But an inevitable by-product of having so much competition for roles is that many will be finding it harder than ever to move their career forward.

At the ITT, we believe in providing support and guidance to people throughout their entire career in travel and tourism (it’s even in our mission statement). As well as offering advice to those already working in the sector, we place a focus on helping young people find their way in it, and we’ve found that one of the best ways of doing this is for them to find a manager or mentor.

Even though I’ve now been part of this industry for more than two decades, I still have many ambitions, so I’ve begun working with a mentor to help me identify and develop my personal and professional skills. Of course, it’s up to me to reach the next level, but I’ve experienced enough to know I’ll need help to get there.

It’s not sufficient to say, “I’m doing this job and the next natural position is x”. Very few of us are lucky enough to get a promotion purely because we want it – we have to prove that we deserve it. And to do this we need to have a clear plan of what we want to accomplish, why we should achieve it and what we will do once we’ve attained it.

One thing’s for certain: even though it can be hard at times, travel really is a fantastic industry to be part of. We all experience setbacks and we work hard to adapt, but few of us regret putting the effort in.

Barbara Kolosinska is an ITT board director and director of C&M Travel Recruitment