A series of recent events, starting with Brexit – the exit of Great Britain from the European Union, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine – have disrupted the hospitality sector in Europe. In particular, after the coronavirus pandemic, hospitality and service employees left hotels in popular tourist destinations and no longer wish to return.
Workers in the tourism sector have re-examined their career choices, and many have left tourism for good to avoid the risk of further likely upheavals, and are now opting for remote work, which has boomed in recent years.
“It is very difficult to find people to return to tourism and hospitality because it is a sector where in some cases there is a dependency on migrant labor. We have Spaniards and Sicilians in Malta because there are more opportunities. They went home because of the coronavirus or will they come back?” – such a comment was made by the CEO of the Maltese company Corinthia Hotels, Simon Naudi.
In addition, the situation is also complicated by the fact that policies have affected the willingness of staff to work in the hospitality sector. Given the travel restrictions that have mostly been lifted, some remain to this day, and depending on the epidemiological situation, they can be re-imposed at any moment.
In other words, COVID-19 has changed the way hospitality staff perceive their work, which, unlike others, cannot be done from home. Cooks, cleaners, and administrators must be at their workplaces in this area, which can be risky, especially during a pandemic.
Moreover, former hotel workers are also unhappy with governments’ immigration policies, as well as long visa processing times and complicated procedures. Such problems complicate the recovery of the hospitality sector, although data from official bodies have shown that the growth of tourism in European countries is strong and constantly growing.
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) earlier reported that around 1.2 million travel and tourism jobs remained unfilled across the 27-nation bloc, which could weigh on the sector’s recovery as it marks the first positive signs after nearly two years of inactivity. , read the details here.
“In 2021, as governments began to ease travel restrictions and traveler confidence improved, the sector’s direct contribution to the EU economy recovered by 30.4% and restored 571,000 jobs,” the WTTC said in a statement.
An analysis by the WTTC revealed that the acute shortage of staff during the summer tourist season, as well as the call for the authorities to take urgent action in this regard, were listed as the main reasons for the understaffing situation in hotels.