Tourism and Jobs: a better future for all
Tourism’s role in job creation is often undervalued. This is despite the fact that tourism generates 10% of world jobs and is included in Sustainable Development Goal 8 for its potential to create decent work.
New policies are needed to maximize tourism’s potential to create more and better jobs, especially for women and youth. New policies are also needed to reflect and incorporate ongoing advances in technology.
Policies and actions should be geared towards addressing the current mismatch between tourism skills that are taught and those that tourism employers need.
This requires a holistic approach to the future of work in tourism, with heightened cooperation between all actors, including the public and private sectors.
World Tourism Day is commemorated each year on 27 September, with celebrations led by UNWTO. Its purpose is to foster awareness among the global community of tourism’s social, cultural, political and economic value and the contribution the sector can make in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2019, in line with UNWTO’s overarching focus on skills, education and jobs throughout the year, World Tourism Day will be a celebration on the topic ‘Tourism and Jobs: a better future for all’.
The future of work
Creating and ensuring equitable employment is essential to increasing social inclusion, peace and security. The potential of every economic sector to provide decent jobs should be utilized to its fullest.
The emergence of new technologies has led to the development of new forms of work that are rapidly changing production processes worldwide. This both provides opportunities for, and puts pressure, on existing employment, welfare and education agendas.
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), global unemployment remains high, reaching more than 190 million in 2018. All sectors and countries, therefore, need to create the conditions for more and better jobs. Embracing new technology can play a key role in achieving this goal.
Making the new wave of technological breakthroughs as inclusive as possible will require considerable investment in training and skills for life and work. Everyone should have a chance to develop their full potential so as to benefit from the new technological era.
To do this we need to examine the impact of technological change on socioeconomic growth, jobs and inequality. We also need to provide tools and skills to those who are looking for a job and as well as to those whose jobs are at risk of automation.
On the occasion of its centenary in 2019, the ILO released ‘Work for a Brighter Future: Report of the Global Commission on the future of Work’. This landmark report takes note of the forces transforming the world – technology, climate change, demography, globalization – to call for a human-centered agenda for the future of work.
By placing people and the work they do at the centre of economic and social policy and business practice, the path towards growth, equity and sustainability consists of three pillars of action:
Increase investment in people’s capabilities
Increase investment in the institutions of work
Increase investment in decent and sustainable work
Tourism is a leading people-to-people sector, with growth rates outpacing world economic growth and international trade. It is one of the main global export categories and with such a high impact on human workforce, it serves as a natural ally of ILO’s human-centered agenda for the future of work.
Tourism and Jobs
Tourism is a major source of employment because of its labour-intensive nature and the significant multiplier effect on employment in related sectors. It is estimated that one job in the core tourism sector creates about one-and-a-half additional or indirect jobs in the tourism-related economy. Overall tourism accounts for one in ten jobs worldwide.
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