Q&A with Travel & Tourism curriculum leader, Kerry Zdrodowski

Q. Tell us about how your career in Travel & Tourism started.

A. When I left school, I worked as high street travel agent for a number of years. I joined the agency as an apprentice and worked my way up to management before leaving to set up my own home working operation which I later left to pursue my teaching career. As much as I enjoy teaching, I love the industry and missed the ‘travel chatter’ that you can only get when you are working within it, so 3 years ago I established my home working business for Your Holiday Booking who operate under the Mid-Counties Co-operative Travel Consortia. I run the business part-time which enables me to keep current with industry practice and also share knowledge, resources and gain access to guest speakers for my students.

Q. What advice would you give someone considering doing a Travel & Tourism course?

Travel & Tourism is ever changing and you should follow as many travel news pages, social media platforms and blogs as you can. This will help you to keep current with the latest trends and factors impacting the industry today – knowledge you can then apply to your studies. In addition, you need to make sure you manage your time effectively around other work/life commitments so you can then maximise your learning potential on the course.

Q. What key skills do you think someone wanting to pursue a career in Travel & Tourism needs to have?

Many roles in Travel and Tourism are customer facing and the ability to build a good rapport with people is an essential skill. You need to be able to work as part of a team but also act under your own initiative so decisions can be made quickly in order to keep customers happy. Good time management and self-organisation is essential as you will often have to manage more than one task at time. Most importantly, you are working in an industry where you makes people's dreams and relaxation choices come alive so always have a smile on your face.

Q. What roles have previous Travel & Tourism students gone on to do?

The course will enhance career opportunities in a number of areas. Past students have gone on to gain employment in many different areas including cabin crew, airport services, events management, hotel management, tour operations, holiday representatives, cruise lines, travel agencies and visitor attractions.

Find out more about our Travel & Tourism courses and apply here