younger work force. We’re not dinosaurs, but we also will not be roaming the office forever.
Retirement is a good thing for most people and we should celebrate this exit by a great majority of our colleagues with a sustainable plan of action. Think of all the fun this industry has brought us. Now it’s time to start training the next generation of travel industry movers and shakers, and future retirees.
For more information
contact Nicole Stinson, Public Relations
(310) 312-3368
