Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
relatively high dependence on tourism. Similar
variations are found in the new member states,
with a few countries recording relatively high
levels of tourism employment (Estonia, 8%) and
relatively low levels (Czech Republic 3%). How-
ever, the general indications are that demand
for tourism employment is increasing. Direct
employment in tourism grew by almost 9% in
the Republic of Cyprus between 1999 and
2002, from 39,500 to 42,955.
In the Mediterranean countries there also
appears to be better integration between tour-
ism courses and the tourism industry. For exam-
ple, a tracer study conducted by ITIS in Malta in
2000 indicated that 63% of their graduates
ended
in the labour force. As a recent report on
Slovenia noted:
(W)hereas natural and socio-cultural resources
are Slovenia's major comparative advantages,
the country is not as strong with respect to
human resources. The service visitors receive
appears to be a major issue of concern, with
prices not always matching the quality of
service provided. A recent survey revealed that
around one-fifth of international visitors had
expected lower prices. The service provision as
well as the management and organisation of
tourism are, generally speaking, a weaker
element in the overall tourism product. There is
a general need for the development and
improvement of tourism education and training
programmes.
up
working
in
the
tourism
industry
(Department of Tourism, 2001).
The need to develop tourism education is
paralleled in many of the new member states by
a need to improve human resource manage-
ment. For example, in Bulgaria, Anastassova
and Purcell (1995) noted the following pattern
of human resource management practices in
the hotel industry:
(Mintel, 2000)
There are, however, increasing signs that
the need to develop service quality is now being
acted upon by tourism organizations. For exam-
ple, the
Cyprus Strategic Plan for Tourism 2010
emphasizes the development of quality and
added value, which implies human resource
development and the education and training of
tourism professionals (CTO, 2003).
The need to develop human resources is
being fuelled by rapidly developing tourism
economies. For example, in Romania tourism
has been one of the sectors of the economy
with considerable growth rates, leading to an
increase in its importance in educational policy
and in demand for tourism oriented curricula
from the private sector.
Of course, education and training play a
major role in the development of human
resources in tourism. However, many short-term
human resource problems are being solved
through the increased labour mobility offered
by the expansion of the EU. Labour mobility is
already relatively high in the tourism industry,
with the proportion of foreign workers in the
EU15 having been estimated at 12%, some
three times the level of international mobility as
in the economy as a whole (Richards, 2001).
The relatively open labour market in tourism,
where few jobs need formal qualifications, tends
to stimulate mobility. The new member states
are likely to add to overall labour mobility in the
EU because of their widespread use of English,
which is regarded as a vital skill in the EU
tourism industry (Richards, 2003).
selection
often
based
solely
on
written
●
applications;
little evidence of job specification or pre-
determined selection criteria;
●
most employees temporary full-time workers;
●
little
evidence
of
policies
to
promote
●
numerical flexibility;
little evidence of policies to promote func-
tional flexibility;
●
very little training;
●
most supervisory recruitment internal;
●
little evidence of employee appraisal or
strategic staff development;
●
little evidence of incentive pay;
●
strong (but defensive and conservative)
trade union representation;
●
strong employment protection;
●
poor
communication
between
manage-
●
ment and operatives; and
enormous insecurity and confusion about
probable future industry and wider socio-
political trends.
●
This picture has changed considerably as
market systems have introduced new manage-
ment approaches, but there is still considerable
work to be done in focusing on quality manage-
ment and the development of appropriate skills
