Consultants move to inbound as tourism flourishes

THE recent upswing in SA
inbound tourism, in part due to
relaxed immigration laws, has
resulted in a surge of local job
creation in this sector and has
seen consultants relocating
from outbound to inbound
travel positions.
Lee Botti, md of Lee Botti
and Associates, said her
travel specialist recruitment
agency used to focus mostly
on postings for outbound travel
as a larger number of jobs had
traditionally been generated
by this sector. However, in the
last year the company has
seen a complete turnabout,
with most of their job specs
now streaming in from the
inbound travel sector and a
sharp decline in positions in
outbound travel.
Lee confirmed that many
travel consultants who had
traditionally worked in the
outbound travel industry
were now moving across to
the inbound market as this
was where the opportunities
lay. She has also noticed
a number of smaller travel
companies opening inbound
travel divisions to capitalise on
the surge of tourists travelling
to South Africa.
Nono Mantjiu, recruitment
consultant travel for PCS,
agreed and said European
languages were the skills set
most requested in the industry
at present.