Building stronger, more inclusive travel industry workforce pipelines
Strengthen your local travel workforce.
Travel Unity helps destinations, employers, educators, and community partners build sustainable workforce pipelines through research, partnerships, career exploration, and workforce development initiatives tailored to local needs.
Travel Unity helps destinations strengthen their travel workforce by connecting employers, educators, community organizations, and emerging professionals.
While career awareness is an important first step, meaningful workforce development requires more than exposure. It requires practical experiences, professional development, industry connections, and coordinated partnerships that help people move from interest to opportunity.
Our workforce development work focuses on four interconnected areas:
Workforce Landscape Analysis: Understand local workforce needs by convening employers, educators, workforce agencies, and community organizations to identify priorities, gaps, and opportunities for collaboration.
Career Exploration: Introduce students and job seekers to careers across the travel industry through immersive experiences, industry engagement, and structured learning opportunities.
Professional Development: Help emerging professionals build the skills, credentials, confidence, and relationships needed to succeed in travel careers.
Work-Based Learning: Create meaningful opportunities for participants to apply what they've learned through internships, volunteer projects, apprenticeships, mentorship, and other real-world experiences.
Travel Unity organizes career exploration and workforce development experiences that help students and job seekers move from awareness to opportunity.
Our programs include:
One-day events for high school students: Introductory career exploration programs that expose students to the range of careers across travel and tourism.
Multi-day events for college students and job seekers: Deeper learning experiences that combine industry exposure, professional development, networking, and hands-on activities.
Career exploration fairs: Opportunities for students and job seekers to meet professionals, employers, educators, and organizations across the travel ecosystem.
Industry event access and conference experiences: Structured opportunities for emerging talent to attend industry events, engage with professionals, and better understand how the travel industry works.
Regional travel grants with career exposure: Support for students and job seekers to participate in destination-based learning experiences connected to local travel career pathways.
Visit Greater Palm Springs' Passport to Leadership
Travel Unity partnered with Visit Greater Palm Springs with the design and delivery of Passport to Leadership, a summer workforce development program introducing Coachella Valley high school students to the wide range of careers that power the region's visitor economy.
Through interactive workshops, industry engagement, and hands-on learning, students explored how destinations, hotels, attractions, marketing organizations, and community partners work together to create memorable visitor experiences.
Participants developed leadership and presentation skills, worked collaboratively, and connected with industry professionals from across the region.
Let's talk about your community's workforce goals and explore how Travel Unity can help build stronger pathways into travel careers.
Start your journey in the travel industry.
Explore careers, build practical skills, connect with professionals, earn certifications, and gain experience through Travel Unity's workforce development programs.
Join the Travel Unity Alliance to get access to introductions to members of the travel industry, discounts on certifications, and more
Join the College Corps, which provides your students with access to our programs and your department with invitations to our webinars and other collaborative possibilities
Future Leaders Cohorts introduce students and job seekers to career pathways across the travel industry through a structured, multi-session learning experience.
Over three virtual sessions, participants engage with professionals from across the travel industry through interactive discussions, real-world case studies, hands-on activities, and small-group conversations.
By the end of the cohort, participants leave with a broader understanding of the travel industry, expanded professional connections, greater confidence, and a clearer sense of where they can contribute within the industry.
Note: Alliance members receive first priority for registration.
I would recommend this program to everyone.
Travel Unity is a bridge that connects me to many aspects in the very vast tourism industry.
Every meeting is always so exciting because you never know who they will have to speak, from CEOs to Yankee lovers...
I will also show up to a TU event and will always recommend it to others.
I would recommend this program to everyone.
Travel Unity is a bridge that connects me to many aspects in the very vast tourism industry.
Every meeting is always so exciting because you never know who they will have to speak, from CEOs to Yankee lovers...
I will also show up to a TU event and will always recommend it to others.
