How the employment of natives improves the business of tourism

The tourism industry is multifaceted and consists of a large variety of tour operators, hotel operators, cruise ships and recreational activity providers. Tour operators can have a particularly large impact since they influence tourists’ choices to go to a particular destination, and they contract with many other operators (hotels, recreation, etc.). Tour operators who run their own tours can make a big impact by hiring local guides, limiting group size, and including educational messages. Tour operators can also develop a “sustainable supply chain” of providers who adhere to sustainable practices (Sweeting, 2003).

Tourism is human-resource intensive due to the service nature of the industry. It is among the world’s top job creators and allows for quick entry into the workforce for youth, women and migrant workers. The wider tourism economy provides, both directly and indirectly, more than 230 million jobs, which represents about 8 per cent of the global workforce. Women make up between 60 and 70 per cent of the labor force in the industry and half the workers are aged 25 or younger (ILO, 2008). In developing countries, sustainable tourism investment can help create job opportunities, especially for poorer segments of the population. The move toward more sustainable tourism can increase job creation especially among the locals. Additional employment in energy, water, and waste services and expanded local hiring and sourcing are expected from the greening of mainstream tourism segments. 

Furthermore, an increasing body of evidence suggests significantly expanded indirect employment growth opportunities from segments oriented toward local culture and the natural environment (Cooper et al,. 2008, Moreno et al., 2010, and Mitchell et al., 2009).

Tourism creates jobs directly and leads to additional (“indirect”) employment. It is estimated that one job in the core tourism industry creates about one and a half additional jobs in the tourism-related economy International Labour Organization (ILO 2008). There are workers indirectly dependent on each person working in hotels, such as travel-agency staff, guides, taxi and bus drivers, food and beverage suppliers, laundry workers, textile workers, gardeners, shop staff for souvenirs and others, as well as airport employees (ILO 2008). These relationships influence the many types of workplace relationships that include full-time, part-time, temporary, casual and seasonal employment and have significant implications for employment opportunities within the sector.