Tourism is one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the world. It is an increasingly important source of income, employment, and wealth in many countries. Economically, it creates jobs and contributes Gross Domestic Product, as well as brings in capital investment and exports. Socially and culturally, travel and tourism offers the opportunity of providing jobs for minority and disadvantaged groups, creating adequate training in management skills, education and technology to local people and increasing incomes in rural and local economies, thereby contributing to the alleviation of poverty in developing countries. Environmentally, it is essential for travel and tourism to maintain an optimal balance of its natural resources to ensure the ongoing arrival of tourists to destinations. As per the Planning Commission, an investment of Rs.10 lakh creates 78 jobs in the tourism sector, while the same generates just 18 jobs in the manufacturing and 45 in the agriculture sector. The human resource requirement in hotels and restaurants, tour operations and tour guides account for more than 85 per cent of the incremental human resource requirement in the tourism sector and would be possible areas to target skill building initiatives. The study is an attempt to analyze the skill requirement and skill gaps in tourism industry. The study also identifies the focus areas for skill development in travel and tourism industry.