Travel agent to tourist animator
A travel agent already meets 51% of what the tourist animator role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
50.9/ 100
1 How much of what a tourist animator is expected to do is already part of a travel agent’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the tourist animator role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A tourist animator role treats 7 of its required skills as things a travel agent already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- comply with food safety and hygiene
- engage local communities in the management of natural protected areas
- identify customer's needs
- manage conservation of natural and cultural heritage
- provide tourism related information
- support community-based tourism
What stands in the way is 10 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 20 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A tourist animator role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a travel agent background worth leading with.
- already held distribute local information materials communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held support community-based tourism communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held improve customer traveling experiences with augmented reality working with computers
- already held ecotourism natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held educate on sustainable tourism communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held promote virtual reality travelling experiences working with computers
All 20 carried skills, including the 7 the tourist animator role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 13 missing skills fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn demonstrate intercultural competences in hospitality services required
- still to learn assist clients with special needs required
- still to learn build business relationships required
- still to learn develop entertainment programmes required
- still to learn ensure cross-department cooperation required
- still to learn entertain guests interactively required
- still to learn inform customers of activity changes required
- still to learn manage health and safety standards required
- optional, not held greet guests optional
- still to learn keep up to date on local events required
- optional, not held evaluate events optional
- still to learn recreation activities required
- optional, not held water skiing optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a tourist animator role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 entertain guests interactively practise this
- 02 demonstrate intercultural competences in hospitality services practise this
- 03 keep up to date on local events practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 20 skills that carry over
- already held comply with food safety and hygiene skill
- already held engage local communities in the management of natural protected areas skill
- already held identify customer's needs skill
- already held manage conservation of natural and cultural heritage skill
- already held provide tourism related information skill
- already held support community-based tourism skill
- already held support local tourism skill
- already held augmented reality knowledge
- already held distribute local information materials skill
- already held ecotourism knowledge
- already held educate on sustainable tourism skill
- already held handle customer complaints skill
- already held handle financial transactions skill
- already held implement marketing strategies skill
- already held implement sales strategies skill
- already held improve customer traveling experiences with augmented reality skill
- already held maintain customer service skill
- already held promote virtual reality travelling experiences skill
- already held use e-tourism platforms skill
- already held virtual reality knowledge
3 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held water skiing optional
- optional, not held evaluate events optional
- optional, not held greet guests optional
38 held skills the tourist animator role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role achieve sales targets skill
- not needed by the target role advertise travel insurance skill
- not needed by the target role apply foreign languages in tourism skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate events skill
- not needed by the target role develop inclusive communication material skill
- not needed by the target role ensure the privacy of guests skill
- not needed by the target role execute email marketing skill
- not needed by the target role follow ethical code of conduct in tourism skill
- not needed by the target role geographical areas relevant to tourism knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain customer records skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with customers skill
- not needed by the target role maintain relationship with suppliers skill
- not needed by the target role manage database skill
- not needed by the target role manage digital archives skill
- not needed by the target role manage time in tourism skill
- not needed by the target role manage visitor flows in natural protected areas skill
- not needed by the target role measure customer feedback skill
- not needed by the target role office software knowledge
- not needed by the target role oversee all travel arrangements skill
- not needed by the target role present reports skill
- not needed by the target role process booking skill
- not needed by the target role process payments skill
- not needed by the target role produce content for tourism brochures skill
- not needed by the target role promote the use of sustainable transport skill
- not needed by the target role provide customised products skill
- not needed by the target role quote prices skill
- not needed by the target role search databases skill
- not needed by the target role self-service technologies in tourism knowledge
- not needed by the target role sell tourist packages skill
- not needed by the target role social media management knowledge
- not needed by the target role upsell products skill
- not needed by the target role use communication techniques skill
- not needed by the target role use customer relationship management software skill
- not needed by the target role use global distribution system skill
- not needed by the target role use microsoft office skill
- not needed by the target role use presentation software skill
- not needed by the target role use spreadsheets software skill
- not needed by the target role work in a hospitality team skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn recreation activities required
- optional, not held water skiing optional
Other moves recorded from travel agent
- travel consultant 71% covered · moderate
- tour operator representative 65% covered · moderate
- hospitality establishment receptionist 53% covered · moderate
- hotel concierge 53% covered · moderate
- tourist information officer 51% covered · substantial
- hotel butler 49% covered · moderate
- travel agency manager 46% covered · substantial
- hospitality entertainment manager 45% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a travel agent become a tourist animator?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A travel agent already covers 51% of what a tourist animator is expected to do: 20 skills carry over, 7 of which the tourist animator role treats as required.
What skills does a travel agent need to become a tourist animator?
10 required skills are missing, plus 3 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is entertain guests interactively.
How hard is the move from travel agent to tourist animator?
Its learning distance is 50.9 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.