Local Government Tourism Officer

entertaining your community in local government tourism development

 

Introduction

Local government tourism officers are responsible for the development of the council’s tourism strategy, the promotion of tourism and support for tourism related businesses in a local area.

They are employed in all types of council.
 

Work Environment

 

Local government tourism officers are usually office based, although they may be required to travel to tourist centres and attractions.
 They normally work a standard 37 hour week, but might be required to work occasional unsocial hours.
 

Daily Activities

 

Tourism can have an enormous impact on a town or region and has great potential to increase the prosperity of an area.  Local government tourism officers work to develop this potential and may be involved in some or all of the following tasks:

  • promoting existing tourist attractions through advertising campaigns, working with the local media and developing promotional literature;
  • carrying out research of existing tourist attractions to gain customer feedback in order to make improvements;
  • researching local history and local people’s views in order to develop potential new tourist attractions;
  • working with the media and other local partner organisations to raise the profile of the local area, generate positive publicity and create a brand identity for the area;
  • organising exhibition stands at conferences both nationally and overseas to promote the area;
  • attracting business conventions and conferences to the area;
  • providing support, guidance and sometimes administering funding for local tourism related business and advising new tourism businesses;
  • encouraging the development of new jobs within the tourism sector;
  • bringing in tourism development funding to the area;
  • assessing the impact that any planned developments may have upon the local environment weighed against the potential benefits;
  • consulting with local tourism businesses such as tour operators, restaurants and guest-houses, to assess how effective current tourism development policies are and to develop an overall tourism development strategy;
  • overseeing the council’s tourist information offices.

Skills & Interests

Local government tourism officers need:

  • to be excellent communicators, able to consult with a wide range of people,
  • creativity and innovative strategic thinking,
  • good PR and marketing skills,
  • excellent customer service skills,
  • budget management skills,
  • good organisational skills.

 

Entry Requirements

 

Although there are no set entry requirements, most local councils ask for some previous experience within the travel and tourism industry.  They might also require relevant qualifications, such as a degree or HND in travel and tourism, marketing or possibly economic development.
 N/SVQs in travel and tourism are also available at levels 2 and 3.
 

Estimated salary range

 

Local government tourism officers might expect to earn around £22,000 - £28,000.  Assistant tourism officers and visitor services officers working in local government tourist information centres might expect to earn £14,000 - £18,000.
Please note that salary information is a guide only and there may be local agreements in place. For further information about salaries for particular positions, please contact your local council directly.

Future prospects & opportunities

There is a progression route from tourist information assistant, to assistant tourism officer and then tourism officer.  Further progression is possible by moving into managerial positions both within the tourism development section and to other departments such as economic development and regeneration.
Related Occupations

Follow this link to view a list of all related occuptions in Entertaining Your Community.
Further Information & Services

Institute of Travel and Tourism www.itt.co.uk

People 1st www.people1st.co.uk

You may find further information about this area of work in your local Connexions service/careers office/school careers library - under MC.

What should I do next?

Look for current local government tourism officer vacancies in the following places:

 

  • LGjobs.com - the official recruitment website for local government.
  • Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly jobs bulletins produced by local councils themselves, available from libraries, community centres, town halls/main civic buildings and central council personnel departments.
  • Local council websites.
  • Local newspapers
  • National newspapers - The Guardian is particularly well known for its public sector job advertisements on a Wednesday.

Find out about the council and get some work experience if possible by:

  • Making the most of work experience placements arranged through your school, college or university.
  • Contacting councils close to your home to find out about the work experience opportunities they offer.
  • Talking to someone who does the job you are interested in - ring your local council to see if someone can spare some time.
  • Making an appointment to see a careers adviser for more specific information about jobs and training.