The travel sector faces an “acute” global talent crisis with a warning that urgent action is needed to try and avert significant damage to jobs and economic growth.
The alert came from the World Travel and Tourism Council, which said there is a serious shortage of the right people, in the right place, with the right skills to meet the growth of travel and tourism over the next decade.
President and chief executive, David Scowsill (pictured), is calling on the public and private sectors to collaborate “to solve this very concerning issue and to prevent the economic contribution of the industry from being severely constrained”.
The talent crisis has been brought about due to countries not taking investment in human capital in the sector seriously enough.
Speaking in Singapore, Scowsill said: “Government ministries and the private sector need to work with educational institutions to put the right policies, programmes and partnerships in place, to ensure that the workforce of the future knows about the career opportunities in the sector.
“They need to ensure that people are provided with the training and skills to excel in their jobs. This will ensure that we deliver the exciting growth forecast for the sector.”
The WTTC is conducting research which will quantify the effect that the talent shortage could have on GDP and job creation in key economies.
Scowsill singled out Singapore as a leader in best practice.
“Countries can learn much from the way that Singapore is tackling its talent shortfall. It has a tight labour market with the economy close to full employment.
“The government has a concerted action plan to prevent the loss of jobs from the travel and tourism sector. More countries could follow their example,” he said.
But Scowsill argued that many Asian countries have failed to invest in the skills required to fill the jobs to meet the subsequent growth in demand despite investment in airports, ports, hotels and ground infrastructure.
“We are a people industry; we depend on quality people to deliver a quality product,” he said.
“If the situation is not addressed immediately, it could have serious consequences on the forecast social and economic growth in many countries across Asia in the next decade.”