For junior roles (those paying up to £22,000), the gap was just 0.41% with the average man earning £85 more than a woman, while the gap was reversed for mid-level positions (those paying between £22,001 and £29,999) with females earning £103 (or 0.39%) more than males.

There was also a small pay gap for senior roles (those paying between £30,000 and £39,999) with men taking home an average of £267 (or 0.81%) more than their female equivalents.
 
However, there was a stark difference in salaries for executive roles (those paying £40,000 and above), with the average male earning £55,792 – £7,402 (or 14.21%) more than his female counterpart. This gap has increased from 11.94% in 2019 and 10.56% in 2018.

The findings were echoed by TTG analysis of gender pay data from 40 of the UK’s largest travel trade firms, which revealed women in travel and tourism continue to earn significantly less than their male counterparts. 

According to C&M, the overall pay gap in the travel industry stands at 11.50% (or £3,606), which is down from 14.15% in 2019, 18.35% in 2018 and 12.75% in 2017.

In terms of the overall gender split in travel, females continued to be awarded the vast majority of new jobs with a total of 70.7% in 2022 – up from 68.7% in 2019 and 68.6% in 2018.
 
Females took 81.6% of all entry-level positions last year (up from 70.8% in 2019 and 74.1% in 2018) and 76.8% of all mid-level roles (up from 72.9% in 2019 and 75.0% in 2018).
 
Barbara Kolosinska, managing director at C&M Travel Recruitment, said: "On the face of it, these figures make for good reading – the gender pay gap has been almost eliminated at nearly all levels of the travel industry.

"However, even though we are now seeing women being awarded the majority of executive positions in travel, men continue to dominate roles in the £70,000+ range – and these top-end jobs account for the overall gap in pay that we are seeing."
 
Kolosinska said there is a "real opportunity" for travel to "lead the way" by creating true pay parity at all levels and eliminating the gender pay gap for good.