Career Communities are industry-focused pages that help you narrow your career aspirations into manageable and relevant fields. Within each community page you’ll find potential career paths, featured internships and jobs, resources to help further explore the field, relevant articles, and more! We encourage you to explore more than one Community, and those who are still exploring many options can find helpful content on the Exploring Careers Community page.
The travel and hospitality industry focuses on providing services that cater to people’s needs while they are traveling or seeking leisure experiences. It includes sectors like tourism, hotels, restaurants, transportation, and event planning, aiming to create memorable experiences for travelers and guests. Professionals in this field work as travel agents, hotel managers, chefs, tour guides, and event coordinators, helping to organize and deliver seamless experiences. The industry plays a key role in supporting global tourism, local economies, and cultural exchange.
Possible career paths in this industry (not an exhaustive list)
Here you can see examples of career paths within this industry. Clicking the link will direct you to a new website, “What can I do with this major?” The website aligns specific majors to careers to show which majors will offer you some academic knowledge of the field (they are not directly aligned to UMN majors but most are offered here). Remember, major doesn’t also connect directly to career, so if you’re interested in an industry and your major isn’t listed, don’t let that prevent you from exploring and pursuing your goal.
- Operations management
- Property and facility management
- Front office management
- Reservation and sales
- Guest relations
- Meeting and event services
- Restaurant/Food service:
- Operations management
- Food quality and food safety
- Cost control
- Travel planning: niche travel, (e.g., educational, adventure, ecotourism)
- Reservations and sales
- Corporate travel management
- Sales and marketing
- Customer/guest services
- Human resources/training
- Property acquisition and development
- Legal services
- Research/market analysis
- Finance and accounting
- Convention and trade show planning
- Convention services management
- Meeting planning
- Entertainment/Event planning
- Athletic event planning
- Programs and activities planning
- Children’s programming/planning
- Corporate event planning
- Wedding planning
- Festival manager
- Writing, editing, research
- Photography or video producers
- Tour operators
- Federal, state, and local government: tourism offices and visitor bureaus
- Publishing: guide and travel books, travel newsletters
Learn more about employers and strategies to gain experience in the field at What Can I Do With This Major?
