Government planning for future tourism
Published:Wednesday | August 24, 2022 | 12:06 AM
The Jamaican Government wants to study the job fallout in the tourism sector since the onset of the pandemic, with a goal of not simply recovery, but forecasting the skills needed for the future.
The plan includes hiring a consultant for a labour market study of the tourism accommodation subsector. Consultants have until September 5 to bid on the project.
“Therefore, this labour market study will seek to assess and determine the present and future skills demand, whilst also indicating gaps and imbalances in accordance with the needs of employers and employees in the overall sector,” stated the proposal issued by the Ministry of Tourism.
The tourism markets suffered a fall in employment during the onset of the pandemic, as hotels and the travel sector shuttered doors. The Statistical Institute of Jamaica estimated that nearly 40,000 lost jobs as a result. Specifically, from the July 2020 Labour Force Survey, it was estimated that the numbers of employed persons in the sector dropped to 122,400, compared to 161,500 in July 2019. This represented a 24.2 per cent decline in employment.
“As a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there needs to be some reimagining of the sector, taking into consideration the increased levels of unemployment as ‘lockdown’ measures affected various sectors, increasing their socio-economic vulnerabilities,” the Ministry of Tourism said in its call for proposals. “Additionally, the seasonality of the sector creates challenges for employment arrangements, with many being of a contractual nature or requested on a needs basis.”
In 2019, Jamaica recorded 4.3 million visitors and foreign exchange earnings of US$3.7 billion from tourism. The sector is still in recovery mode, but has made substantial progress. June arrivals, for example, were back to pre-pandemic levels.
The study under consideration is expected to focus on nine key areas: socio-demographic profiles of workers, labour issues and challenges, policies and legislative framework, existing labour arrangements, future skills and demand and supply gaps, compensation packages, social protection benefits of tourism workers, working conditions, and perceptions and training.
The Government reasoned that it sees new skills and training as vital to develop new enterprises and attractions in the sector, and would set Jamaica apart from other regional competitors.