New research released by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Tourism Working Group (TWG) has revealed the region’s tourism industry is on the cusp of being severely impacted by a shrinking skilled labour force.
The TWG engaged Griffith’s Institute for Tourism (GIFT) and EarthCheck to study the future of the tourism workforce across 21 APEC member economies, including Australia and the United States.
The project entitled, Developing the Tourism Workforce of the Future through Labour and Skills Development, Certification and Mobility in the APEC Region’ is sponsored by Australia and co-sponsored by Chile; Malaysia; Papua New Guinea; The Republic of the Philippines; and Vietnam.
Dr Andreas Chai
Growth compromised
Dr Andreas Chai, Director of Griffith’s Economic Analysis Program said while the industry is projected to create 25 million jobs worldwide in the next decade, major challenges exist which could severely compromise growth.
“Without access to a skilled and willing labour force, businesses won’t be able to reap