17. Some health and safety advice for tourists

Staying safe is a questions of common sense and taking of basic precautions.

1. Inner city areas are probably the most dangerous places – especially at night. Avoid going out and exploring the city on your own. It’s best to visit certain areas with a tour group.

2. Don’t wear expensive-looking accessories or jewellery in the street. Leave valuables in your hotel’s safe-deposit box. You should try not to attract attention.

3. Pickpockets are sometimes a problem so don’t carry large sums of money. It’s best to use traveller’s cheques or credit cards.

4. When traveling by car, always keep the doors locked and the windows only slightly open. You must lock your car doors at all times. It’s a good idea to use car parks that are supervised if possible.

Recommendations for tourists can depend on the destination and the type of holiday.

For example, Thailand is a popular tourist destination. Thailand is a safe country for travelers but some simple precautions are still required. Hotels and taxis are safe and it is safe for women-travellers. If traveling alone, keep in touch with someone on a regular basis.

There are plenty of pharmacies that sell insect repellents and basic medicines. It’s advisable to take malaria pills. Heat and humidity can be a problem so drink a lot of fluids, avoid the midday sun and take a plenty of rest. It’s a good idea to take a medical kit with antiseptic cream, mosquito repellent, aspirin, sunblock, bandage, plasters, thermometer, pocketknife and so on.

Diarrhea is a common complaint. If it occurs, eat plain food and drink lots of fluids. It’s best to avoid uncooked food. Avoid tap water – bottled water is easily available – and avoid crushed ice in drinks from street vendors. It’s vital to have the right vaccinations before you go to exotic destinations.

If you are going to South Africa let me give you some health and safety recommendations.

Although many inner cities and townships can be dangerous, especially at night, South Africa is generally safe for travellers who take reasonable precautions.

• Never go out on your own.

• Don’t wear expensive clothes or carry large amounts of cash with you. Use the hotel’s safe-deposit box. Pickpockets are a problems, as are muggers, who snatch handbags and run away.

• When driving always keep the doors locked and don’t stop to give people a lift.

• Tap water is generally safe to drink and travellers to South Africa usually don’t suffer from stomach upsets.

• On safari, animals should always be respected and there are some poisonous spiders and snakes. Always carry a small medical pack / kit when on safari. Malaria and bilharzia occur in certain areas.

18. Careers in tourism

Like most service industries, tourism is labour-intensive. It employs a high proportion of people in comparison to the number that it serves. The range of jobs is also very wide, from unskilled, like a dishwasher in a restaurant, to semi-skilled, like a waiter or a chambermaid, to skilled, like a travel agent or a tour operator. In addition, tourism generates many jobs that are not usually considered to be within the industry itself – jobs in construction, manufacturing, and merchandising.

A majority of jobs in tourism have one common feature: contact with the public, including both the positive and negative aspects of dealing with ordinary people. Anyone who has chosen a career in tourism should enjoy working with people and be tolerant.

In many jobs language skill is necessary or desirable. People who hold jobs of this kind include travel agency employees, ticket and reservations agents, airline flights personnel, front-desk personnel in hotels, tour guides, waiters, and barmen and so on. The tourist industry differs from many others as it employs more women than any kind of business. Many successful travel agents are women who have established independent enterprises after gaining experience elsewhere in the industry.

The travel agents must deal with the public and with people who work for the other components in the industry. One of the most important aspects of the job is keeping informed of the highly complex pricing policies of airlines and the resort hotels. The agent must also keep up with other developments in the industry – new resorts, changing travel regulations, new services.

The sightseeing guides must be familiar with the points of interest that he is showing to the visitors. He usually gives a prepared talk that describes the points of interest, but he must also be prepared to answer a lot of questions. And he has to deal with any problems that occur during the tour or excursion, such as bad weather, sudden illness, an accident. A sightseeing guide needs two qualities above all – an outgoing personality and language skill.

Front-desk employees are hotel personnel who work at the registration, information and cashier’s desk.

Free-lancers are people who work for themselves. Many free-lance writers specialize in the travel field.

Social Director is a person at a resort hotel or on a cruise ship who is in charge of the activities to amuse and entertain the customers.

Tourism is an industry that is still growing rapidly. It provides people with variety of occupations that require different kinds of skills. No matter what aspect of the industry one may work in, the final result of the effort should be a satisfied customer who remembers his trip and his holiday with pleasure.

TOURISM JOBS

Working in tourism is about love – love for the industry. If you don’t love it, forget it. It’s a people industry. It’s providing service. It’s people enjoying and experiencing your culture. That’s crucial. If you don’t have that love, it doesn’t make sense. If you work in the industry, you’ve got to love it.

Receptionist.

I like the job. I like being the front line, the first point of contact. I think I’m quite good at dealing with people. I know how to smile, although sometimes on a bad day, it’s hard. I guess the tasks I do are a bit routine if I’m honest – I check in arrivals, hand out room keys, process enquiries and reservations, that kind of thing. I work shifts, which can be a drag. I usually start at six in the morning, which is OK because I get off nice and early, and then occasionally I do the late turn and I don’t finish till after midnight.

Hotel manager.

I started here two years ago. As the manager, I’m mainly in the back office. I don’t deal directly with the public at the desk. On a typical day, I’m on the phone and the email most of the time. I start the day by checking my email, and that sets the agenda for the first part of the morning at least. I have to talk to local businesses,, hotels, tour companies, to check that we’re providing the service they want, that we’re stocking their brochures and so on. I also arrange presentations, and I get invited to a lot of social events to network and talk about tourist information services in the city.

Resort rep.

This is my second season. A lot of reps only survive one season, because it’s very demanding work – we don’t get paid a lot and we only get one day off a week. I feel a lot more confident about things this time. I couldn’t do the job all year, but as the season only lasts three months, it’s OK. We work very long hours, especially on changeover days. We take the quests who are going home to the airport at six in the morning, and bring back the new group. We then have to get them settled, sort out problems – and there always are problems! – and do the paperwork. So often I don’t finish until midnight on changeover day.

I like working with people and on the whole the guests are good, but some of them can be very annoying – although I never show it of course, because the customer is always right!