Choose a career that will put a smile on your face

Tourism offers a career path in which you will savour new experiences, enjoy a flexible work life balance and follow your passion.

If you love your job, it feels less like hard work. It inspires you to explore pathways that pique your interest, socialise on the job and see the rewards of your input on the faces of those you serve.

When it comes to a career choice, the pathway starts with a passion for the subject. Tourism is a sector where there is the fun factor and chances aplenty to progress up the professional ladder too.

Anna Hevers always had a passion for food and for working in restaurants. She studied hotel management at Shannon College of Hotel Management at the University of Galway, and worked front of house in her placement year at The Grove, a five-star country retreat in Hertfordshire, in the UK.

After college, she won a scholarship to attend Le Cordon Bleu London, where she studied cuisine and patisserie.

“At Goldie we work a four-day week. The result is that I’m full of energy, ready to go, full of passion and not burned out,” says Hevers.

John Burchill is operations manager at Hayfield Manor Hotel, a luxury five-star establishment in Cork that he describes as being a 365-day-a-year, 24/7 human business.

“You get to build great relationships with customers,” he says. “Some last generations. You become part of the life of that family.”

Being part of someone’s wedding day is wonderful, says Burchill, but the job covers the full circle of life.




Fiona Togher, general manager at Turasoireacht Iorrais Teo, has held many corporate roles, from financial services to working with one of London’s mayors. She took a role with a multinational overseeing its corporate social responsibility on a project on the Erris peninsula, in north Mayo.

On the day she left that role, Gerry Maguire, the chairman of the Belmullet Golf Club, asked her if she might take a look at the links course. The not-for-profit golf club was a tourism co-operative held in trust for the local community.

“I knew about Carne,” she recalls. “The facilities hadn’t been touched in years. I could see the potential.” She began by offering her expertise pro bono. That was seven years ago. In that period full-time staff levels have risen from three to 22.

“It’s about selling happiness,” she says. “I work with people who are on holidays and in good form. There’s a feel-good factor to the job. It’s a happy profession. I never get the Sunday scaries.”

Claire Derousseaux is a senior account and project manager at Dublin-based Odyssey International, a company that specialises in incentive travel. The guests on these reward programmes have worked hard, she says, so it’s about creating memorable experiences for them.

Hers is a job where you get to be creative, says Derousseaux. This is a job for someone who likes diversity too. “I work at a desk, manage budgets through Excel and have a bible where every aspect of each programme is mapped out. What makes it exciting is that Ireland’s offer is vast and every client is different. You get to be creative and lead the tempo.”

Think you have what it takes? For further information on the wide range of professional opportunities visit tourismcareers.ie. 

Created in partnership with The Irish Times