The average salary for a new travel job rose 2.9% last month to set a new record high of £28,382 following a 38% year on year drop in candidates.
The figure topped the previous high set last June and is only the second time that average salaries have broken through the £28,000 barrier, according to the latest Travel Salary Index from C&M Recruitment.
This also means that wages are up 4.9% year on year.
However, there has been a 1.55% fall in starting salaries in the north, where the average pay has slipped to £23,656 compared with £28,777 in the south following almost an 8% rise in April.
The increase pushed the average salary in the south up to its highest level since June 2018.
It was also a very positive month for standard travel jobs, paying up to £40,000, with wages jumping 3.77% to reach their highest point of 2019 so far.
The average rolling 12-month average standard salary was up 7.17% to £25,752.
C&M said a shortage of quality candidates was continuing to affect the market. The number of vacancies was also down 23% year on year to its lowest level since April 2014.
C&M director Barbara Kolosinska said: "It really was a month of two halves. In terms of salaries, everything was very positive with wages for new travel jobs reaching a record high while we also had a massive 8% jump in pay in the south.
"However, at the same time we continued to see a candidate shortage with many of the best travel professionals choosing to remain in their current roles rather than seek out any new opportunities.
"This has clearly resulted in a huge demand for quality candidates and, as our salary results show, companies are increasingly willing to improve their wages and benefits packages in an effort to attract the best applicants."
