Making the tourism and hospitality industry workforce a force for the future, ettravelworld

Rajan Bahadur, CEO, Tourism and Hospitality Skills Council

According to the UNWTO’s long-term tourism growth estimates for 2020, around 1.75 billion international tourist arrivals are expected by 2022. As a high-touch sector, a continuous supply of quality labor is essential for the operation and growth of the tourism industry in any country.

Given the massive scale and emerging opportunities, what’s the best focus to get to know the future workforce? Some of the demand drivers include a thriving lifestyle with purchasing power, the development of attractive tourist destinations and an attractive market that motivates foreign business travelers. Emerging perspectives between eco, religious, domestic, wildlife, heritage, mouse and adventure tourism.

When viewed in conjunction with industry feedback, these emerging trends may shed some light on workforce expectations in the coming…

Evolving formats in hospitality
We can see the growth of all kinds of accommodation businesses and formats, including serviced apartments, budget hotels, spas, Wildlife Resorts and more. These formats are well structured to serve both domestic and international tourists, whether traveling for business or leisure. This calls for well-equipped staff to handle a range of guest demands and possess great soft skills.

Suborno Bose, Chairman and Chief Mentor, IIHM, emphasizes the importance of exploring new age learning practices to provide education that delivers from the pandemic era and aligns hospitality with tourism research.

Integration of technology in management
We live in a digitally driven world and the need to be technologically savvy has accelerated. Hotel systems these days are integrated with features such as guest catering automation and CRM software. Hospitality and tourism industry workers must be up to speed on how to effectively use digital platforms and technology tools at work. Technology proficiency and comfort should be complemented by good people management and communication skills to deliver a high-quality guest experience.Efficiency in business operation
In the post-pandemic world and the competitive market, businesses will strive for efficiency. It hastened what multi-threaded workers expect given the next-generation outlook on work ethic and rising compensation. Employers see this as a solution that will also help save quality workers as they multitask at work. Better time management and productivity is a growing demand for future professionals, especially with the rise of business, domestic and leisure tourism.

It certainly has a skilled workforce to meet current and future industry demands. This is a gap both in terms of supplies as well as in terms of specific skills. As you try to meet the goals, the goal writing is also constantly changing. It is imperative that stakeholders continue to align themselves, constantly learn, and build an ecosystem of practice that supports a vibrant future for tourism and hospitality.

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