The U.S. Travel Association (USTA) estimates that by 2022 there will be a shortage of over 3 million travel industry workers, and this is expected to impact the country’s economy in many ways from revenue to job creation for Americans.
The exact magnitude of worker shortages in America’s Travel & Tourism industry throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic’s second year is revealed in a new analysis from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
The study, which was conducted in collaboration with Oxford Economics, revealed a labor shortage of approximately 700,000 people in 2021. While the industry was clearly destroyed last year, with only a minor rebound this year, the workforce prediction for 2022 seems to be significantly better.
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According to WTTC, about 480,000 direct-impact Travel & Tourism jobs in the United States, or one out of every 13 employment, will go unfulfilled next year.
For the first time, the research examined the labor shortage in the Travel & Tourism business in the United States, as well as other significant worldwide markets such as the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. For both 2021 and 2022, the research concentrated on the second half of the year, from July to December.
With 62 million Travel & Tourism employees worldwide losing their employment as a result of COVID-19, it seems that the labor force isn’t eager to return to pre-pandemic roles. While demand for travel and hospitality has surged this year, labor supply has not kept pace, particularly in the second half of 2021.
Despite the fact that unemployment is reducing and travel demand is growing, travel and tourism firms are having difficulty filling job openings. According to the WTTC research, there were 6.6 million vacant employment in the travel and tourism industry in the United States in the second half of 2021. The estimated labor shortages for the organization were 690,000, or one out of every nine positions being unfilled, or an 11 percent deficiency.
Continued personnel shortages, according to the WTTC, “may considerably impede Travel & Tourism recovery in the United States” and delay the industry’s much-anticipated economic benefits to the nation’s communities.
All of the nations in the survey are now experiencing substantial workforce shortages. According to the WTTC, labor shortages have become a major concern in the worldwide travel and tourism industry, and although 2022 promises to bring some adjustments in terms of supply and demand, the trend is expected to continue.
“The United States’ economic recovery might be jeopardized if we don’t have enough individuals to fill these positions when passengers return,” Julia Simpson, President and CEO of WTTC, stated in a news statement. If we are unable to fill these positions, the viability of travel and tourism enterprises throughout the United States may be jeopardized. Companies that rely on tourism had been hoping for a rebound; this is another another setback that many may not be able to withstand.”
The global tourism organization has gone so far as to develop some solutions that it recommends businesses and governments implement, such as “facilitating labor mobility” and offering remote working options, providing safety nets, “upskilling and reskilling” employees, retaining talent, and providing both continuing education and apprenticeship opportunities.
Visit wttc.org for additional information.
