Wednesday, August 3, 2022
The travel and tourism sector has sees a major downgrade in pandemic time. The COVID-19 pandemic took away glory of travel and its allied industry.
The tourism sector saw a crisis then, but now this crisis is an opportunity to rethink on tourism.
According to World Tourism Association, UNWTO, it is needed to rethink how tourism interacts with our societies, other economic sectors and our natural resources and ecosystems; to measure and manage it better; to ensure a fair distribution of its benefits and to advance the transition towards a carbon neutral and resilient tourism economy.
1.2 million Travel & Tourism jobs across the EU will remain unfilled
According to World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and European Travel Commission (ETC), 1.2 million Travel & Tourism jobs across the EU will remain unfilled unless urgent action is taken. The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the European Travel Commission (ETC) warn the Travel & Tourism sector’s recovery could be put at serious risk if almost 1.2 million jobs remain unfilled across the EU.
The challenging summer labour shortfall has been revealed by World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) in its latest analysis of the sector and calls for urgent action to address this critical issue.
In 2020, when the pandemic was at its peak, the Travel & Tourism sector across the EU suffered the loss of almost 1.7 million jobs.
In 2021, when governments began to ease travel restrictions and travellers’ confidence improved, the sector’s direct contribution to the EU’s economy recovered by 30.4% and recovered 571,000 jobs.
This year, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) projects that the sector’s recovery will continue to accelerate and almost reach pre-pandemic levels with an expected 32.9% increase in its direct contribution to the EU economy.
Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO said that Europe showed one of the strongest recoveries in 2021, ahead of the global average. However, current shortages of labour can delay this trend and put additional pressure on an already embattled sector. The governments and the private sector need to come together to provide the best opportunities for people looking for the great career opportunities that the travel sector offers.
A serious number of vacancies are likely to remain unfilled during the busy summer period, with travel agencies forecasted to be the worst hit with a 30% shortfall of workers (nearly one in three vacancies unfilled).
Meanwhile, air transport and accommodation segments are likely to suffer one in five unfilled vacancies, representing 21% and 22% staff shortage respectively.
World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has been at the forefront of leading the private sector in the drive to rebuild international travel since the pandemic brought international travel to its knees.
Italy: Report of World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)
A new study by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has revealed the recovery of Italy’s travel & tourism could be jeopardised if quarter of a million jobs across the sector remain unfilled. The research analysed labour shortages across Italy and other major travel & tourism destinations, such as the U.S., France, Spain, the UK, and Portugal. The data shown by World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) reveals that Italy is the most impacted of the European countries analysed, expected to see a shortfall of a shocking 250,000 workers, with one in six vacancies likely to remain unfilled this year.
According to the global tourism body, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the supply-demand gap is expected to be even higher during the peak third quarter when the sector’s demand is likely to approach pre-crisis levels. Before the pandemic, in 2019, nearly 1.4 million were employed by Travel & Tourism in Italy. But 2020 saw the loss of more than 200,000 jobs.
Italy had a strong recovery since 2021, with a 58.5% growth to the sector’s contribution to the national economy. However, staff shortages have been prevalent in the country, with thousands of vacancies that remain unfilled, putting the sector under great pressure.
Portugal: Shortfall of 49,000 workers
A new analysis of staff shortages by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has revealed a labour shortfall in Portugal, with nearly 50,000 travel & tourism jobs across the country predicted to be unfilled. The research by World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) looked into labour shortages across Portugal and other major Travel & Tourism destinations, such as the U.S., France, Spain, the UK, and Italy.
The data issued by World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) shows Portugal is forecasted to see a shortfall of 49,000 workers in the third quarter of 2022, with one in 10 vacancies expected to remain unfilled this year, making it the least affected country of those analysed.
Before the pandemic, in 2019, more than 485,000 people were employed in travel & tourism in Portugal. But 2020 saw the loss of over 80,000 jobs.
United Kingdom: 130,000 job vacancies go unfulfilled
Nearly 130,000 job vacancies go unfulfilled across the UK which sets an alarm to the tourism sector which is at risk. WTTC says this in their report. According to this international tourism body, one in every 14 jobs is likely to remain vacant. This counts that the UK will see a shortfall of about 128,000 jobs. Restaurants and hotels are struggling to find staff.
But, the UK government, unlike countries like Portugal, refuses to allow temporary workers from outside the country.
However, the worst affected industries are hospitality, aviation and entertainment. These industries are facing unfulfilled vacancies of 18% (one in six), 12% (one in eight) and 11% (one in nine) respectively. When 1.8 million people were employed in the UK’s travel sector in 2019 before the COVID-19, over 200,000 lost their jobs in 2020.
Recovery of US International Tourism
New data published in World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) reveals that US international travel is on the face of recovering. The testing has been removed from the international airport. After which international travel was seen to have increased 93%. World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and its partner ForwardKeys on international flight booking trends reveal the long-awaited recovery.
Currently, the U.S. outbound flight bookings have reached near pre-pandemic levels, falling just 5% short of 2019 bookings. This is part robust year-over-year growth of 35% compared to 2021. The international destinations such as Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, the United Kingdom, and Italy top the list for U.S. Philippines has seen an 8% spike in outbound flight bookings during the last four weeks alone.
The inbound travellers are returning to normalcy too. The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) border reveals the growth in both national and international travel. In other words, people started to arrive more in the country after the Covid-19 vaccination certificate has been made optional.
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