Travel staff urged to become zombie-proof
Travel industry jobs are under threat from automation unless employees prove themselves to be innovative, creative and enterprising, Dr Paul Redmond told delegates to this year’s ABTA Convention.
In a speech called Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse, Redmond, who is an expert in the graduate labour market, said that while surveys showed 90% of employees were confident their jobs weren’t threated by new technology, the same surveys revealed that 90% employers were looking to get rid of them.
Jobs that are least likely to be affected are those that require interaction with people and use social intelligence, involve creativity and coming up with clever solutions, and require working in an unpredictable environment.
As such, travel roles are less at risk than many other professions, however Redmond warned robots have already started to make an appearance in travel, including ‘Harrison’ at Munich Airport, which ‘makes recommendations to people on preferences they didn’t know they had’.
In order to ‘zombie-proof ‘ their jobs, travel staff need to focus on simplification, creativity and being enterprising, added Redmond.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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