Travelling is trending as a career route at the moment. Teaching English in Asia, au-pairing in Europe, becoming a flight attendant for Emirates and working on international cruise lines are the first things that come to mind. But not everyone is comfortable with leaving all their friends and family so far behind. And that’s okay. Especially since you live in the beautiful country of South Africa that can offer you everything you might find overseas – the beach, the snow, the mountains, the countryside and city life.
South Africa is abundant in tourist-value and there are so many sights to see and resorts to relax at. The goal would be to take what you’re studying now and apply it in the travel-and-earn career examples we’ll discuss below or, quite simply, start looking for travel and tourism short courses in South Africa right now and apply.
There are ways you could make money by travelling around the country and taking in all of its beauty.
Become a social media influencer
Scrolling through your Instagram feed, what’s the likelihood of the first five posts or stories being of South African influencers living the life in the different cities? How often do you find yourself scrolling through their feed and wishing you could have their wardrobe, their products, their free time, their food (mostly) and their fun?
Well, you could. If you have a health, fitness, fashion, beauty, photography or lifestyle industry passion, use it to find a niche market of followers and create followable content. Good quality images and relevant and relatable content is what SA is looking for. Build enough of a following and you could hire a manager to book you for events and line up the product reviews. Create your own website for free and develop your brand. Take your passions and make it work for you.
Soon enough, you’ll be able to go up to a five-star accommodation resort along the west coast of South Africa and ask for a night’s accommodation in return for a mention and, for them, “free marketing, on your social media profiles. As simple as that.
Social media influencers are approached by marketing companies all the time and brands love to sponsor them by giving them free goods. Decide on your “good side” and spruce up your photo skills, it’s time to become the next sought-after South African influencer.
Work for a tourism agency
An obvious option would be to take a travel and tourism courses and work for a travel agency. International, national or even local tourism will expose you to what this country has to offer. Even something like a luxury safari tourism agency can open game lodge doors and offer you tourist experiences while getting paid.
You could be a tour guide, a tour consultant, a holiday planner or even in hotels or at resorts themselves. You might not travel as much but you’ll be right in the middle of the luxurious tourism industry, which isn’t a bad place to start.
Perform your way around SA
Singing, dancing, stand up comedy and magic are all things South Africans love to watch and listen to. And with the rise of millennial-magnet cafés and hangouts popping up all over the country, there are more than enough gig opportunities for you to get involved in.
This is your chance to combine your talents and your passion for travelling together. Create a performance set, contact venues, pack a bag and perform your way around South Africa. Build your reputation, develop your skills, enter competitions and have fun. When you leave university, you’re still young, there are so many things you can do while you figure out what your next move is and making money while travelling the country is a pretty good way to do it.
Freelance when and wherever
Freelancing is an amazing thing. You can choose your hours, your workload, your office and your clients. As a freelancer, you have the time to travel around the country and be a social media influencer if you want. You could start your own tourist consultancy with those tourism courses you took and live life exactly how you want to. You can combine the above travel-and-earn careers into this freelancing title and have all the possible perks.
If you want to travel, review menus, products and places and be an inspiration for other students who are also trying to figure life out, then take a year or two (or the rest of your life) to show them that it’s an achievable goal and worth the effort.
There’s a market for almost everything these days, so you’ll definitely be able to find something to focus on that you love. And the opportunities can be endless. It will start small and might take a while to lift off, but that’s what collaborations are for. Make travelling around South Africa your job and you’ll always want to wake up and “go to work”.