The Covid-19 pandemic has wiped out an enormous part of the travel industry. Hotels are closing down while airline companies are going bankrupt. As a result, a lot of people have gone unemployed.

Now that the travel industry is trying to recover slowly, a renewed market is emerging. Travel behaviour has changed drastically, which affects the way hospitality and airline companies envision their strategy for the coming years. Bouncing back is never an easy task, given this radical shift in the market. It would require demonstrating impeccable execution and long-term foresight to thrive. Considering these changes, here’s how to be successful in the travel industry post-pandemic.

Learn to be Diverse

While the travel industry is still slowly bouncing back, employees in the travel industry can use this downtime to diversify their skills by learning about marketing and social media, improving management and leadership styles, and giving importance to self-development.

The skills needed for people working in the travel industry could significantly change this post-pandemic. It is for this reason why travel professionals should include as many updated competencies in their skillset. If they want to be successful, they should refresh their skills and abilities. Skillful workers are the ones who will be in high demand this post-pandemic given the tight job market. They could find themselves in better positions to excel over others in their chosen field of profession.

There are thousands of online courses that people from the global travel industry workforce can enrol on. From enhancing their negotiation techniques to learning new languages, these courses are easily accessible and self-paced. More importantly, travel professionals should improve their skills in social media marketing. If you scroll through social media, travel is one of the most shared and liked topics, even during this Covid-19 pandemic.

Travel professionals can turn to social media to market themselves in the post-pandemic world. As you know, the travel industry is service-oriented, and your success will be based solely on how satisfied your clients are. By providing your clients with unique experiences and showcasing these experiences on social media, you could excel over your competitors at no extra cost.

Be Flexible and Capable of Working Remotely

Flexibility is a crucial skill in the travel industry, not only during this pandemic but also when this pandemic is over. Just because you work in the travel industry does not mean that remote work is not for you. The industry’s dynamic environment and the unprecedented transformation that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought has resulted in most workers going remote. From speaking to clients and managers to interviewing new employees, a lot of tasks have gone remote.

Now that most jobs are going remote, travel professionals who wanted to excel in their career should learn to give online presentations and carry themselves professionally remotely. While we can expect several changes to affect the travel industry post-Covid, employees should remain consistent. Workplace flexibility is a game-changer in this post-COVID world and if employees can maintain this level of flexibility or enhance their ability to adapt in a flexible environment, then there’s no doubt that they can achieve success in the travel industry in the post-pandemic.

The Covid-19 pandemic may have taken lots of opportunities from those who work in the travel industry, but it has also brought new opportunities. For instance, a lot of travel professionals are now becoming digital nomads. These are location-independent professionals who rely on the Internet to perform their jobs, allowing them to work and live wherever they want. Since more and more people are becoming digital nomads, several countries are trying to attract these individuals by offering nomad-friendly visas.

The digital nomad trend has attracted many new professionals, especially in the travel industry, and this could become even bigger in the post-pandemic world. But if you want to embrace the digital nomad lifestyle and be successful in this field, you must be flexible and capable of working anywhere in the world.

Be Adaptable

Adaptability is another crucial skill for the global travel industry workforce, especially in the post-Covid world. It is one of those skills that every employer will be keeping an eye out for when hiring new employees. As companies worldwide have seen a stark increase in the number of people working from home, this new way of working could remain even after the pandemic is over.

Travel will certainly not go away for good, but you can expect so many changes once people start traveling again. So, to be successful post-Covid, employees should be willing to adapt to these changes. While many thought that being adaptable is a natural trait that some people have, this is also a skill that can be acquired and learned.

While being adaptable is often aligned with geographic mobility, this is also about having an open mindset. Adaptability is also the ability to work well under pressure. It can also mean the ability to adjust to the new workload, meeting unexpected deadlines, organizing tasks, and, in some instances, taking on new roles and responsibilities.

People should acknowledge that the travel industry is no longer the same as before. Some people tend to sugar-coat the situation, but people should learn to adapt to the new changes and be honest about the situation. People should acknowledge the uncertainty in the travel industry and that long-term effort is needed for companies to bounce back.

In terms of leadership, it’s about time that leaders appreciate how important communication can be. They should not hesitate to show and feel vulnerability. By being transparent, they can demonstrate honesty, which increases their credibility to the team and the industry. In these uncertain times, people are longing to receive positive messages, but leaders should also be transparent about the negative things. They should paint a picture of what to expect from the workforce in this post-Covid world and must be concise in their communications. And if needed, change their leadership strategies to adapt to the new workplace environment.

This blog was provided by Lightning Travel Recruitment a full-service recruitment consultancy brand specializing in luxury travel and lifestyle jobs.