Not too long ago, many of us were forced kicking and screaming to a crossroads. People who had worked their whole lives in travel were being lured to more stable, better-paying industries. But we stayed. Why? Why, when the path ahead is by no means straight? When future challenges are inevitable?
You’ll hear people in other industries talk about how they’d do their jobs for free if they had to. We had to. Because working in the travel industry is rarely just a ‘job’. It’s a vocation that can be, especially now, pretty all-consuming.
So why do we do it?
The people in the travel industry rock
Yesterday, Karryon held the first event in its Open Mindset series.
The day focused on mental health and well-being in the travel industry, and it was bloody magic. There were agents, heads of massive organisations, people who were new to the travel industry and people who had been in the industry since the hair was fluffier and the shoulder pads were bigger.
And it was like that moment that happens at a gig when a normally rowdy crowd falls so silent you can hear the breath of the person next to you. And then it breaks, and suddenly everyone is singing together as one.
Incredibly generous and brave people (like Evolution Travel Collective’s Pete Rawley) made that magic for us. They ripped out their hearts, laid them on the table and said, ‘Here’s me. Learn from what happened to me and the mistakes I made’. It was a gift that we can’t ever hope to repay. But it is something we can and should regift.
“Be kind,” Pete said. “We don’t know what other people are going through.” And he told us what he’d gone through. What he still goes through.
And while I love that Pete gave of himself so readily (I expect nothing less from him), it was the response that rammed home how lucky we are to be doing what we do with the people we do it with.
“You’re always just so open and real and authentic,” Tomas Malmberg, TTC Tour Brands’ Head of Trade Sales & Partnerships, told Pete.
“So I just wanted you to know that it makes a difference. You’ve been in some really dark stormy places, but actually, at the same time, you’ve been a lighthouse for a lot of us. I want you to know that.”
Dammit, Tomas.
If I could liken the energy in the room to anything, it would be a hug. And if you’re ever lucky enough to be on the receiving end of a hug from Karryon’s Partnership Development Manager, Sally Miles, you’ll know the hug I mean.
It doesn’t matter who you are, this industry is full of people who will welcome you. It’s an industry where competitors are friends (because we’ve all worked or will one day work with them), and it’s an industry that is built on caring.
Bringing back the fun and going back to basics
We know the pandemic and the subsequent shutting down of the world did a lot of damage to the travel industry. And then suddenly, the borders were open, and we were so busy. Not just in volume but complexity. There was no time to heal. It’s kind of like running with a blister. Eventually, that blister is going to pop and, if not dealt with, will get infected. We need to heal.
How do we do this?
“I think we’ve lost our way as an industry,” Damien Borg, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Director of Sales for AUS/NZ, said.
“We could be selling watches and cars and boxes and paper. We’re selling travel! Seeing people having holidays and enjoying themselves is an incredible feeling. And that’s what we do. For a living.
“We’ve got to bring back the reasons why we joined this industry into our lives and our businesses,” he said.
“And that’s giving our staff opportunities to travel and creating events within our businesses.
“I think as an industry, we need to get together and think about why we joined, what it was all about 20, 30 years ago and bring that back in. And I think that it’ll encourage and create a much better environment for everyone to work in and give people a reason to come to work in the morning.”
I was born into the travel industry. I went on my first fam before I had my first sleepover. Not too long after this (so maybe when I was nine), I got my first ‘job’ popping stickers on brochures and packing travel wallets during the school holidays.
Mum would tell tales of over-the-top Christmas parties, of surprise trips to experience amazing places, of colleagues who became so, so much more.
But things got harder. Gone were the free upgrades, commissions, and the time to even go on fams. Don’t get me wrong, we take full advantage of opportunities to have fun, but do we need more opportunities?
What we do matters. The travel industry matters.
The travel industry isn’t just about destinations; it’s about people. It’s about the shared journey, the camaraderie, and the enduring spirit that keeps us pushing forward. To take risks and share the stories that are confronting, to make the changes we need to make. And it’s just bloody fun.
