Hospitality and Tourism career cluster
Hospitality and Tourism career cluster
Careers in the hospitality and tourism cluster relate to the management, marketing, and operations of restaurants and other food services, lodging, attractions, recreation events, and travel related services.
What’s the role of hospitality and tourism?
- The hospitality and tourism industry includes lodging, restaurants, event planning, theme parks, transportation services, cruises, travel guides, casinos, movie theaters, and tourism.
- The industry is important for travel, as hospitality and tourism workers help plan trips and make travel reservations, operate hotels and amusement parks, and guide tours.
- Jobs in this cluster were severely reduced during the pandemic due to travel bans as well as closures of restaurants and entertainment facilities. Experts expect that the industry will gradually rebound fully.
Quick facts
Strong employment growth.
This sector employs over 16 million people and is expected to add more than 1.5 million jobs over the next ten years.
Large infrastructure for lodging.
There are over 50,000 hotels and motels in the United States.
We love to travel.
Travelers in the United States logged more than 2.25 billion trips in 2018.
Big destination for international travelers.
Approximately 80 million visitors from overseas traveled to the U.S. in 2018 to shop, sightsee, dine out, visit national parks and monuments, and enjoy amusement parks.
Would a career in hospitality and tourism be a good fit for me?
Do you want to be a part of the crew at coffee shops, restaurants, recreation locations, or travel destinations? Then a career in the hospitality and tourism cluster may be a good fit for you. Here are some points to keep in mind.
- This industry is people-focused and you should expect to work in a customer facing role; success in most hospitality-related jobs relies on customer satisfaction.
- November and December holidays generate a great deal of activity in the hospitality and tourism industry and workers are typically expected to work longer hours, evenings, and weekends in many positions.
- Summer months are typically busier than other seasons in this industry.
- A number of hospitality and tourism careers have low wages, however tips for good service provide a significant boost in pay.
What are some careers in hospitality and tourism?
The hospitality and tourism cluster includes many entry-level opportunities that can build toward higher-level positions. For example, an entry-level worker may start restaurant work as a dishwasher or table busser and eventually move into cooking, waiting tables, or even management.
Many opportunities under this cluster do not require training beyond high school. Click any link to find out more about a career, including average wages, employment projections, training requirements and more.