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Passionate about travel? Then a career as a holiday planner could be perfect for you! We talk to an nzgirl in this profession and loving it... Name: Ayla Tuki Age: 20 Job title: Holiday Planner Salary range: Starting Salary $28,000 Dress code: Air New Zealand Uniform - grey pants or skirt, grey jacket, scarf and blouse
What’s a typical day at work for you? I arrive at work before 9am, and check all of my emails first, before any customers start coming in. For the rest of my day I am busy doing quotes, booking trips and organising people's overseas holidays. Most people phone in or come in to our Air New Zealand Holidays Store off the street, so I juggle bookings by email, phone and face-to-face enquires. Every single day in my job is so different and that’s what keeps it so interesting!
How did you get into the job? I completed the Advanced Certificate in Travel, Tourism & Business course at the Sir George Seymour College (SGS), this course was nine months, in this time I learnt everything I could from them. Sir George really helped me gain my qualifications, gave me the hands on fun learning experience and practice that I needed to work in the Travel and Tourism industry and then helped me have the confidence in getting this great job! I loved it there! I had had no travel experience so it was great to hear where all of the tutors had been, and learn so much about the big wide world from them. It was another way of learning about different countries, cultures and nationalities. After my course finished I worked as a receptionist at the Hamilton Airport Motor Inn for 6 weeks, before applying for a job at Air New Zealand, we’re I’ve been since January this year.
Why did you choose to study at SGS? I studied tourism while I was at high school and we used the Sir George Seymour books, I liked the fact that at Sir George Seymour College the courses are much shorter than studying at other providers, because you study full-time which means you are getting the highly recognised qualifications and are out working so much faster. I heard about their great reputation - they're the largest travel and tourism training provider in NZ - and their amazing 90% employment success rate. It definitely sounded like the place for me to study.
What are the perks of the job? The opportunity to work with a great team of people who are really passionate about travel in a stimulating and exciting environment. It's also really rewarding being involved in building people's dream holidays and developing long term relationship with clients by offering the best service I can.
What personality traits are useful in your job? You have to have patience. A lot of clients that you deal with cannot speak English very well, so you have to be able to know how to communicate with them. It can be a challenge, but is still quite fun and really interesting. Customer service skills are a big one. You always have to be friendly, no matter how frustrated a client can become. So… patience, communication skills and customer service skills and being able to smile and be friendly.
Where could you go from here? I am going to stay around in Hamilton for the time being, travelling overseas isn’t something really on my mind right at the moment, but I know it will be in the future. I am really happy working with Air New Zealand and can see myself here for a while yet. The experience and knowledge I already have from working here is amazing. Flight Attending might be something to think about later on in life too, but I will see what happens. Sir George Seymour College really set me up to specialise in this exciting industry and have so many career options and I know I won’t want to be leaving the industry for a long time!.
If an nzgirl wanted to get into your field, what would they need to consider? They would need to think about getting some travel and tourism qualifications, training or travel experience. Sir George Seymour College helped me a lot in so many different ways, from the small things, such as airport codes and country codes, to interview techniques and learning computer reservation systems etc. You also must have an interest in the industry, like dealing with people, learning about the world and a passion for travel is very important.
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Want to find out more about Sir George Seymour College? Click here
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Why did you choose to study at SGS?
I am going to stay around in Hamilton for the time being, travelling overseas isn’t something really on my mind right at the moment, but I know it will be in the future. I am really happy working with Air New Zealand and can see myself here for a while yet. The experience and knowledge I already have from working here is amazing. Flight Attending might be something to think about later on in life too, but I will see what happens. Sir George Seymour College really set me up to specialise in this exciting industry and have so many career options and I know I won’t want to be leaving the industry for a long time!.