Can the industry recover from the post-pandemic exodus? In her first interview since accepting the role, we talk to INGRID FRASER, ATIA Director of Public Policy and Advocacy.
Q: Every industry in Australia seems to be suffering from a lack of staff post pandemic. How bad is the situation in the travel industry?
A: We all know that the travel industry is facing huge skills and workforce shortages. That’s why it’s been a major focus for me and ATIA, just to ensure the travel industry has the skilled workforce it needs both now and so it can adapt to the future as well.
In terms of the current situation, during COVID we lost about a third of our skilled workforce. We’re still struggling to attract those people back into the industry and also to attract new people in the industry, so we’re seeing these shortages remain.
Q: I believe you’ve been assembling some pretty startling data emphasising just how bad the situation is?
A: We’ve been developing our evidence base, because it’s one thing to tell the government our industry is facing shortages but it’s another to have the data to back that up.
Our survey showed that only about a third of businesses were able to fill all of their travel consultant vacancies last year and we know that then flows on to the tour operators as travel consultants need the time and experience to get across and sell tours and other land supply products.
Almost half of the businesses we surveyed found that there weren’t even enough applicants to begin with, let alone not having the right skills.
In terms of the skills pool, 84% said there was an under supply of skilled travel consultants and that number blew out to 100% for travel agency managers, so there’s a particular lack of skills in that space.
This actually probably won’t come as a surprise but it’s at the more senior levels where a lot of the skills gaps are. That’s because a lot left during the pandemic and you’ve got to then start skilling people up to get to that level.
Q: How long does it actually take to train someone who says, “right, I want to be a travel agent”, to then getting them to where they can be sales ready?
A: That’s a good question. A common path is to do the Certificate III in Travel to become a travel consultant and that can vary in length, but a common length is between 12 and 24 months to do that.
Q: So the big question, of course, is how are we going to solve this problem?
A: We’d like to see travel related occupations remain on the government’s priority list. We’d also like to see a long term commitment from government for financial incentives for employers to take on trainees and we’d also like to see travel related occupations on the skilled migration list.
Q: Clearly there’s no quick fix and we need government support to make it happen.
A: That’s right. Unfortunately, government processes are a bit slow going but we have had a few wins this year.
Travel consultant has remained on the traineeship priority list for this year, which is great. It means that employers can still access the financial incentives for taking on trainees this year.
And then from July, while the government previously announced it was reducing the amount of money employers get, they’re reducing it less than they were going to. It was going to drop to $4,000 but it’s now $5,000. It’s a small win, but it’s a win.
Q: From the feedback you’re getting from agents and agency managers, how are they coping out there with the skills shortage?
A: We got quite a lot of feedback through our survey as well and it’s quite confronting. People are run off their feet and we’ve heard that agents are actually having to turn away clients because they’re so busy.
It’s also impacting their ability to take on someone who’s more junior because they simply don’t have the time to train them, because it takes them away from servicing their clients.
I think that’s a shame because ultimately, Australians love relying on travel consultants to book their travel so we need to make sure they have that option.
Q: It’s a tough situation because we actually do need more travel agents because consumers are coming back to them for security post-pandemic.
A: I think that’s right because people have realised that travel agents can help them get out of a sticky situation.
That’s a message that we are still trying to make sure the government understands. that as well. They’re still in demand and there’s going to be a lot of future demand as well. We see the demand for air travel and cruises absolutely booming, and so the demand for agents to help people will continue as well.
Q: Tough question but do you think travel is regarded as a great career anymore?
A: I think the reputation of the travel industry did take a hit during the pandemic and so that may be swaying new people entering the industry. We also find that parents can quite often influence people in their career.
It is something that we’ve talking to government about and there is a campaign at the moment called the Choose Tourism campaign, where there’s initiatives to help promote the travel and tourism industry.
It’s something that I definitely think needs to see more work done on.
Travel is not necessarily a linear career – it can take you to so many different places. There are many transferable skills and there are a lot of opportunities to bounce around the industry. I think that’s a really strong message that we need to get out there.
Q: Good luck with your submissions and keep up the fight in Canberra.
A: Thanks. We’re really passionate about making sure the travel industry has got the workforce it needs to succeed and will continue to advocate for funding and programs to help the industry thrive. That’s what we’re all about.
