Travel salaries rise 11.6% in 2023

LONDON - Jan. 23, 2024 - PRLog -- Travel salaries rise 11.6% in 2023
C&M Travel Recruitment's Travel Salary Index – 2023 Overview

• Average salaries up by 21 per cent since pre-pandemic
• Wages rising far quicker for those at top of industry
• Candidates rise, but vacancies and placements fall

Another record year for travel pay

Salaries for the average new job in the travel industry rose by 11.56 per cent in 2023 to reach £34,156, according to the 2023 Travel Salary Index from C&M Travel Recruitment.

The big increase in wages follows a similar 11.53 per cent jump in 2022, with salaries having risen by an average of 21.14 per cent since the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

However, the size of wage increases was not consistent across the industry with much of the overall rise being caused by an increase in placements for those earning the most.

Wages for executive travel roles (those paying £40,000 and above) rose by 6.50 per cent (or £3,364) to reach an average of £55,085, while those in new travel jobs with salaries of £60,000 or above saw their wages increase by an average of 11.06 per cent (or £8,355) in 2023.

For standard travel roles (those paying below £40,000), pay rose by 4.23 per cent in 2023 to £29,701 and has risen by 19.08 per cent since 2019. But for mid-level travel jobs (those paying between £22,001 and £29,999), wages increased by just 0.92 per cent last year and by only 4.56 per cent (or £1,155) since 2019 – far below the rate of inflation.

Recruitment eases after bumper 2022

The number of new candidates searching for travel jobs rose by eight per cent last year following a 26 per cent increase in 2022.

After record-setting figures in 2022, last year was a less impressive one for both vacancies and placements, with vacancies dipping by 30 per cent from the previous year and placements falling back by 50 per cent from 2022.

It was also a slower year for the business travel sector, with placements dipping by 66 per cent from 2022's record-breaking year, but down by just six per cent from 2019. However, salaries for the average new business travel job rose by 7.28 per cent (or £2,201) in 2023 to stand at £32,414, and have risen by 20.07 per cent (or £5,418) since 2019.

Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director at C&M Travel Recruitment (http://www.candm.co.uk/), said: "Salaries in the travel industry have been too low for too long.  Those at the very top of our industry are seeing these big increases in pay, but it isn't filtering down. For many people working in travel – particularly those earning less than £30,000 – salaries barely increased at all last year and have in fact fallen compared to the rate of inflation."