ShikshaTopQuestions-Hospitality & Travel

MBA in travel and tourism management has achieved quite a success in the recent few years due to its engaging and diverse work sphere with its industry developing rapidly and being one of the leading industries of the world. Currently, travel and tourism has become one of the important members in international commerce and represents at the same time one of the essential income sources for many developing countries. This evolution goes alongside with a rising diversification and competition among preferred destinations.
A career in travel and tourism is definitely fascinating and compelling for candidates who are extremely determined to prosper their future in this field. There are several eminent institutes which offer both PGDM and MBA course in travel and tourism management, which can help candidates to learn about the subject in-depth.
The duration of this course is for 2 years with 4 semesters throughout the academic years. The subjects of study included in the course are:
Management Principles:1.Management: Science, Theory and practice
-Planning and Decision Making
-Organizing
-Staffing
-Directing
-Controlling
-Social Responsibility and Ethics
2.Fundamentals, ideals and practices of tourism:-Meaning & Measurement of Tourism-Motivation and Organization of Tourism-Socio-Cultural & Economic Impacts of Tourism-Tourism planning and Development-Dynamics and Development of Tourism
-Through these subjects, candidates are given an extensive knowledge about tourism education and an exposure of the different elements of the subject are made.
3.Tourism itinerary and products:-Tourism Products and Distribution-Natural Resources-Socio Cultural Resources-International Rail, Car, Air and Cruise Line Tourism Devices-Different kind of Destinations, Commercial/Heritage attractions
4.Travel Consultancy and Tour Activities:-Introduction: Travel Consultancy & Tour Operations-Travel Documentation-Modern Travel Industry-Itinerary Planning & Costing-Tour Operational Techniques-Tourism Organizations & Accreditations
-This subject area aims at the significance of travel agency and tour activities throughout the globe.
5.Hospitality and Tourism:-Introduction-Consumer Buying Behavior and Market Segmentation-Pricing-Promotion and Direct Marketing-Packaging and Programming
The syllabus for MBA in travel and tourism management may vary from one institute to another, but the basic guidelines have been mentioned above.

For courses like hotel management, there is no need for any entrance exams.
There are many institutions which give admission to the candidates without any exam and also without considering their board percentages.
The only thing you should have is money which you can spend for the large fees of those institutions.
Some of the institutions which offer hotel management courses are as follows-
1. Oberoi Centre for Learning and Development
2. Institute of Hotel Management (IHM)
3. Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration (WGSHA)
4. Institute of Hotel Management (IHM)
5. Institute of Hotel Management (IHM)
6. Institute of Hotel Management (IHM)
7. Institute of Hotel Management (IHM)
8. Institute of Hotel Management (IHM)
9. Institute of Hotel Management (IHM)
10. Christ College

Holiday representatives (a.k.a. holiday reps) are employed by companies that offer package holidays. Essentially, these guys provide help, support and guidance to tourists and act as the frontline representative of the holiday company.
At a basic level, holiday representatives are employed to make sure that all customers have a memorable and enjoyable holiday. Its all about providing first-class customer service and making sure that every tourist's experience provides full value for money.
If you enter this line of work, you'll be responsible for picking up holidaymakers from transport hubs, such as airports, ports and train stations, and then escorting them to the hotel or resort where they are staying.
Furthermore, you'll be in charge of conducting welcome meetings for guests and providing a brief overview of local amenities, attractions and activities.
Once you've taken guests to their accommodation, let them know about everything that they can do and sold them a few tours and excursions, it's not time to kick back and relax by the pool. You'll also be responsible for dealing with customer queries and resolving problems as and when they arise. As a holiday representative, you'll be the go-to guy or gal for all the tourists in your jurisdiction.
Basic salaries for holiday representatives are typically quite low. Reps who are just starting out will usually earn between 450 and 525 per month, while senior reps can earn around 600 to 800.
However, by selling tours and excursions, holiday reps can earn a decent amount of commission, which can add a much-needed salary boost.
It's also important to bear in mind that many holiday companies provide reps with free accommodation and meals. You may also get the opportunity to use company cars for personal use. Most employers also provide full-service holiday and travel packages at discounted rates for employees families and friends.
WORKING HOURS
don't expect to have a regular nine-to-five schedule in this line of work. Working hours tend to be long and irregular. You won't be tied to a desk though; you'll be out and about for most of your professional life.
Be prepared for early morning arrivals and late night departures (or vice versa). When things go wrong, you'll need the composure, tenacity and organisational skills to sort it out. Working under pressure for long, continuous periods is a common occupational hazard.

An individual in a GM role is a generalist who is familiar with all areas of the business and can coordinate processes and operations across the organization. A general manager must speak the languages of finance and accounting, operations, sales, marketing, human resources, and research and development or engineering.
In larger organizations, individuals viewed as having general management potential often work in a series of assignments, rotating through the various functions and gradually growing their expertise and responsibilities over many years. General managers typically have deep industry experience, and if they don't come up through the larger organization, they most likely have long histories of working for one or more competitors within the same industry.
It's important to take certain steps if you're interested in moving toward the role of general manager.
-Work with your executive or manager to gain support for regular job rotation into new assignments.
-Consider lateral moves into other departments as a means of growing your experience.
-Volunteer for or get involved in cross-functional projects as a means of learning the business and -expanding your professional network of contacts.
-Seek additional education in core management topics, including accounting, operations, sales, and marketing.
-Consider seeking an advanced degree, especially an MBA.
Career Advancement Opportunities for a General Manager.
Although the role of general manager is a senior role and possibly the highest level an individual can achieve, some organizations actively draw their corporate level senior executives from the ranks of the general managers. The challenges and complexity of the role make it an ideal proving ground for running multiple business units or advancing to the role of a chief operating officer or chief executive officer.
General Manager Responsibilities
A GM's duties and responsibilities cover a lot of ground, but these are some of the most common. He must typically:
-Oversee daily operations of the business unit or organization.
-Ensure the creation and implementation of a strategy designed to grow the business.
-Coordinate the development of key performance goals for functions and direct reports.
-Provide direct management of key functional managers and executives in the business unit.
-Ensure the development of tactical programs to pursue targeted goals and objectives.

To become a concierge in a five-star hotel, the candidate must be a graduate in any discipline. However, a degree or Diploma in hotel management or travel and tourism is always preferred.
In a five star hotel, a concierge has the following duties and responsibilities:
1) Managing Airport Pick up and Drop services.
2) Providing hotel car/ private taxi to the guest if the guest demands.
3) Suggesting places to visit in the city to the guest.
4) Suggesting places to eat in the city to the guest.
5) Booking Movie, Concert, Fest, Conference, etc.
6) Booking airline tickets and train tickets.
7) Getting things the guest requires from the supermarket.
8) Training the concierge desk staff.
9) Supervising all the functions of concierge desk.
10) Concierge also calls a doctor if the guest is sick and requires a doctor.
A concierge in a reputed five-star brand can earn around 30 to 40 k per month.
Thank you
All the best!

Directorate of Technical Education conducts hotel management and catering technology entrance exam for admission in hotel management course.
There are 100 questions in the exam from the following topics-
Current Affairs and General Awareness: Latest Events, Sports and Games, Geography, Tourist Spots, Aptitude for Service Sector, Business and Trade, Countries and Currencies.
Numerical Ability and Scientific Aptitude: Data / Table analysis, Calculation of fraction, percentages, square roots, Health and Nutrition, Basic Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics, Profit and Loss, Simple and Compound Interest, Graph, Pie-Chart and Bar Diagram.
English Language: Adverbs, Adjectives, antonyms, Synonyms, Phrases and Idioms, Sentence Improvement and Reading Comprehension.
Reasoning and Logical Deduction: Geometrical designs and Identification, Numerical Series Completion, Inference from 4 Sentences, Odd One Out and Numerical Pattern.

Hi,
STEP is Systematic Training and Education Program by Oberoi Hotels and Resorts.
In STEP program the candidate learns while working in any one of the Oberoi's properties.
Oberoi provides a degree of Bachelors of Hotel management from Indira Gandhi National Open University.
So, STEP is basically a distance course when learning happens inside the hotel and there is no formal classroom based study.
On the other hand, IHM-Aurangabad provides a full time Bachelor's in Hotel management. The student learns in the classroom, the practicals happen in a systematic way and the students are sent for Industrial Training for 4-5 months in various hotels where they gain practical experience.
In my opinion IHM, Aurangabad is better than STEP as the learning is systematic, a fixed curriculum is followed. There are managerial subjects that are taught by experienced professors.

Executive Chef (aka Group Chef) - Only the largest establishments have an executive chef, salary range around Rs. 1.5-2 lakh.
Head chef- The head chef generally controls the whole kitchen, from managing kitchen staff and controlling kitchen costs to liaising with suppliers and creating the menus. Salary scale range 1-1.5 lakh.
Sous Chef- The role will typically overlap with the head chefs, but the sous chef will tend to be more hands on and actively involved in the day-to-day running of the kitchen, the sous chef will also fill in for the head chef when they are off, salary range 50 k to 1 lakh.
Commis- A commis is a junior member of staff that works under a chef de partie in order to learn the ins and outs of a specific station, these are often people that have recently completed, or are still undertaking, formal culinary training. Salary scale is around 25k.
Dishwasher/porters- asks include basic food preparation such as washing salad and peeling potatoes, in addition to basic cleaning duties. The person responsible for washing dishes and cutlery. Salary scale between 10-20k.

PhD is a very reputed program. The basic eligibility of the course is a Master's degree. The candidates generally develop high standards of research ability and a knack for application of concepts in a specialized field. Professionals generally opt for this option once the wish to use there caliber for research and development of a particular part of a sector and for the purpose sharing their knowledge with the aspirants.
Tourism sector will generally offer customer related job profiles however the benefit of pursuing PhD in tourism will allow one to build a career in the sector of teaching and imparting knowledge in the various T&T institutes. These institutes give preference over general master degree holders.
The good institutes offering these PhD programs are:
Amity University
IGNOU
KSOU
Pondicherry University