Despite media reports about declining consumer confidence in the wake of the global economic crisis, the travel and tourism recruitment industry remains buoyant.

However, the industry is holding its breath to see if the credit crunch will affect families’ leisure plans. Mintel consumer research found 20% of families had delayed their annual holidays because of economic concerns, with 57% of adults cancelling spending plans because of worries about their personal financial situation.

Lynn Hilditch, manager of human resources at travel agent Flight Centre, told Recruiter global economic changes haven’t affected employment in the business yet: “We are aiming for a 20% growth in employment over a year. We have an aggressive approach, we haven’t cut back on advertising,” she said.

Reed.co.uk’s salary index shows the average number of job postings in the leisure and tourism sector has increased by 500 in England, compared to this time last year, from 3,000 to 3,500 available positions.

In Scotland there has also been a significant rise, from 70 postings to 250 in the last year.

Recruitment agencies in the travel and tourism sector have noticed a growth in temporary contracts, as companies try to protect themselves from the potential future downturn.

Andy Cole, managing director of Travel Trade Recruitment, told Recruiter temporary placements have increased by 18% on last month, after a rise of 12% the month before. “Until the season of uncertainty ends there will be a trend towards temporary,” he said.

“Permanent hasn’t really changed, although looking at May’s figures, there is a slight downturn.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty about. No one’s in panic mode — we’ve adapted to so many problems over the years we’re used to it.”

Reed.co.uk’s salary index reflects these trends. The number of postings for permanent positions went from 2,900 to 3,100 in the past year. Temporary positions also increased.

According to reed.co.uk’s salary index, the average salary in England remained around £21,000 during the last year.

The index also registers a drop in the average salary for leisure and tourism in Wales, from £24,000 to £20,000. However, a low number of job postings, currently 19, could cause inaccuracies.

In Scotland there has been a dramatic decrease from £28,000 to £20,000 over the last year, according to the index.

However, Travel Trade Recruitment hasn’t noticed the downturn, telling Recruiter salaries have remained level.

The market for business travel is still buoyant and consultants are in demand. A study by AA Appointments found salaries in business travel have increased by between 7% and 8% last year.

“These are the people with good technology skills — those familiar with global distributions systems,” Jackie David, acting business and community editor of Travel Weekly, told Recruiter.

In London, salaries in business travel have risen significantly.

“In the past year the average salary for corporate travel consultants in London has gone from £24,000 to £26,500,” Cole told Recruiter. “Corporate travel consultants are like gold dust; there’s a lot more jobs than candidates.”

He warned that growth could level out as the financial industry cuts costs by reducing business travel.

David cited the rising importance of the internet as a key reason for the demand of technical skills, citing Travel Weekly research predicting serious skills shortages in the future.

“There’s also an emerging demand for staff with search engine optimization ability. With the rising importance of the internet — even for companies with a high street presence — effective online marketing is a must,” said David.

AA Appointments’ last travel salary forecast predicted the salary for a retail agent with computer skills could increase by up to 13.6%.