Students looking to develop future careers
in travel and tourism have heard from industry experts about the range and
diversity of opportunities available in the sector.
The Institute of Travel and Tourism
(ITT) Future You Roadshow, hosted by Northumbria University, was held recently in
Newcastle with invited guest speakers and an audience of tourism students from Northumbria
and Teesside universities, and Newcastle and Gateshead colleges. Industry
leaders from some of the region’s most successful travel and tourism
organisations, including NewcastleInternational Airport, TR10 Travel,
and hotel chain the Cairn Group were able to
share their knowledge and experience.
The ITT Future You roadshows bring together some of the
biggest names in the travel and tourism industry to ITT Centres of Excellence
across the UK, including Northumbria University.
Dr Kate Harland, Graduate Tutor at
Northumbria and ITT Education and Training Committee member, said: “It was
fantastic to be back hosting an in-person ITT Future You, the first since 2019.
This event is integral to connecting students with the tourism and hospitality
industry, offering an inclusive environment for students to network with
industry professionals. The line-up of speakers this year demonstrated the
commitment and passion within the industry, offering inspiration and guidance
for the next generation of tourism and hospitality.”
James Ratliff, Client Services
Director at TR10, added: “Having supported ITT Future You digitally for the
past few years it was a real pleasure to meet and hear from the students that
benefit from the programme. This generation are perfectly suited to leverage
their aptitude for technology to help travel businesses improve customer
service and increase bookings. I’m grateful for the opportunity to
give insight into one of the more unconventional career paths available to
those with a desire to work in travel and tourism. It was very interesting to
hear from a range of industry experts about their career journeys to
date and the advice they had for students.”
Echoing these comments, Richard
Adams, HR Director at Cairn Group, said: “It was fantastic to get to meet some
of the sector’s up and coming stars. Hospitality careers thrive on offering
experiences and celebrate personality, and you can’t beat meeting face to face
to discuss what’s on offer for everyone involved. We’re excited about the
future and looking forward to continuing to work in partnership with the
university and their students.”
Chris Ion, Aviation Development
Manager at Newcastle International Airport, said: ‘’Newcastle International
Airport was delighted to attend the ITT Future You conference. The aviation
industry offers excellent career prospects with a range of exciting roles
available across our Airport and the wider industry. We were
delighted to engage with students and hope we were able to inspire the future
generation of industry talent.’’
As an accredited ITT Centre of
Excellence, Northumbria University is keen to attract other industry speakers
to future events, including the next Future You Roadshow in March 2023. For
more information please contact Dr Kate Harland.
