The news. The Kenya Association of Travel Agents has held its second students' symposium with Strathmore University's School of Tourism and Hospitality. More than 170 students from 20 institutions attended. One panel had a blunt title: "Educating for a Job Market That Won't Exist: The Crisis in Tourism Training."
What the industry told the students
The association's chairman gave the most practical advice of the day. Students should experience what they will one day sell. "Walk into a five-star hotel. Buy a cappuccino. Experience the environment," he said. The industry needs people who understand its products and its customers, not only their certificates.
The panel on AI landed in the same place. As AI automates some tasks, he urged students to look beyond technology, to human connection, critical thinking and problem-solving. The association's own summary adds that graduates must understand both the systems used to sell travel and the human relationships behind customer service.
Why it matters for the agency
Every agency owner is facing the Kenyan question right now, just with fewer students. The first tasks a junior used to learn on, such as looking up rates, filling forms and copying details into a quote, are the first tasks AI takes. So where does a junior learn the trade?
My answer, after seventeen years in tourism, twelve of them inside Gulf B2B operations: move them closer to the client sooner. Let the tool do the copying. Have the junior read every quote before it goes out, sit in on the difficult calls, and learn why a hotel that looks fine on paper is the wrong one for this family. The desks I worked on covered more than 7,300 hotels. Nobody memorises a list like that. You learn which ones cause problems from the problems.
What is the first thing a new hire on your desk learns today, and will it still be a job next year?
Source: KATA — Kenya's travel industry rethinks graduate skills as AI reshapes travel careers.