Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Labour Migration
a disincentive for students to follow specific
courses in tourism, and a consequent lack of
supply of courses. For example, in Hungary,
Rátz and Puczkó (2005) show that over 85% of
businesses in Budapest recruited staff by word
of mouth, compared with only 22% who had
built a relationship with a specific course or
educational institution. The most highly valued
skills in making recruitment decisions were
foreign languages (65%) and practical experi-
ence (63%), while academic qualifications were
only considered important by 48% of firms.
In the run-up to the expansion of the EU, one of
the major fears expressed in the existing mem-
ber states related to a supposed flood of cheap
labour from the east. Lengthy transition periods
have been imposed on movement from coun-
tries such as Poland, Hungary and the Czech
Republic into their nearest neighbours, Germany
and Austria. However, the initial signs are that
the 'flood' of immigrants from the new member
states will be less than some had feared. In the
UK, for example, immigration from the new
member states began to tail off at the beginning
of 2005, following an initial rush of work permit
applications immediately following enlargement
(EU Business, 2005). In fact, in some countries
(notably Austria) a tightening of immigration
regulations prior to enlargement actually had
the effect of reducing immigrant numbers from
the former Communist states in the last few
years (Richards, 2001).
An EU study,
Migration Trends in an
Enlarged Europe
, predicts an overall migration
of some 1.1m people before 2010. The study
also states that it is the candidate countries -
Romania and Bulgaria - rather than the acces-
sion states that hold the greatest potential for
migrant generation. It is clear that many of these
migrants will find their way into the tourism and
hotel and catering industries, given their role as
gateways into the wider labour market (Hjalager,
2000; Richards, 2001).
With the rapid growth of tourism in the
new member states, there is already evidence of
a reverse flow of labour migration from west to
east as unemployment rates fall and skill short-
ages become more acute. For example, signi-
ficant skill shortages have been noted in the
Maltese tourism industry (EC, 2001). In the case
of the Czech Republic, Sorm and Terrell (2000)
conclude that tourism is one of the major
sectors of inbound labour migration as people
seek
Challenges for the Future
The Bologna process has instituted widespread
changes in the education system throughout
the EU, and is also beginning to impact on
non-member states as well. The move towards
a Bachelor-Master system is producing a much
more standardized educational landscape as
institutions begin to compete internationally to
attract students, particularly at Masters level.
Tourism courses in the former Communist
states which were overhauled in the shift to a
market economy a few years ago are again
being revised to meet the new demands of a
single market in higher education. In many
cases this means developing a wider range of
courses, with a much more important role for
English-language teaching. The original idea of
'Europeanization' of the curriculum, in which
individual countries or regions would develop
their own specializations within an overarching
European framework (Richards and Onderwater,
1998) seems to have been dropped in favour
of a more international concept. This is now
developing into the idea of 'virtual mobility',
although the ability of students in Central and
Eastern Europe taking advantage of such
opportunities is likely to be restricted by the
relative lack of access to information and com-
munication technology (ICT) resources.
The single market in education will pro-
bably also mean that tourism courses will need
to develop specialisms that can attract students
from abroad. This may mean that the new
member states may have to re-examine their
past to discover those skills and areas of knowl-
edge that they have a particular advantage in,
rather than importing ideas.
employment
in
'new'
and
'dynamic'
sectors of the economy.
There is still a mismatch between the human
resources needs of the industry and educational
provision both in the university and vocational
sectors. In some senses this mirrors the experi-
ence in the West of a relatively weak labour
market, in which formal qualifications are not
needed to enter the industry. This in turn acts as
