- Email: [email protected]
Tourism labor market
490
RESEARCH NOTES AND REPORTS
Clearly all does not augur well for the future of ecotourism in Thailand. Just as the traditional forms of mass tourism have led to the despoilation of Pattaya and Phuket, the authorities must make some hard decisions now as to the various sites, styles, types, and levels of ecotourism which should be fostered in relation to the conservation of the natural environment and community well-being. To this end the establishment of the Institute of Ecotourism and the Khao Sok National Park Ecotourism Pilot Project will help position ecotourism in a sustainable context for the future deveiopment of the industry in Thailand. Details of the availability and cost of proceedings of the Bangkok conference, as well as future conferences are available from the Institute of EcoTourism, Srinakharinwirot University, Pathumwan Campus, Henri Dunant Road, Bangkok 10330, Thailand. 0 0 Ross Dowling: The University of Notre Dame Australia, PO Box 1225, Fremantle Australia.
WA 6160,
Submitted 23 February 1995 Resubmitted 6 April 1995 Accepted 19 June 1995
Tourism Labor Market
University
Martin Lohmann N.I.T., Germany Jafar Jafari of Wisconsin-Stout, USA
An international workshop on the Tourism Labor Market was held in Berlin, Germany, on 8 March 1995, as part of the official program of ITB, the The workshop was organized and world’s largest tourism exchange. arranged by AMK Berlin and NIT (Institut fur Tourismusund Baderforschung in Nordeuropa), Kiel, Germany and conducted by NIT. Today tourism is one of the world’s largest generators of employment. It is estimated to create about 212 million jobs, both directly and indirectly, according to estimates by the World Travel and Tourism Council (W’ITC). The workshop tried to examine what the tourism labor market of the future will look like and what has to be done today to cope with the situation likely to emerge. To set the stage, Jorn Mundt (Berufsakademie Ravensburg, Germany) presented a paper on the tourism labor market focusing on the main problems and prospects. His findings and suggestions were discussed by an international panel, followed by a question-and-answer period. Members of the panel were Chris Holloway (Bristol Business School, UK); Jafar Jafari (University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA); Martin Lohmann (Institut fur Tourismusund Baderforschung in Nordeuropa, Germany); Michael Noack (Bundesinstitut fur Berufsforschung, Germany); Lina McQuillan (Erhvervs Uddannelses Center Faaborg, Denmark); and Max Voormann (Kurverwaltung St. Peter-Ording, VDKF Schleswig-Holstein, Germany). The panel was chaired by Torsten Kirstges (Fachhochschule Wilhelmshaven, Germany). Many general and specific points were raised and discussed at this international gathering, with the significance of the tourism labor market
RESEARCH NOTES AND REPORTS
491
emphasized many times. With an exceptional unanimity, politicians, trade representatives of international associations, university representatives, lecturers, as well as researchers agree that tourism today is one of the most important employers worldwide. They also agree that the human workforce has a key function in this sector, and that tourism will be generating even more jobs in the future. Recent development of tourism shows a growing awareness of its economic significance and a strong assertion of its impacts on the host communities, with the population of the latter often seeking new job opportunities in this industry. Trends indicate that job requirements in tourism are changing rapidly while interest in education is increasing among college students. A number of institutions, national and international, have been established recently to meet this growing and steadily changing demand. However, the great and still increasing significance of tourism as a generator of employment does not mean that everything is in place or that there are no problems. According to the panel members, employment opportunities in tourism are sought all over the world, particularly in structurally disadvantaged or developing regions and countries. But the central question is whether the employment effects of tourism accrue to the regions where they are needed. In a different vein, another question is whether ticket-machines and “Formula-One” hotels really generate positive employment effects. On one hand, the classical hotel businesses complain about high cost of the labor, but, on the other hand, it is difficult to find people who would want to work in this area because payment and working-hours are felt to be unattractive. Education in tourism faces different problems. It appears that the demand for more advanced tourism education is high and can be met only partly. At the same time, there are allegedly too many people trained for tourism jobs by universities in such countries as the United Kingdom and Germany. The latest findings of NIT show that in 1994 about 600 students finished some kind of university degree in tourism in Germany. By 1998, their number is likely to increase to about 1,000 students. An obvious question is whether this is a case of overproduction and what effects are likely to occur? To point to another aspect, it was argued that multifaceted expertise expected from those employed in tourism would lead to much higher qualification requirements in the future. But nobody appears to know what these requirements really are. These are only a few examples of complexities when discussing human resource development in tourism. An expanded view can start with such issues as further education and end with the growing internationalization of the labor market. This workshop outlined some of the existing problems as well as those likely to emerge, by showing contradictory elements and discussing potential solutions. Different facets and aspects of the development of the tourism labor market were discussed among the speakers, and between them and the audience. Keeping in mind the significant economic role that tourism is playing in many regions, particularly in those with few alternatives to job creation, the discussion focused on various aspects of qualification and orientation of training programs for those people working in tourism. It was opined that quality training and further education is an important base for stable tourism development. For example, interest in university courses related to tourism is high in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. At the same time, some people within the industryat least in Germany - still complain about having difficulties recruiting for their open positions, particularly within the hospitality sectors. Tourism businesses,
492
RESEARCH
NOTES
AND REPORTS
both in private or public sectors, have not yet realized the importance of training and further education. Moreover, specific problems can be identilied in the industry to precisely describe educational requirements, rather than requests regarding specific skills. Among other things, this situation is justified by the fact that today tourism managers have achieved their skills within a completely different framework. On the part of today’s trainees and students, there is an understandable but a bit shortsighted interest in just getting the degree and achieving the skills which are necessary for securing a job upon graduation. Obviously, distinctions should be made between acquiring necessary skills and the procurement of higher and rather abstract contents (e.g. understanding tourism in such disciplinary contexts as sociology, geography, economics, and management). The latter are sometimes considered responsible for the development of “key qualifications”. The changing demands of the labor market in general and in tourism in particular, as well as the general uncertainty regarding the future demand for workforce, bring these basic qualifications under scrutiny. While the importance of key qualifications was clearly emphasized and acknowledged during the workshop, this term seemed to be too vague and shallow to several participants. The reference to key qualifications was suspected by some participants, who argued that people are unable to precisely put into words the future qualification requirements of the tourism sector. It was also noted that such confusion are not new to tourism and that in other industries clear job profiles/qualilicationals have emerged only during the last few decades. Therefore, more time is needed for the industry and tourism education systems to frame those qualifications specific to tourism. All levels of tourism training and education should also recognize the cosmopolitan nature of this service industry and thus incorporate into their curricula various language and cultural components which would best prepare a workforce to serve members of the global community at and away from home. An essential step on the way to proper training and education in tourism is to recognize that this industry is made-up of many sectors, such as hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, transportation, etc. Recognition of tourism and its sectors does not seem to be well established in Western societies. On the other hand, there seems to be a lack of understanding of the tourists and their different roles and expectations. What is needed is greater communication and cooperation among all tourism sectors, government agencies, and educational institutions committed to tourism. To this end, the tourism industry was asked to increase its commitment to education and training. Transition of students from training to the job does not happen by itself. They should learn to see their qualification as a life-long base for working in the industry and not only as a requirement to enter the first job. Cl 0 Martin Lohmann: Institut Schasstrasse 5, D-24103 Kiel,
Submitted
ftir TourismusGermany.
15 April 1995 Resubmitted 29 October 1995 Accepted 3 November 1995
und
Biideforschung
in
Nordeuropa
GmbH,
RESEARCH NOTES AND REPORTS
Clearly all does not augur well for the future of ecotourism in Thailand. Just as the traditional forms of mass tourism have led to the despoilation of Pattaya and Phuket, the authorities must make some hard decisions now as to the various sites, styles, types, and levels of ecotourism which should be fostered in relation to the conservation of the natural environment and community well-being. To this end the establishment of the Institute of Ecotourism and the Khao Sok National Park Ecotourism Pilot Project will help position ecotourism in a sustainable context for the future deveiopment of the industry in Thailand. Details of the availability and cost of proceedings of the Bangkok conference, as well as future conferences are available from the Institute of EcoTourism, Srinakharinwirot University, Pathumwan Campus, Henri Dunant Road, Bangkok 10330, Thailand. 0 0 Ross Dowling: The University of Notre Dame Australia, PO Box 1225, Fremantle Australia.
WA 6160,
Submitted 23 February 1995 Resubmitted 6 April 1995 Accepted 19 June 1995
Tourism Labor Market
University
Martin Lohmann N.I.T., Germany Jafar Jafari of Wisconsin-Stout, USA
An international workshop on the Tourism Labor Market was held in Berlin, Germany, on 8 March 1995, as part of the official program of ITB, the The workshop was organized and world’s largest tourism exchange. arranged by AMK Berlin and NIT (Institut fur Tourismusund Baderforschung in Nordeuropa), Kiel, Germany and conducted by NIT. Today tourism is one of the world’s largest generators of employment. It is estimated to create about 212 million jobs, both directly and indirectly, according to estimates by the World Travel and Tourism Council (W’ITC). The workshop tried to examine what the tourism labor market of the future will look like and what has to be done today to cope with the situation likely to emerge. To set the stage, Jorn Mundt (Berufsakademie Ravensburg, Germany) presented a paper on the tourism labor market focusing on the main problems and prospects. His findings and suggestions were discussed by an international panel, followed by a question-and-answer period. Members of the panel were Chris Holloway (Bristol Business School, UK); Jafar Jafari (University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA); Martin Lohmann (Institut fur Tourismusund Baderforschung in Nordeuropa, Germany); Michael Noack (Bundesinstitut fur Berufsforschung, Germany); Lina McQuillan (Erhvervs Uddannelses Center Faaborg, Denmark); and Max Voormann (Kurverwaltung St. Peter-Ording, VDKF Schleswig-Holstein, Germany). The panel was chaired by Torsten Kirstges (Fachhochschule Wilhelmshaven, Germany). Many general and specific points were raised and discussed at this international gathering, with the significance of the tourism labor market
RESEARCH NOTES AND REPORTS
491
emphasized many times. With an exceptional unanimity, politicians, trade representatives of international associations, university representatives, lecturers, as well as researchers agree that tourism today is one of the most important employers worldwide. They also agree that the human workforce has a key function in this sector, and that tourism will be generating even more jobs in the future. Recent development of tourism shows a growing awareness of its economic significance and a strong assertion of its impacts on the host communities, with the population of the latter often seeking new job opportunities in this industry. Trends indicate that job requirements in tourism are changing rapidly while interest in education is increasing among college students. A number of institutions, national and international, have been established recently to meet this growing and steadily changing demand. However, the great and still increasing significance of tourism as a generator of employment does not mean that everything is in place or that there are no problems. According to the panel members, employment opportunities in tourism are sought all over the world, particularly in structurally disadvantaged or developing regions and countries. But the central question is whether the employment effects of tourism accrue to the regions where they are needed. In a different vein, another question is whether ticket-machines and “Formula-One” hotels really generate positive employment effects. On one hand, the classical hotel businesses complain about high cost of the labor, but, on the other hand, it is difficult to find people who would want to work in this area because payment and working-hours are felt to be unattractive. Education in tourism faces different problems. It appears that the demand for more advanced tourism education is high and can be met only partly. At the same time, there are allegedly too many people trained for tourism jobs by universities in such countries as the United Kingdom and Germany. The latest findings of NIT show that in 1994 about 600 students finished some kind of university degree in tourism in Germany. By 1998, their number is likely to increase to about 1,000 students. An obvious question is whether this is a case of overproduction and what effects are likely to occur? To point to another aspect, it was argued that multifaceted expertise expected from those employed in tourism would lead to much higher qualification requirements in the future. But nobody appears to know what these requirements really are. These are only a few examples of complexities when discussing human resource development in tourism. An expanded view can start with such issues as further education and end with the growing internationalization of the labor market. This workshop outlined some of the existing problems as well as those likely to emerge, by showing contradictory elements and discussing potential solutions. Different facets and aspects of the development of the tourism labor market were discussed among the speakers, and between them and the audience. Keeping in mind the significant economic role that tourism is playing in many regions, particularly in those with few alternatives to job creation, the discussion focused on various aspects of qualification and orientation of training programs for those people working in tourism. It was opined that quality training and further education is an important base for stable tourism development. For example, interest in university courses related to tourism is high in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. At the same time, some people within the industryat least in Germany - still complain about having difficulties recruiting for their open positions, particularly within the hospitality sectors. Tourism businesses,
492
RESEARCH
NOTES
AND REPORTS
both in private or public sectors, have not yet realized the importance of training and further education. Moreover, specific problems can be identilied in the industry to precisely describe educational requirements, rather than requests regarding specific skills. Among other things, this situation is justified by the fact that today tourism managers have achieved their skills within a completely different framework. On the part of today’s trainees and students, there is an understandable but a bit shortsighted interest in just getting the degree and achieving the skills which are necessary for securing a job upon graduation. Obviously, distinctions should be made between acquiring necessary skills and the procurement of higher and rather abstract contents (e.g. understanding tourism in such disciplinary contexts as sociology, geography, economics, and management). The latter are sometimes considered responsible for the development of “key qualifications”. The changing demands of the labor market in general and in tourism in particular, as well as the general uncertainty regarding the future demand for workforce, bring these basic qualifications under scrutiny. While the importance of key qualifications was clearly emphasized and acknowledged during the workshop, this term seemed to be too vague and shallow to several participants. The reference to key qualifications was suspected by some participants, who argued that people are unable to precisely put into words the future qualification requirements of the tourism sector. It was also noted that such confusion are not new to tourism and that in other industries clear job profiles/qualilicationals have emerged only during the last few decades. Therefore, more time is needed for the industry and tourism education systems to frame those qualifications specific to tourism. All levels of tourism training and education should also recognize the cosmopolitan nature of this service industry and thus incorporate into their curricula various language and cultural components which would best prepare a workforce to serve members of the global community at and away from home. An essential step on the way to proper training and education in tourism is to recognize that this industry is made-up of many sectors, such as hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, transportation, etc. Recognition of tourism and its sectors does not seem to be well established in Western societies. On the other hand, there seems to be a lack of understanding of the tourists and their different roles and expectations. What is needed is greater communication and cooperation among all tourism sectors, government agencies, and educational institutions committed to tourism. To this end, the tourism industry was asked to increase its commitment to education and training. Transition of students from training to the job does not happen by itself. They should learn to see their qualification as a life-long base for working in the industry and not only as a requirement to enter the first job. Cl 0 Martin Lohmann: Institut Schasstrasse 5, D-24103 Kiel,
Submitted
ftir TourismusGermany.
15 April 1995 Resubmitted 29 October 1995 Accepted 3 November 1995
und
Biideforschung
in
Nordeuropa
GmbH,