Pekerjaan industri pelancongan membawa kepada upah yang lebih tinggi dan pijakan kekal untuk kejayaan kewangan, melebihi pampasan dalam kedua-dua pembuatan dan penjagaan kesihatan, menurut Persatuan Perjalanan AS yang dibuat di Amerika: Sumbangan Perjalanan untuk Pembangunan Tenaga Kerja.
US Travel melancarkan kajian ini dengan latar belakang Minggu Perjalanan dan Pelancongan Nasional ke-36. Laporan itu - yang kedua dalam siri Travel AS yang dibuat di Amerika yang menyoroti pentingnya perjalanan untuk ekonomi AS - mendapati pekerjaan industri pelancongan menyediakan jalan menuju kemakmuran bagi berjuta-juta orang Amerika.
Antara penemuan teratas:
• Travel is the No. 1 industry for first jobs. Nearly four in 10 workers got their start in travel and tourism. Moreover, they are good first jobs that give workers skills, confidence and experience that are essential to successful careers in a broad spectrum of occupations.
• Individuals who began their career in travel have gone on to earn a peak average salary of $82,400 by the time they were 50 years old—higher than those who started in manufacturing, health care and other industries.
• Nearly a third of Americans (31%) re-entering the workforce do so through a job in the travel industry—compared to just 12% in manufacturing and 8% in health care. Travel jobs have the flexibility, availability, diversity and focus on practical skills to launch a rewarding career.
Laporan ini juga merangkumi kajian kes individu yang telah mengikuti kerjaya dalam industri pelancongan dan mencapai impian Amerika sebagai hasilnya.
"Seperti banyak orang Amerika, pekerjaan pertama saya adalah dalam industri pelancongan - sebagai penyelamat di kolam hotel - dan itu memberi saya asas kemahiran dan peluang yang membawa kepada kerjaya yang panjang dan bermanfaat," kata Presiden dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif AS Travel Roger Dow. "Pekerjaan industri pelancongan dapat diakses secara unik oleh semua orang Amerika, dan memberikan jalan menuju kehidupan yang kukuh sepanjang hayat. Secara sederhana, perjalanan adalah pintu masuk ke impian Amerika. "
Beberapa keputusan utama lain dari laporan:
• Travel industry jobs provide flexibility for pursuit of higher education and training. Of the 6.1 million Americans working part-time while pursuing higher education in 2018, more than half were employed in travel-related industries. Nearly one in five (18%) travel industry employees currently attend school, compared to the 8% of workers attending school in other sectors of the economy.
• The travel industry is diverse and accessible compared to other industries. Nearly half (46%) of travel industry employees have a high school degree or less, compared to 30% of employees of the rest of the economy. Travel also has a greater share of Hispanics, African Americans and multi-ethnic individuals than the rest of the economy.
• Experience in travel fosters entrepreneurs. Seventeen percent of Americans whose first job was in travel now own their own business, and 19% consider themselves entrepreneurs—again, a higher figure than manufacturing and health care. Of women who started their career in the travel industry, 14% now consider themselves entrepreneurs, compared to only 10% of those who started out in health care.
• The travel industry fills the skills gap. Through training, education, certification programs and firsthand experience, the industry is providing resources and opportunities for high school and college students, minorities, females and individuals with barriers to employment such as the lack of a formal education.
"Statistiknya hebat, tetapi apabila anda membaca profil, kesan sebenar industri pelancongan terhadap pekerjaan menjadi jelas," kata Dow. "Setiap cerita memberikan gambaran mengenai potensi yang dimiliki industri pelancongan untuk sesiapa sahaja yang ingin mencari rezeki yang kuat.
"Laporan ini menguatkan lagi fakta bahawa perjalanan penting untuk pekerjaan dan ekonomi di negara kita, dan pemerintah kita harus mengutamakan dasar pro-perjalanan untuk memastikan industri ini terus berkembang."
Laporan tersebut terutama bergantung pada data dari Biro Statistik Buruh Survei Longitudinal Pemuda 1979 dan 1997 untuk meneroka jalan kerjaya individu yang pekerjaan pertamanya adalah dalam industri pelancongan.
