This research shows that Travel & Tourism (T&T) employs a higher proportion of women and young people than is represented in the workforce as a whole. Travel & Tourism is a sector that thrives on entrepreneurship and as such offers women prospects for self-employment which are less accessible in other sectors.  Its flexible nature, requirement for skilled and unskilled employees, and strong growth prospects also mean Travel & Tourism holds real opportunities for job creation to address the youth unemployment problems faced by countries across the world.

The research focused on five countries: Australia, France, Germany, South Africa, and Turkey. These countries cover a wide geographic range, represent both mature and emerging tourism markets and for each there is also sufficient data availability to allow accurate and comparable analysis. Turkey, in particular, is expected to see especially significant shifts in both women and youth employment, and the proportion of both groups in Travel & Tourism will noticeably outpace that in the workforce as a whole.

These realities of high proportions of women and youth in the industry are forecast to remain the case for the next ten years.