A recent analysis by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has warned that the recovery of the travel and tourism sector in the United Kingdom is at serious risk after around 130,000 jobs remain unfilled.
As the global tourism body explains, the UK is expected to see a shortfall of 128,000 jobs, with one in 14 jobs expected to remain vacant, VisaGuide.World reports.
In addition, restaurants and hotels are struggling to find staff, but the UK government, unlike countries such as Portugal, is not allowing temporary workers to come in from supervisors.
According to WTTC, the worst affected in the UK are predicted to be the hotel, entertainment, and aviation industries, facing unfilled vacancies of 18 percent (one in six), 12 percent (one in eight), and 11 percent (one in nine) respectively.
Before the pandemic started, nearly 1.8 million people were employed in Travel and Tourism in the UK by 2020, while over 200,000 had lost their jobs.
In this regard, President and CEO of WTTC Julia Simpson said that the recovery of the United Kingdom is at risk and that the government is not using the flexibility in the visa system to attract workers to the UK. She also added that Travel and Tourism contributed nearly £235 billion to the economy and employed almost two million people.
“Now visitors are arriving to find restaurants, hotels, and entertainment venues without staff, and we will lose these travelers and their dollars to other countries. Big brands cannot understand why countries in Europe are bringing in skilled workers like chefs, but the UK Home Office is not deploying the flexible ‘point system’ visas they promised.,” she pointed out.According to Simpson, during the pandemic, the travel and tourism sector was one of the most affected, thus losing 50 percent of its value, and urgently needs action.
“In retail, UK stores are still reeling from the decision by the UK Government to axe VAT Refunds for visitors. It means tourists can save 20% on goods by choosing Paris instead of London. The Chancellor of the Exchequer needs to look at this urgently,” she noted.Moreover, WTTC says that a lot of support is needed to fill these vacancies, which in turn will boost the economy through its contribution to the country’s GDP. The WTTC data also shows that through the second half of 2022, labor supply will continue to lag behind demand – with the gap expected to widen further in the third quarter of 2022 as demand approaches pre-pandemic levels. On July 28, the WTTC also estimated that 412,000 Travel and Tourism jobs in the US will remain unfilled this year.