ITM UPDATE

Among all the possible reasons for wanting to work in travel, I’m guessing none of them were because it was perceived to be well-paid.

ITM has recently published its 2018 Salary Survey, which explored pay levels amongst UK travel buyers. This is a warmly anticipated piece of research for our buyers, who are curious to see how packages compare.

The survey is also a valuable benchmarking tool for organisations looking to pitch reward levels when recruiting. This year the survey confirmed the three primary influences upon buyers’ salaries are qualifications, industry experience and the employer’s market sector.

79% of our respondents said they benefit from an annual bonus scheme and, of these, it will surprise no one that 70% reported that cost reduction was the leading KPI to achieve it. However, we were encouraged to see 57% of those eligible for a bonus were KPI’D on traveller satisfaction.

I can imagine some buyers taking the survey with them to their annual performance reviews as evidence of a deserved pay rise, unless the survey reveals them to be doing rather well versus their peer group.