Travel agents top UK pay rise league table
Average wage up by 21% to more than £29,600
Tfoso
Travel agents saw the biggest rise in pay last year – up 20.5% according to official figures – but they still lag behind the national average.
The average salary for a UK travel agent was £29,618 in April 2023, up by just over a fifth on the same time last year.
The average full-time worker’s wage was almost £35,000, an increase of 5.8% on the previous year.
The next highest pay rises were seen by public relations directors and publicans – with sports coaches reporting the largest fall in the figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
However, the BBC reported that UK workers overall saw earnings “fail to keep pace with rising prices” because the cost of living grew faster than wages over the same period.
An Abta spokesperson told the BBC: “During the pandemic, the travel industry was by far the worst affected. Business fell through the floor. Over 100,000 people left the travel sector.”
When holiday demand surged back, there was a shortage of travel sector workers, so companies offered higher wages, he added.
The ONS figures reflect the findings of surveys by C&M Travel Recruitment, which said last month that travel sector salaries were up 13% so far this year.
And in August, the travel recruitment specialist said the average wage for travel jobs has risen by 21% since pre-pandemic.
More: Travel salaries up 13% so far this year, reports industry recruiter
Average travel job salary sees ‘big increase’ since 2019
Picture by Hyejin Kang/Shutterstock
