Average travel salary continues to rise

The average travel salary went up by 1.8% last year to £25,626 – but again wages rose much quicker in the south.

Standard travel salaries (paying up to £40,000) increased by 5.5% last year, to an average of £21,887, according to the 2016 Travel Salary Index from C&M Travel Recruitment and C&M Executive Recruitment.

This was the biggest annual jump in four years and follows 2015’s rise of 5.27%, meaning wages for the typical new job in travel have grown by £2,185 in the past two years.

There was a 1.53% increase in executive travel salaries (those paying above £40,000) with the average new senior position now paying £54,110. However, this remains below the C&M survey’s peak figure of £58,418 in 2014.

For the second year in a row, travel salaries in the south of the UK rose at a far faster pace than in the north with the wage gap growing to nearly £5,500.

Pay rose by 3.58% in the south in 2016 to reach an average of £27,499, while wages grew by 0.82% in the north for an average of £22,079.

This follows growth in 2015 of 3.40% and 1.14%, respectively.

C&M director Barbara Kolosinska said: "With wages for the typical travel job increasing by 5.52%, I think most people would agree that 2016 was a strong year for salaries.

"It was certainly an eventful 12 months, but it’s fantastic to see that pay increased for standard roles and executive positions both in the north and the south. That’s a clear sign that things are going in the right direction.

"We’ve had an extremely busy start to 2017, and we remain cautiously optimistic that it will be another positive year for the industry.

"In terms of wage growth, business travel and luxury travel jobs are likely to see the biggest rises, with quality marketing and sales candidates also set to be very much in demand."

The number of people placed in travel jobs rose by 6% in 2016 although there were single digit annual falls for both the number of new candidates and vacancies.

"2016 was a busy year for the travel recruitment industry with many companies looking to expand their team, but there is still a lack of quality candidates in the market."