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If there’s one thing Australians know how to do well, it’s pack a bag, board a plane, and vanish into a tropical paradise or frosty mountain range. However, lately, the institutions intended to prepare us for a future in tourism seem more interested in robotics than in resorts. And some folks in the industry have had quite enough of being treated like yesterday’s boarding pass.

Earlier this month, Rick Myatt, Chief Executive of the Australian Travel Careers Council (ATCC), stepped into the elegant surrounds of Clayton UTZ’s Sydney offices—an event co-hosted with Business Sydney—where the clink of glasses met the crisp chatter of educational reform. The guest list was small but significant, and the night’s focus was firmly fixed on the future of TAFE NSW.

There, the Hon Steve Whan, NSW Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education, alongside newly minted TAFE NSW Managing Director Chloe Reid, unfurled the organisation’s ambitious new direction. On paper, it’s bold: specialised industry faculties cropping up in Western Sydney, the Hunter, and Illawarra—hotbeds of growth industries like manufacturing, digital automation, and renewables.

It all sounded jolly impressive until Myatt dropped a polite but firm pin in the balloon.

“Where’s the tourism?” he asked, metaphorically, though one suspects the question hung in the air like the smell of burnt Qantas coffee on a red-eye flight.

The numbers speak volumes. In 2024, just 142 students enrolled in the foundational Certificate III in Travel (SIT30222) course via school-based traineeships across the state—a pitiful number for a sector that once saw busloads of eager learners dreaming of careers aboard cruise ships, in exotic resorts, or even behind a travel agency desk with a world map wallpaper.

“There’s been a significant drop in travel and tourism course offerings post-pandemic,” Myatt told the room, adding with firm diplomacy, “and that’s affecting both vocational and university levels.”

To his credit, the Minister didn’t blink. Whan and Reid acknowledged the oversight and pledged a more balanced approach moving forward—one that won’t leave service industries like tourism standing in the shadow of high-vis and hard hats.

But Myatt wasn’t done. He called for complete transparency from TAFE about what’s working and what’s not in their strategic rollout, especially if they’re serious about this “industry-centric” mantra they’re selling.

“We can’t improve what we can’t see,” he said. “The travel and tourism sector stands ready to help fix the pipeline—but we need the data, the insight, and the willingness to collaborate.”

Another curveball Myatt lobbed was the rapid rise of artificial intelligence in the travel industry. With AI now booking flights, planning itineraries, and managing guest experiences faster than you can say ‘Jetstar sale’, he argued it’s high time our national training framework caught up.

“AI literacy needs to be part of the foundational skillset,” he said, with the sort of earnestness one usually reserves for lost luggage reports.

The ATCC is now consulting with NSW Training Services on how to rescue the sagging SBAT intake numbers for travel careers, starting with something as fundamental as the HSC curriculum. Myatt suggests reintroducing key travel units—such as GDS systems and international destination knowledge—into the senior school mix.

Because, let’s face it, if we want future generations to know the difference between Dubrovnik and Dubbo, someone’s got to teach them.

At a time when Australians are rediscovering their wanderlust with gusto, and the world is clamouring to welcome us back, the timing couldn’t be more critical. Our national identity has long been tied to the spirit of exploration—whether it’s the sunburnt backpacker in Prague or the sandy-footed tour guide in Port Douglas.

We can’t afford to let that legacy drift into the departure lounge of neglect.

Let’s hope TAFE NSW’s next boarding call includes a seat for tourism.