- Average wages rise 1.8 per cent in 2025
- Senior roles see biggest pay increase
- Travel pay has risen 37 per cent since 2021
- Dip in annual recruitment activity
Travel wages rise at slower rate
Salaries for the average job in the travel industry rose by 1.78 per cent in 2025 to set a new high of £37,695, according to the 2025 Travel Salary Index from C&M Travel Recruitment which surveyed all new vacancies registered with the company during the year.
This was the fourth successive year of wage increases, with the Covid-affected year of 2021 being the only year to not record annual growth since 2014.
However, 2025's rise of 1.78 per cent (or £659) was significantly slower than that of recent years which saw increases of 8.43 per cent (or £2,880) in 2024, 11.56 per cent (or £3,539) in 2023 and 11.53 per cent (or £3,166) in 2022. Average wages for a new job in the travel industry have risen by more than a third since 2021 with growth of 37.32 per cent or £10,244.
Last year's increase was largely driven by the 8.23 per cent rise in pay for senior travel roles (those paying £40,000 or above), with a particular jump in the number of positions paying £80,000 or more.
In contrast, salaries for standard travel jobs (those paying up to £39,999) dipped for the first time in four years with a 1.84 per cent annual fall. Despite this, wages for the average standard new travel job have risen by 25.73 per cent (or £6,247) since 2021.
Recruitment activity eases
The travel recruitment sector saw small falls in activity across all metrics last year, with placements dipping by three per cent, new candidates easing by seven per cent and job vacancies slipping by 13 per cent compared to 2024.
In contrast, it was a much busier year for business travel with a 65 per cent increase in job placements in the sector in 2025. Salaries for corporate travel jobs dipped by 8.89 per cent in the past year, however they have risen by 14.41 per cent since 2021 and by 26.43 per cent since the last pre-pandemic year of 2019.
Speaking about the stats, Barbara Kolosinska, Managing Director and Co-Owner at C&M Travel Recruitment, said: "2025 was a mixed year for travel recruitment but there were lots of extremely positive areas to be encouraged by. Excluding the Covid era, travel salaries have now risen every year for more than a decade – and with wages having jumped by more than a third in just the past four years, travel is now in a much better place to attract the best candidates into our industry.
"Also, after a fall in activity in 2024, it's fantastic to see a big rebound in recruitment for business travel. Placements increased by a huge 65 per cent in the sector last year, which is a great sign for the months ahead.
"Less positive were the small falls in overall vacancy, candidate and placement volumes last year, but with many companies reporting a strong Peaks season, we're expecting a busy start to 2026 and we're hopeful that this momentum will continue throughout the year."
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All figures are drawn from the salaries of the new vacancies advertised with C&M Travel Recruitment.
C&M Travel Recruitment was established in 1998 and is the largest and most successful specialist travel recruitment company in the UK.
For further information please contact: Owen Mckeon (Marketing and Operations Manager - 0161 238 4497 / owen@candm.co.uk) or Barbara Kolosinska (Managing Director and Co-Owner - 07507 602 069 / barbara@candm.co.uk).