5 quick questions with ITC Tourism Education Team Leader Mel Fey
One awesome part of Mel’s job is that she gets to do things like the SkyWalk!
Mel Fey heads up ITC’s Tourism Education Team. She teaches a range of short courses to secondary school students, in the aim of educating them about the exciting airline, travel and tourism industries. We asked her five quick questions about how she got into this role.
1. What sparked your interest in travel and tourism?
When I was younger and I saw flight attendants board their aircraft I thought they must be famous and I wanted to be one. I studied level 3 and 4 tourism after high school and after a couple of customer service roles I ended up spending almost a decade working for Air New Zealand.
2. Do you have any travel tips for those setting out on their first overseas adventure?
Research before you go. Tell others about your trip as I’ve found the best tips are from those who have been there. Facebook is a great tool for this. Also use companies like STRAY etc, as they know the best places to go and you can travel as a group.
3. What is the best thing about working in the travel and tourism industry?
Meeting the people who work in it and building relationships, therefore working together as one industry. Also I find the customers (for me, students) you meet help make you grow into the person you are. These encounters are by far my favourite part of the industry and working in my role.
4. What are your favourite subjects to teach?
Adventure Tourism, because I get to see students achieve something they never thought they would (bungy jump), and Careers, because I get to teach students to see the potential in themselves and the outcome is them returning to thank me for being that inspiration.
5. How can a student improve their chances of getting a great job upon graduation?
Make an impact on whoever you meet. Make sure you treat each other with the respect you wish to receive and treat every customer you deal with as an individual. The travel and tourism industry might be one of the largest industries in the world, but once you are in it, it actually feels incredibly small. Everyone knows everyone and networking is a way to not only progress but get further opportunities to move around in the industry. The industry talks!
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