1. TRENDS IN THE TOURISM LABOUR MARKET
International Conference of the Czech EU Presidency
Tourism Industry: Employment and Labour Market Challenges
Prague, 10 – 11 June 2009
ALAIN DUPEYRAS
Head of the OECD Tourism Unit

2. AVERAGE Annual Growth OF EMPLOYMENT in OECD zone
2000/1995
Employment average annual growth
2007/2000
2007 Employment
in AFS
(thousands)
AFS employmentas a percentage of overall employment %
AFS* %
Services
Industry
Economy
AFS* %
OECD
TOTAL
2.6
2.5
1.0
1.9
2.2
1.6
-0.1
6.0

3. SMEs IN TOURISM : AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN EMPLOYMENT TERM
Employment by enterprise size in a sampling of OECD countries
0-9
10-19
20-49
50-249
250 et plus
Total
Hotels
26.4
14.7
17.3
21.8
19.8
100
Restaurants
50.9
15.0
9.9
6.9
Travel Agencies
33.9
10.4
11.4
15.6
28.7
Industry
20.3
9.7
13.9
21.9
34.2
Business and services
33.6
9.8
11.2
14.3
31.1
Economy
27.2
12.6
17.8
32.5

4. HUMAN RESOURCES: NEW CHALLENGES FOR TOURISM POLICY
Labour shortages
Difficulty in forecasting skills needs
Low productivity
New tasks: Attract workers, improve skills and productivity levels

5. IMMIGRANTS IN THE HOSPITALITY SECTOR
A substantial part of migration is into low-skilled occupations, even in countries with restrictive policies favouring higher skilled migration
Source : International Migration Outlook (2008), OECD

6. IMMIGRANTS IN THE HOSPITALITY SECTOR
Limited evidence is available with regard to the distribution of new migrant workers by detailed industry or occupation…
… although it is clear that the hospitality sector received a significant share of temporary/seasonal low-skilled workers in several OECD countries
This was the case, for instance, in the United Kingdom in the context of the EU enlargement.
There is also evidence of the importance of illegal employment of foreigners in this sector.
Source : Accession Monitoring Report , Home Office UK (2009)

7. IMMIGRANTS IN THE HOSPITALITY SECTOR
Because of persistent hard-to-fill vacancies and of the importance of language skills, most OECD countries have provisions which allow for international recruitment of workers in the hospitality sector:
Seasonal programmes (e.g. Italy, France, Spain) and temporary programmes (e.g. United States H-2B)
Within highly skilled migration programmes (e.g. cooks are included in the Skilled occupation list in Australia)
Cultural exchanges programme, including Working Holiday Makers Schemes, and special programmes for trainees.
Source : International Migration Outlook (2008), OECD

8. Implications for tourism agencies: a “whole of government” approach
Broader, more strategic approach
Developing knowledge
Leadership
Effective collaborative relationships

9. What needs to be done? DEVELOP STRATEGIC GUIDANCE
Increase emphasis on supply side issues and yield per visitor
STRENGTHEN GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP
Encourage a “whole-of-government” approach
ENCOURAGE POLICY AND INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS
Work actively with immigration agencies to develop programmes for seasonal jobs or low-skilled workers
CONCENTRATE ON INNOVATION
Increase product development and incentives for entrepreneurs, e.g. Scottish Enterprise, Innotour (Switzerland)
IMPROVE SUPPORT DATA / INTELLIGENCE
Develop indicators to measure employment features and to assess efficiency of support programmes

10. FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT OR EMAIL PUBLICATIONS
PUBLICATIONS
The Impact of Culture on Tourism
Tourism in OECD Countries 2010: Trends and Policies (forthcoming)