The research quantifies the scale of the future talent gaps and surpluses that Travel & Tourism in 46 countries will face in the years ahead. These countries are all geographically diverse, encompass all of the world’s major economies and account for 81% and 88% of direct world Travel & Tourism employment and GDP respectfully.

At a global level, the research shows that Travel & Tourism could be facing a shortfall of up to 14 million jobs over the next ten years and stands to reduce its contribution to global GDP by US$610 billion over the decade, 5.8% less than our baseline forecasts without concerted action now.

The research also shows that Travel & Tourism’s human capital challenges are significantly higher than those faced in other sectors with 37 out of 46 countries showing a talent ‘deficit’ or shortage in the next 10 years, compared with only 6 out of 46 for the whole economy. In the years ahead, progress in developing and retaining talent will require a much stronger and more co-ordinated effort between the private sector, educational establishments and the governments to develop proactive and careful talent supply management policies and ensure the best enabling environments within their countries to grow and develop the skills most needed for Travel & Tourism.