Travel sector needs more outside talent
The travel industry needs to do more to attract talent from outside the industry, according to Advantage Travel Centres MD Julia Lo Bue Said.
Speaking as part of a panel discussion at this year’s ABTA Convention in Dubrovnik, she said the sector needs to get new talent.
"I think we have great colleagues in the industry, very experienced people, but we’re so siloed in our approach. For too long we’ve been seen as a poor relation but we have become more professional – we are professionals – and we can now attract a new breed.
"With the world moving as it is, there is so much more we can learn from other industries. We’re quite blinkered in our approach. We need to challenge the status quo. Just because we’ve done it this way for so many years doesn’t mean it’s the right way."
Richard Downs at Iglu.com agreed that the industry is too linear.
"It’s usually reps in resort who have worked their way up, but you only have to look at the success of industry outsiders – Travelzoo, Lastminute.com and Iglu – to see that it’s not a bad thing to have others coming in from a different perspective."
But speaking from the audience, Royal Caribbean’s Jo Rzymowska said often industry outsiders don’t survive, especially when they come in at a senior level.
When asked who they would most like to employ from outside the industry, the panellists said:
Richard Downs, Iglu.com: no nonsense comedian Sarah Milligan
Susan Hooper, Acromas Travel: her two tech-savvy kids, who she has renamed ‘help desk 1’ and ‘help desk 2’.
Alistair Pritchard: Apple’s Steve Jobs or Angela Harrance, the former chief exec of Burberry who turned around a business "renowned for chavs".
Julia lo Bue Said, Advantage: Father Christmas
Who would you most like to employ to boost your business? Tell us by clicking on POST YOUR COMMENT below.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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