Who is an entertainment officer and what do they do? The entertainment officer is in charge of providing entertainment for holidaymakers in hotels, holiday complexes etc.
What are the activities of the entertainment officer? Planning and organising leisure activities for holidaymakers. These can be extremely varied: games, sports competitions, parties, and shows. He/she identifies the needs of the client and tries to fulfil their expectations, according to the locality and type of holiday. He/she also has the responsibility for general entertainment and for solving small problems. In large organisations, each entertainment officer tends to specialise in a particular field: music, theatre, sport, cabaret, stage sets etc. The entertainment officer works closely with holidaymakers and, if necessary, with other colleagues in the entertainment team.
Where is it done and under what conditions? Places of work include holiday villages, farm-based holiday camps, hotels, cruise ships, camp sites, and holiday resorts. The job may be carried out on a self-employed basis – or as an employee, usually on a fixed term contract. The hours are very flexible and it is quite a demanding job as many activities take place in the open air and require considerable physical exertion. The work of the entertainment officer is affected by seasonal trends in tourism and holidays
What tools/equipment do they use? The entertainment officer mainly uses sports and games facilities, materials for making stage sets and costumes, and musical equipment and instruments.
What do you need to succeed? There is no formal training as such, but it is essential to have at least a secondary school certificate. Some tour operators offer their employees periods of ‘on the job’ training. In general, it may prove useful to have previous experience in the fields of entertainment, graphic art, fashion, and maybe even have sports qualifications. The ability to establish an immediate rapport with people is essential for the work of the entertainment officer who, often, has to be able to involve and amuse groups of people, relying on his/her lively personality, imagination and ‘gift of the gab’. A knowledge of languages may prove very useful.