Our Why
A message from the founders
Why we created Travel Talent Academy, and what we believe the industry has been missing.
Over the course of our careers, we have worked with leading travel companies across airline, hotel, destination and technology sectors. We have seen first-hand the extraordinary diversity of careers that the travel and tourism industry offers, and the remarkable people who have dedicated their working lives to it.
We have also seen another side of the industry. As employers, we recruited graduates, interviewed candidates and welcomed people into their first roles. Time and again, we met talented individuals with genuine ambition but without the foundational knowledge their employers needed them to have from their first day. Not through any lack of effort or intelligence, but because the starting point they needed simply did not exist.
The more people we hired, the more obvious the gap became. While a university degree is valuable, many entry-level roles in travel and tourism do not require one, yet there is no widely recognised alternative pathway designed for the industry. Between a broad business degree and learning everything on the job, there was very little in between. That gap is what we set out to close.
That became Travel Talent Academy. We set out to create the kind of starting point we believe the industry has been missing: one that introduces the breadth of the travel and tourism industry, reflects the real skills employers want to see, and gives people the confidence to begin their careers with genuine purpose.
We know Travel Talent Academy is only one part of the solution. Building stronger pathways into our industry will require employers, educators and industry leaders working together. Whether you are an employer looking to strengthen your talent pipeline, an educator interested in building new pathways, an investor who shares our vision, or someone starting to think about a career in travel and tourism, we would welcome the opportunity to speak with you.
The Problem
Three challenges the industry faces
The Talent Gap
The global travel and tourism industry is projected to face a shortage of approximately 43 million workers by 2035 (WTTC, 2025). As competition for talent increases, helping people enter the industry with greater knowledge, confidence and purpose becomes one of the most important challenges the industry faces.
The Pathway Gap
There is no widely recognised, industry-informed starting point designed specifically to prepare people for entry-level careers across the travel and tourism industry. We believe this absence is part of the problem, and that addressing it will help the industry attract and retain better talent over time.
The Industry Challenge
Travel and tourism is one of the world's largest industries, spanning airlines, hotels, cruise, destinations, tour operations, travel agencies, technology and many other sectors (WTTC, 2025). Yet much of the knowledge needed to enter and succeed in the industry is learned informally, on the job, and without any consistent framework.
The Vision
Accessible education for everyone with the ambition to build a career in travel
We believe everyone with the ambition to build a career in travel and tourism should have access to an affordable, industry-informed starting point, regardless of where they live or their financial circumstances. Travel Talent Academy is designed to make that starting point accessible, credible and genuinely useful to both learners and employers.
See what we have built
Explore the diploma programme, the curriculum and the learning experience.
Explore the Academy