Job Watch

Cruise careers: The new wave

With the emergence of low-cost carriers and subsequent elimination of travel agents, most quarters of the trade including budding travel professionals are eyeing other options rather than follow the conventional route. Vyas Sivanand takes a look at the cruise line industry to find out if this sector provides a viable career option.

That tourism is capable of generating employment opportunities is an accepted fact, and this will stay true for years to come. But in some corners of the trade it is becoming a popular belief that the traditional employment of travel agents is expected to decline soon. As travel agents along with travel professionals realise they are running out of options in their area of expertise, they have started to look at other means of employment, which could use them with their current ability, or even in limited capacity until they are able to cope with the required skills.

So where do they go?

While hotels, airlines, PR agencies and BPOs are alternatives, the travel trade professional is also eagerly watching the mushrooming of the cruise line industry. And why not, considering that cruise liners have hit hard on most sections of the entire travel trade, when it comes to employment.

Cruise liners have acquired a reputation of being good paymasters where wages typically range from US$ 1,500 to
US$ 10,000. The American cruise liner industry, which is the world's largest, supported nearly 316,000 jobs and paid a total of more than US$ 12.4 billion in wages and salaries in 2004.

India is billed by most cruise liners as having incredible potential for both - outbound and domestic cruises. Several of them already have their presence in India and Star Cruises is the first to start India's domestic luxury cruise with a dedicated vessel. Undoubtedly, the impact of cruise liners' interest in the Indian market is already being felt on the country's travel industry. But do they provide suitable job profiles for the travel trade professional?

Vishnuvardhan Bhat, a Bangalore based trade consultant, is pessimistic. He says, "The travel professional will have to wait for sometime before actually having a major role to play in the cruise line sector because there is not much of a profile which fits into their potential onboard. While they are already playing an active role in the administrative aspects of cruise liners, the operational sector does not have much scope for them. It is mostly the hotel management graduates, who fit the bill."

Chandan Kalgutkar, manager, sales and promotions, Costa Cruises, reiterates that the job profiles in cruise liners onboard have not been typically stitched for the travel professional. "In India, the curriculum for travel and tourism management graduates does not yet specify much on the cruise line industry and the employment options therein. If the syllabus takes a broader approach to all aspects of travel and significant affiliations play a role, then the cruise liners will definitely have much more profiles to fit them in."

The cruise factor

Currently, the cruise industry is one of the fastest growing job sectors in the world. Ten to fifteen new luxury liners are being built every year, and with that growth there has been an equally impressive boom in the number of available cruise ship jobs.

Consider this, 10.6 million passengers cruised (9 million North Americans) in 2004 representing a 11.4 per cent increase over 2003, thus achieving the highest occupancy level for the industry. In 2005, the projection for industry growth is 11.1 million passengers - 9.4 million from North America and 1.7 million from other countries.

Cruise ship employees also get excellent perks and benefits. These benefits often include free room on the cruise ship - usually either a single stateroom or a shared stateroom with another employee, free meals, air travel en-route and homeward bound, free laundry, free medical insurance, discounts at cruise ship stores and often at land based stores, bars and restaurants, etc.

But according to Jagdish Upadhyay, HOD at RK Education Society for Travel and Tourism, "Cruise liners like most other professions give a very ambiguous notion as far as a career is concerned. Agreed that they pay well, but then for many students while it may be a primary criteria, the kind of life that comes attached may not be desirable to many. Life onboard a cruise liner is close to misery. It is in a way good that travel and tourism curriculum do not have anything in specific for cruise liners, onboard. When it comes to ground, the courses surely are apt, but then you do not get a hefty package. So it is all about choosing."

What do travel professionals have in it?

According to the industry, the most popular areas in the cruise line industry, which the travel trade professionals can identify is primarily on ground and not as much onboard. While the profiles of a cruise director or staff who provide customer service to passengers in the area of shore excursions, and destination representatives whose duties include customer service and extra travel arrangements in a foreign country, can also appeal to travel trade professionals.

Elucidates Kalgutkar, "The Asia Pacific sector is fast emerging as the focus area for most cruise companies across the world further to which they are looking at opening their offices in various other core areas. For this purpose, they essentially look for representatives to increase their visibility. All these cruise companies consider the Asia Pacific region as a virgin market and need brand representatives for their sales and marketing, which ideally could fit into the travel and tourism management professional's radar of expertise."

Other areas for travel and tourism professionals could be product development that includes planning, organising and developing products for sales and marketing. Other than these tour managers, tour escorts, couriers, trip leaders, and cruise tour conductors are some profiles which are relevant for the travel professional.

"In travel trade, there are two main concerns, one is the universal problem of chasing payments and the second is people. The attrition level in the travel industry is much higher than the hotel industry and I feel that cruise liners will provide an alternative for a large chunk of travel professionals. The cruise liners have arrived and it is only a matter of time before this segment grows," says Kamal Hingorani, vice president and head, Kuoni Academy of Travel.

Conclusion

The consensus is that cruise liners do offer as much to the travel and tourism professional as it does to the hospitality professional. But with the courses offered becoming more and more elaborate and indepth, and with cruise liners trying to incorporate more services into their packages, it may not be long before the travel professional starts to eye the cruise sector for a hefty package as well as a satisfying career.