Tourism
Travel Consultant Career Perceptions
We're exploring the factors contributing to travel consultant shortages across Australia and identifying practical solutions to strengthen the workforce pipeline for the tourism, travel and hospitality sector.
Project Phase
- Project commencement: Oct 2026
- Surveys and focus groups : Nov - Dec 2026
- Final insights report: Feb 2027
Project overview
Australia’s travel consultant workforce plays a vital role in supporting domestic and international tourism. Despite employing approximately 9,000 people nationally, the occupation continues to experience workforce shortages across much of the country.
Broader research into service industries suggests that factors such as the prevalence of part-time employment, a predominantly female workforce and limited awareness of career pathways may influence perceptions of these roles and discourage potential entrants. However, the extent to which these factors affect travel consultants specifically remains unclear, highlighting the need for further research and industry engagement.
To address this knowledge gap, SaCSA, in partnership with Victoria University, is undertaking research to explore perceptions of travel consultant careers and identify the factors influencing career interest, workforce attraction and retention. The findings will provide an evidence base to better understand workforce challenges and inform targeted strategies to strengthen the future travel consultant workforce.
The project will explore awareness of travel consultant roles, perceptions of working conditions and career opportunities, and the factors shaping career decisions. It will also examine the experiences of current and former travel industry workers to better understand career satisfaction, progression and long-term participation.
The findings will help identify opportunities to strengthen career awareness, improve the visibility of career pathways and support workforce attraction and retention across the travel industry.
Why this project matters
SaCSA’s Tourism, Travel and Hospitality Workforce Plan Update 2025 identified travel consultants as one of the occupations experiencing the most critical workforce shortages across Australia. Jobs and Skills Australia’s Occupation Shortage List identified travel consultants as being in shortage across every state and territory in 2025, with the occupation remaining in national shortage in 2026.
Industry stakeholders report ongoing recruitment difficulties, particularly for entry-level roles. Previous research has also identified declining VET enrolments and completions, limited awareness of career pathways, challenges attracting and retaining workers, and concerns about training quality and relevance.
Understanding perceptions is critical because factors such as career progression, earning potential, job security and working conditions may influence whether people consider, enter or remain in the occupation. Perceptions may not always reflect the realities of the role, potentially discouraging suitable candidates. Without this insight, workforce initiatives risk overlooking the factors that influence career decisions.
This project will help identify perceived and actual barriers to entering and remaining in the occupation, providing evidence to inform targeted strategies that improve career awareness, workforce attraction and retention.
This project will:
Research
Explore
Examine
Identify
Project team
Sevda Aamir
Project Lead
