News & Resources
The latest Thompson Okanagan tourism industry news from TOTA, tourism businesses, and communities.
Projections of Tourism Employment Demand
Tourism HR Canada released their Projections of Tourism Employment Demand in Canada, 2019 – 2025, which provides initial results from a three-year project to update and enhance the labour supply and demand projections for the tourism sector. Produced by The Conference Board of Canada, the report’s findings are based primarily on job demand stemming from the business perspective (demand side) but also include discussion of some outcomes that arise from labour challenges on the supply side, namely in the form of job vacancies.
Tourism HR Canada released their Projections of Tourism Employment Demand in Canada, 2019 – 2025, which provides initial results from a three-year project to update and enhance the labour supply and demand projections for the tourism sector. Produced by The Conference Board of Canada, the report’s findings are based primarily on job demand stemming from the business perspective (demand side) but also include discussion of some outcomes that arise from labour challenges on the supply side, namely in the form of job vacancies.
Canadian Tourism Labour Market Snapshot - March 2022
The latest report on the Canadian Tourism Labour Market has been released and reflects the status of employment in the sector for the month of March 2022. Overall, tourism employment experienced an uptick as the sector builds momentum toward recovery in the coming months; however, growth is hindered by employment losses in the accommodations industry and a higher than anticipated unemployment rate in transportation. When considering the robust tourism labour force pre-pandemic (2,117,700 workers in March 2019), it is clear that labour shortages remain across the country and throughout the tourism industries. Through other indicators such as the tourism unemployment rate which held strong in March, there is hope that momentum is building toward sector recovery.
The latest report on the Canadian Tourism Labour Market has been released and reflects the status of employment in the sector for the month of March 2022.
Overall, tourism employment experienced an uptick as the sector builds momentum toward recovery in the coming months; however, growth is hindered by employment losses in the accommodations industry and a higher than anticipated unemployment rate in transportation.
When considering the robust tourism labour force pre-pandemic (2,117,700 workers in March 2019), it is clear that labour shortages remain across the country and throughout the tourism industries. Through other indicators such as the tourism unemployment rate which held strong in March, there is hope that momentum is building toward sector recovery.
Canadian Tourism Labour Market Snapshot - March 2022
The latest report on the Canadian Tourism Labour Market has been released and reflects the status of employment in the sector for the month of March 2022.
Overall, tourism employment experienced an uptick as the sector builds momentum toward recovery in the coming months; however, growth is hindered by employment losses in the accommodations industry and a higher than anticipated unemployment rate in transportation.
When considering the robust tourism labour force pre-pandemic (2,117,700 workers in March 2019), it is clear that labour shortages remain across the country and throughout the tourism industries. Through other indicators such as the tourism unemployment rate which held strong in March, there is hope that momentum is building toward sector recovery.
The latest report on the Canadian Tourism Labour Market has been released and reflects the status of employment in the sector for the month of March 2022.
Overall, tourism employment experienced an uptick as the sector builds momentum toward recovery in the coming months; however, growth is hindered by employment losses in the accommodations industry and a higher than anticipated unemployment rate in transportation.
When considering the robust tourism labour force pre-pandemic (2,117,700 workers in March 2019), it is clear that labour shortages remain across the country and throughout the tourism industries. Through other indicators such as the tourism unemployment rate which held strong in March, there is hope that momentum is building toward sector recovery.
Tourism HR Canada | Important Facts & Figures
During the Provincial & Territorial Tourism Industry Association (PTTIA) committee that TIABC CEO Walt Judas chairs, the group reviewed THRC's updated facts and figures pertaining to the current employment situation in Canada's tourism and hospitality industry.
During the Provincial & Territorial Tourism Industry Association (PTTIA) committee that TIABC CEO Walt Judas chairs, the group reviewed THRC's updated facts and figures pertaining to the current employment situation in Canada's tourism and hospitality industry. Among the findings presented by THRC president & CEO Philip Mondor:
Canada employed 430,000 fewer people this month than we did the same month pre-pandemic
Currently there are 200-250,000 vacancies (jobs unfilled) in our sector despite the current context with hampered recovery and COVID-related constraints
Less than 50% of businesses report they are fully staffed
60%+ of the tourism workforce is working part time or undetermined (i.e., week-to-week) hours
Great exodus of people working in operations/supervisory and management-level occupations, more than we've recorded in 20 years
Accommodation is hardest hit of the hardest hit, with employment down by 32% over the same period
Labour crisis is more acute in tourism than any other industry
Canada's aging population is putting a significant downward pressure on labour force participation
3.9 million jobs that will open between 2019 and 2028 with an ever-shrinking supply to meet demand.
Propel Student Work Placement Program with Wage Subsidy | Apply Now for Summer 2022.
Propel is a federally funded Student Work Placement Program offering paid work-integrated learning opportunities in the tourism and hospitality sector. Propel offers employers a wage subsidy of up to 75% of a qualifying student’s wages, to a maximum of $7,500.
Facilitated by Tourism HR Canada, Propel, a Student Work Placement Program, has been extended for an additional two years, thanks to generous funding from the Government of Canada.
The program is actively accepting applications for the upcoming summer semester.
Propel provides a direct link to early talent looking for hands-on experience and the opportunity to explore career pathways in the sector. Engaging these students will play an essential role in the immediate recovery of the visitor economy and ensure the ongoing growth of a skilled workforce.
Wage subsidies are available as follows:
Up to 50% of wages or up to $5,000 to provide students with meaningful WIL opportunities.
Up to 70% of wages or up to $7,000 to provide students with meaningful WIL opportunities for the following under-represented students: women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), Indigenous students, persons with disabilities, visible minorities and newcomers; as well as first-year students.
Post-Pandemic HR Guide for Employers - Tourism HR Canada
Tourism HR Canada has put together a helpful guide to help attract and retain tourism and hospitality workers, called Now Hiring, which covers a range of essential HR practices, tips to implement, and practical checklists and forms to help tackle key issues.
Tourism HR Canada has put together a helpful guide to help attract and retain tourism and hospitality workers, called Now Hiring, which covers a range of essential HR practices, tips to implement, and practical checklists and forms to help tackle key issues.
Join a New Working Group to Help Rebuild the Tourism Workforce | Apply by Feb 18, 2022
Tourism HR Canada's new Workforce Recovery Project aims to restart tourism by securing a skilled, diverse, and resilient workforce.
As a part of this project, Tourism HR Canada is calling on tourism industry leaders, business owners, workers, educators, and students to join working groups.
The goal of the working groups is to gather recommendations to align the project with the realities experienced by the sector and by sharing a wide range of ideas to ensure the representation of diverse tourism stakeholders from across Canada.
Apply by February 18, 2022
Tourism HR Canada's new Workforce Recovery Project aims to restart tourism by securing a skilled, diverse, and resilient workforce.
As a part of this project, Tourism HR Canada is calling on tourism industry leaders, business owners, workers, educators, and students to join working groups.
The goal of the working groups is to gather recommendations to align the project with the realities experienced by the sector and by sharing a wide range of ideas to ensure the representation of diverse tourism stakeholders from across Canada.
Apply by February 18, 2022
Global Survey on Perspectives of Service Delivery & Traveller Priorities Report | Tourism HR Canada
Tourism HR Canada released a report that provides insight to the current perspectives of the service delivery in Canada and how the travel and tourism industry should prepare itself for the future. The report concluded that, as the visitor economy gradually recovers from the COVID crisis, addressing service disruptions will need to be balanced against safety and price sensitivity.
Tourism HR Canada released a report that provides insight to the current perspectives of the service delivery in Canada and how the travel and tourism industry should prepare itself for the future.
The report concluded that, as the visitor economy gradually recovers from the COVID crisis, addressing service disruptions will need to be balanced against safety and price sensitivity.
The following is a summary of the findings:
While many developed destinations consider themselves to be at the tail end of the COVID 19 pandemic, with vaccine rollouts now well underway, the disruption to the value chain as a whole is far from over.
According to current projections, the tourism industry in Canada is not expected to recover to 2019 levels until 2025.
With this challenge in mind, tourism businesses will need to prioritize and allocate their resources effectively to ensure they are able to develop their products and services to adapt to the new normal while still delivering quality in line with what travellers value.
Broadly speaking, the overall visitor experience remains the most important concern for international travellers in selecting a destination to travel to (unsurprisingly as this encompasses a range of factors).
Quality service is second only to the overall visitor experience in this regard and thus will be of paramount importance in destination recovery efforts.
Quality of service is particularly valuable to the lucrative Chinese market to which international destinations will have to appeal to thrive in the new global travel market in the years to come.
However, health and safety concerns (particularly in Britain and Australia) and price and affordability are also major concerns. Price and affordability is somewhat prioritized across destinations and this is likely driven by post COVID price sensitivity among travellers.
In terms of the impact of service disruption on destination selection, Canada performs well relative to other destinations, with travellers reporting relatively low impact particularly in the USA, South Korea, France and Germany.
China, however, is an exception to this, placing Canada as being most impacted by potential service disruption in terms of destination selection. China is also one of the few countries to consider service disruption in Canada more serious than at home.
Support Systems and Emerging HR Practices Survey
OTEC and Tourism HR Canada have developed an eight-minute survey to better understand support services available across the country, as well as any innovative practices tourism businesses are implementing to mitigate workforce shortages. The findings of this survey will help to recommend where investments in products or services could/should be made in order to build a toolkit that will help employers or communities address workforce recovery needs.
Across the country, governments, industry associations and other key tourism stakeholders have been developing support services for hard hit tourism businesses and workers. This support is desperately needed but has also created confusion due to the many subsidies and services available.
To help understand the complete ecosystem of support services available across the country, we are asking your organization to complete an eight-minute survey. This survey asks you, or another member of your organization, to identify the government programs and industry support services available in your region or to your industry members. The survey also asks about any innovative practices tourism businesses are implementing to mitigate workforce shortages. Please feel free to share the survey with other associations and service providers in your network.
This survey was developed in partnership with OTEC and Tourism HR Canada as part of the Tourism and Hospitality Emergency Recovery project.
The findings of this survey will help to recommend where investments in products or services could/should be made in order to build a toolkit that will help employers or communities address workforce recovery needs.
Tourism HR Canada: Report on Where to Find Workers
The labour shortage that plagues the BC Tourism and Hospitality industry is part of a larger national trend dramatically impacting the industry. To gain a more national perspective on this trend, read Tourism HR Canada’s recent report on where we can find workers. If you are looking for BC information, be sure to check out the BC Tourism and Hospitality Employment Tracker for monthly updates and post your open positions on the go2HR job board.
The pandemic has been exceptionally hard on the tourism industry and its workers. Over 880,000 individuals lost their jobs in the first two months. Although employment never fell that low again, every time employment began to increase, another wave of COVID-19 necessitated another round of restrictions and further losses of employment.
The labour shortage that plagues the BC Tourism and Hospitality industry is part of a larger national trend dramatically impacting the industry.
To gain a more national perspective on this trend Tourism HR has published a number of resources to keep you updated, and provide information on where you can find workers.
Resources:
Tourism Business Builders Online Resources
Tourism HR Canada team has launched Tourism Business Builders, an online learning program developed specifically for tourism and hospitality entrepreneurs. This “how-to” resource contains nine comprehensive modules on business fundamentals and dozens of practical tools, including Excel templates and PDF worksheets, available free until September 1, 2021.
Tourism HR Canada team has launched the Tourism Business Builders online program, developed specifically for tourism and hospitality entrepreneurs. This much-anticipated update moves the renowned program to a fully online offering, allowing for 24/7 access on the organization’s Emerit.ca learning platform and the flexibility to quickly add content.
Businesses who have been the most adversely impacted by COVID are not only looking at recovery, but in many cases a complete restart to their operations. This presents opportunities to re-assess priorities, including product and service offerings, audiences, financing, and marketing.
Now these same businesses can access this brand new “how-to” resource, which contains nine comprehensive modules on business fundamentals and dozens of practical tools, including Excel templates and PDF worksheets…all FREE for a limited time.
Tourism Business Builders will retail for $199.00, but as part of Tourism HR Canada’s recovery strategy, the organization will offer it free of charge until September 1, 2021, to assist tourism business owners, operators, and prospective entrepreneurs.
Tourism businesses need support now more than ever, and this special offer adds to Tourism HR Canada’s recovery efforts. These include the free suite of resources available at TourismRecovery.ca and the free Emerit online occupational training offered earlier in the pandemic (with over 5,000 courses accessed).
Tourism Business Builders contains comprehensive online modules that cover such core topics as:
Creating Your Product
Financial Management
Staffing Matters
Marketing
The Customer
Managing Operations
As self-directed resources, these modules will help business owners/operators to review and revamp current planning and management practices. Entrepreneurs looking to launch a new tourism operation can work through the series to prepare a solid business plan and learn how to successfully run a tourism business—from start-up planning to day-to-day operations.
Used in conjunction with TourismRecovery.ca and Emerit.ca training for numerous tourism and hospitality occupations, owners/operators can build a strong business recovery and reengagement plan that covers all the basics needed to steer towards success.