Travel sector employees could be more thoroughly trained

13:15 5th February 2009

The Institute of Travel and Tourism has said that the travel industry could benefit from training its staff in more sections of the business.

Claire Steiner, director and chair of education and training at the Institute of Travel and Tourism, said that training staff in areas beyond what they were normally used to was a good move during the downturn and would help the industry adjust when business picked up again.

She added that firms which were forced to shed jobs during the recession could otherwise find that they were under-staffed in some departments when the economy improved.

Ms Steiner said: "For example, if you have a sales team that specialises in one particular area, cross train them to sell in more than one area so they can increase their selling potential."

The director said that training could also help foster increased loyalty in existing staff while giving them the chance to increase their skill-set.

Computer training and other courses could facilitate career development for staff.

The AA Appointments' annual Salary Forecast found that the majority of businesses in the travel management sector have frozen recruitment.