Tourism and Travel

Major Description

Follow your career dreams in the exciting world of tourism and travel! Experience the personal satisfaction of assisting others with their vacation and business travel needs. Take advantage of the excellent travel discounts available to travel and tourism industry professionals. In this program you will learn about some of the travel resources that are NOT available to the general public. You will also learn how to assess clients' needs and match them with products, services, attractions, and destinations that will assure a pleasurable travel experience at the best possible value. Students will be provided with practical, hands-on experience, realistic case studies, the opportunity to book live reservations for clients, and access to a Global Distribution System (GDS), such as Worldspan, from home via the Internet.

Who Should Participate in This Program?

Most often, those who find satisfaction in the travel and tourism field are those who enjoy working with people and problem solving. Other important qualities are an outgoing nature, organizational skills, being detail oriented, and finding it rewarding to assist others with their travel and tourism needs.

Nature of Work

Vast amounts of travel information are advertised on the Internet. Travel planning can be time consuming, frustrating, and costly for the consumer.

Through access to products and resources not available to the general public, as well as training, experience, and expertise, travel counselors are able to provide clients with the best value for both business and leisure travel. Travel counselors may recommend appropriate destinations, attractions, accommodations, modes of transportation and may also procure travel arrangements for their clients.

Career Opportunities

Tourism and hospitality is the largest industry in the world! This program prepares students with the knowledge and skills to become successful in the tourism and travel industry. Graduates can find full-time, part-time, and seasonal work in offices as well as working out of one's home. Positions are available with visitor and convention bureaus, corporate and leisure travel agencies, host travel agencies for independent contractors, tour operators, wholesalers, airlines, airline consolidators, car rental companies, and hotels/motels/ resorts. Salary estimates and projections vary based upon the organization, geographic location and employment position. Starting salaries for individuals new to the travel and tourism industry range from $20,000 to $30,000 per year. With more experience, annual salaries of $50,000 to $60,000 may be possible.

Program Delivery

In the classroom or online, courses are delivered in a hands-on workshop environment. Technical courses are offered in a weekend-college format (Friday evenings and all day Saturday) or online. Students may enroll full-time or part-time in either Fall or Spring semester. Classroom courses in this program are offered at DCTC's Apple Valley site.

Professional Organizations

Students are encouraged to join professional organizations such as the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) Future Travel Professionals Club. Students are also encouraged to attend the regular seminar/meetings of the Upper Midwest Chapter of ASTA.

This program is an official test site for the national TAP (Travel Agency Proficiency) Test. This test has been developed by The Travel Institute (formerly ICTA) and ASTA in order to provide a national standard for the travel industry.

Student Outcomes
  1. Graduates completing the program will be prepared for employment in the tourism and travel industry.
  2. Students will successfully manage the Worldspan GDS.
  3. Students will have hands-on experience in the field through building reservation records, and working with case studies.
Faculty
TBA 651.423.8397 tba@dctc.edu BIO
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