Hospitality, Travel, Tourism and Event Management
The hospitality, travel, tourism, and event management industry is a major contributor to the economy, culture, and employment landscape with the UK a top destination for leisure, business and cultural experiences. It is known for its diversity, international appeal, and rich history, attracting millions of visitors each year while supporting vibrant domestic activity. Combined, these sectors contribute over £250 billion to the UK economy and support more than 3.5 million jobs. The industry is a key driver of both urban and rural economies, particularly in areas dependent on seasonal tourism or major events. Heritage is a critical part of UK hospitality and events. Many historical locations and memorials in the UK draw visitors from across the globe. The most popular heritage destination in the UK is London, according to ALVA, the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, and the British Museum is the most visited attraction in London.
Hospitality
Includes hotels, restaurants, pubs, nightclubs, cafes, catering, and other accommodation services. Known for its high standards, especially in London and other major cities, with a wide range of budget to luxury options. This sector is facing challenges in staffing, rising costs, and sustainability expectations, but continues to evolve through innovation and technology.
Travel and Tourism
The UK welcomes approximately 40 million international visitors annually, although domestic tourism (staycations) have become increasingly popular post-COVID. Areas include hotels, travel agencies, tour operators, tourist information centres, attractions and adventure tourism.
Event Management
The UK is a global leader in event management, hosting world-class events such as Wimbledon, the Glastonbury Festival and London Fashion Week. Events contribute significantly to tourism revenue and attract both domestic and international audiences and visitors. The industry includes corporate events, festivals, exhibitions, weddings, and cultural celebrations. Possible areas to consider include corporate team building and conferences, launch events, management in creative arts e.g. art exhibitions, galleries, theatre performances, launch events, charity events e.g., raising money for an event sponsoring a specific cause, celebrations e.g., weddings and graduation ceremonies.
Key Trends and Challenges within the sector include:
- Sustainability: emphasis on reducing environmental impact, especially in events and travel.
- Digitalisation: use of apps, AI, and virtual reality in customer service and event planning.
- Post-Brexit and Post-COVID recovery: focus on rebuilding workforce and supply chains.
- Changing consumer expectations: increase in demand for unique, personalized, and experience-driven opportunities.
If you are interested in this sector, you may also be interested to read about
If you would like to do further research into this sector, the following webpages may be useful.
- Conference News a useful conference industry ezine.
- Events Industry Forum The Events Industry Forum publishes the Purple Guide and provides a meeting point for trade associations, enforcement and other representative organisations involved in outdoor events in the UK to meet regularly and discuss issues affecting the industry.
- Prospects has two relevant and useful pages: Hospitality and events management | Prospects.ac.uk and Leisure, sport and tourism | Prospects.ac.uk.
- Target Jobs - Hospitality & event management careers advice for graduates | targetjobs and Travel and tourism.
- The Caterer is a useful catering industry ezine.
- The Springboard Charity has a useful website outlining the industry and opportunities within it: About the industry – CareerScope – Hospitality | Leisure | Tourism.
- Travel Weekly is a useful travel news ezine.
- UKHospitality is the UK’s Trade body for the hospitality and tourism sector, lobbying government, championing the sector and providing expert advice and guidance.
- VisitBritain.org undertakes an annual forecast report on the volume and value of inbound tourism into the UK each year which is helpful commercial insight.
Making contacts is essential for success in this and other sectors. Many jobs in this field come through networking and speculative applications. You could start by speaking with the experts, find out what they did after graduation and contact them for advice.
Making contacts for work shadowing, informational interviews and speculative applications
To help increase your networks who may also be able to suggest ways to build experiences look at:
- Ask an Alum: A fuss-free way to connect with University of Exeter alumni to ask careers questions.
- Career Mentor Scheme: A popular employability scheme which matches a student or graduate with an experienced professional, for sector insight and one-to-one careers advice and guidance, over a 6-month period.
- Professional Pathways: a suite of sector specific training courses and paid week-long internships that take place in June.
Recruitment fairs, careers fairs, open days, talks, and events give insights and opportunities to make contacts. For details of future events visit Handshake. If you have not yet activated your account, select the Single Sign On (SSO) option and follow the onscreen instructions.
Many major graduate recruiters have policies and processes that are proactive in recruiting graduates from diverse backgrounds. To find out the policies and attitudes of employers that you are interested in, explore their equality and diversity policies and see if they support the Disability Confident Employer Scheme or are recognised for their policy by such indicators as Mindful Employer or as a Stonewall’s Diversity Champion.
The UK law protects you from discrimination due to your age, gender, race, religion or beliefs, disability or sexual orientation and more. For further information on the Equality Act and to find out where and how you are protected, as well as information on what you need to do if you feel you have been discriminated against, visit the Government’s webpages on discrimination.
To learn more about how to share details of a disability with an employer and the support you can receive applying for jobs and work experience visit our equality and diversity page.
Key EDI Initiatives in the UK Hospitality & Events Sector
The Diversity in Hospitality, Travel and Lesiure Charter supported by UKHospitality, Hilton, and IHG, offers a ten-point plan for signatory organizations to commit to advancing inclusion across the sector. Additionally, the Hotelier's Charter - UKHospitality, created by Royal Lancaster London, encourages hospitality employers to promote EDI and the sector as a fair career choice.
Action
Explore roles in the sector by visiting the areas of work below. Each profile covers typical duties and responsibilities, entry requirements, key skills required, professional development opportunities and links to finding both work experience and graduate roles.
