Tourism continues to show strong signs of recovery, international tourist arrivals are moving towards pre-pandemic levels, with arrivals in Europe reaching 74% of 2021 numbers in the first months of 2022. However, emerging from the pandemic shutdowns, the tourism sector is facing the challenge of inadequate staffing.
Labour shortages in the hospitality-tourism sector are an endemic phenomenon, affecting all countries in Europe. Difficulties to recruit and retain workers are not new to the hospitality-tourism sector, but the COVID-19 pandemic aggravated the phenomenon.
On this World Tourism Day 2022, EFFAT reiterates the urgent need to rethink tourism with a more sustainable and socially responsible vision. This means also to relaunch tourism with a vision to make hospitality-tourism an attractive sector to work in where workers are valued. To this end, EFFAT is promoting a set of proposals to overcome labour shortages in the hospitality sector. In its Position Paper “Fight labour shortages in hospitality-tourism by improving the attractiveness of jobs” EFFAT proposes measures to be undertaken in 18 areas, such as working conditions and pay, collective bargaining, work-life balance, vocational education and training, health and safety, gender equality and diversity, digital and green transitions, and workers’ information, consultation and participation.
EFFAT Position Paper Fight labour shortages in hospitality-tourism by improving the attractiveness of jobs 2022 06
Relaunching and rethinking tourism with a more sustainable and socially responsible vision
