EU tourism industry employs 11.3 million, with women and youth leading the workforce

Published on May 29, 2024

By: Tuhin Sarkar

In 2021, the EU’s tourism industry employed 11.3 million people across various economic activities, underscoring the sector’s significant role in the region’s labor market. This employment spanned multiple sectors, with 6.8 million working in the food and beverage industry, 2.1 million in accommodation, 1.8 million in transport, and 0.4 million in travel agencies and tour operators.

Notably, the three industries heavily reliant on tourism—accommodation, travel agencies/tour operators, and air transport—employed a combined total of 2.8 million people. This highlights the critical importance of tourism-specific sectors to the overall employment landscape in the EU.

The tourism industry is a major employer of women, who made up 57.6% of those employed in selected tourism industries in 2023. This figure is significantly higher than the 36.4% representation of women in the total non-financial business economy, indicating a 21.2 percentage point difference. The industry also showed a higher prevalence of part-time employment, with 21.3% of tourism workers employed part-time, compared to 15.2% in the non-financial business economy.

Younger workers are also more prominent in the tourism sector, with 11.0% of employees aged 15 to 24, compared to 9.0% in the broader non-financial business economy. This attraction of a younger workforce reflects the dynamic and seasonal nature of tourism-related jobs.

Educational attainment within the tourism sector is similar to the broader economy, with 20.2% of tourism employees having a lower educational attainment level, close to the 18.9% seen in the total economy. Additionally, the tourism industry employs a higher proportion of foreign citizens, accounting for 15.9% of the workforce, with 7% from other EU countries and 9% from non-EU countries. This is 5.3 percentage points higher than the 10.6% seen in the non-financial business economy.

Temporary contracts are more common in tourism, with 20.8% of employees holding such contracts, compared to 12.0% in the non-financial business economy. Furthermore, 23.1% of tourism employees have held their current job for less than one year, compared to 14.8% in the broader economy.

The dynamic nature of the tourism workforce, dominated by women and youth, highlights the sector’s unique employment patterns and its critical role in the EU economy.