The world’s travel leaders gathered in Rome last week not to sip prosecco under frescoed ceilings but to confront an uncomfortable truth: the global tourism boom may be running out of people to manage it.
A new report by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), unveiled at its 25th Global Summit, warns that the industry — one of the planet’s most reliable engines of job creation is on track to create 91 million new jobs by 2035. Yet there’s a twist worthy of a Greek tragedy: the world won’t have enough workers to fill them.
If nothing changes, the WTTC estimates a global workforce shortfall of 43 million. That’s not just a gap; that’s a canyon.
The Paradox of Plenty
It’s one of those delicious ironies only economics can serve an industry booming so spectacularly that it risks suffocating under its own success.
In 2024, travel and tourism supported a record 357 million jobs worldwide. This year, it’s expected to reach 371 million, which would make most finance ministers beam. But by 2035, worker demand will outpace supply by 16 per cent, leaving airports, hotels, and cruise terminals scrambling for staff.
The report, The Future of the Travel & Tourism Workforce, analysed 20 major economies and found the trend disturbingly consistent. The hospitality sector faces an 8.6 million worker gap, roughly one in five roles potentially unfilled. These aren’t abstract numbers; they’re the housekeepers, chefs, front-desk clerks and guides who form the human face of tourism.
A Shrinking Talent Pool
The culprits are depressingly familiar: shrinking working-age populations, shifting demographics, and a lingering hangover from the COVID years. Millions of tourism workers found jobs elsewhere when the world shut its borders, and many saw little reason to return.
“Travel & Tourism is set to remain one of the world’s biggest job creators,” said WTTC Interim CEO Gloria Guevara, her tone more rallying cry than resignation.
“But we must also recognise that wider demographic and structural changes are reshaping labour markets everywhere.”
She’s right. As unemployment falls globally, the available pool of workers is shrinking just as the industry surges ahead. It’s a structural mismatch with no quick fix, and the WTTC isn’t sugar-coating it.
“This report is a call to action,” Guevara declared. “By working together with governments and educators, our sector will meet these challenges and continue to be one of the most rewarding sectors, offering dynamic futures for the next generations.”
Asia Rising, Europe Reeling
The regional breakdown tells its own story. China faces the steepest shortfall, an eye-watering 16.9 million unfilled roles, followed by India with 11 million, and the European Union with 6.4 million.
In relative terms, Japan’s tourism workforce could fall 29% below 2035 demand levels. Greece and Germany aren’t far behind, with 27% and 26% workforce gaps, respectively.
Even the world’s most efficient economies can’t automate their way out of this one. Robots may make coffee, but they can’t smile at guests or remember a returning traveller’s name, at least, not convincingly.
Saudi Arabia: The Surprise Star
Perhaps the most interesting subplot belongs to Saudi Arabia, whose tourism sector has transformed faster than a desert after rain. Once a footnote in global travel, it’s one of its most ambitious players.
His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism, used the Rome stage to remind everyone how far the kingdom has come.
“By 2035, one in three new jobs will come from Travel & Tourism no other sector can claim that. Saudi Arabia shows what vision and investment can achieve, with over 649,000 training opportunities, and a workforce that is nearly 50% women.”
It’s a model of rapid modernisation that blends national vision with economic necessity. Under the country’s Vision 2030 program, tourism has evolved from an afterthought into a cornerstone of diversification. It’s a timely example for countries treating tourism as a seasonal extra rather than a strategic powerhouse.
Beyond Headcounts: Rethinking Work Itself
Sara Meaney, Managing Partner at the consultancy Coraggio Group, says the report is more than a statistical lament — it’s a blueprint for reinvention.
“This report offers us all so much more than quotable datapoints; it serves as an invitation to rethink how we attract, grow, and keep talent in an ever-changing environment,” she said.
Her point? The solution isn’t simply to plug holes with short-term hiring drives. It’s redesigning work, making tourism a career, not a stopgap.
“It will require investment and intention to design jobs that inspire, support careers that evolve, and invest in workplaces that reflect the values of today’s workforce. This is our chance to redefine what it means to work in Travel & Tourism.”
For an industry often accused of taking its people for granted, that’s a wake-up call worth heeding.
Blueprint for a Sustainable Workforce
The WTTC’s recommendations are practical, not utopian. They include:
-
Inspiring youth with the promise of global careers, not just seasonal jobs.
-
Aligning education with industry, ensuring training meets real-world needs.
-
Investing in leadership programs that keep good staff from walking out the door.
-
Promoting digital literacy and sustainability, because the next wave of tourists will expect both.
-
Introducing flexible work policies, including cross-border recruitment and hybrid roles.
None of this is revolutionary, but it is urgent. Without a concerted push, the industry risks an imbalance that could slow growth and dampen service quality, the hallmark of hospitality.
The Rome Reality Check
This year’s WTTC Global Summit, hosted in partnership with Italy’s Ministry of Tourism, ENIT (the Italian National Tourist Board), and the Municipality of Rome, offered more than scenic backdrops. Behind the polite smiles and espresso cups lay a common anxiety: the world wants to travel again, but who’s left to serve the tables, clean the rooms, or pilot the planes?
Industry giants like Chase Travel, Trip.com Group, MSC Group, and Terme di Saturnia joined the chorus calling for coordinated action. Tourism, after all, doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s a living ecosystem, part economy, part emotion, and when one link falters, the entire chain trembles.
The Human Element
Strip away the data and the rhetoric, and what remains is something very old-fashioned: people. Every sector loves to talk about innovation, but tourism has always been powered by a human smile, a handshake, a sense of welcome that can’t be coded.
That’s the quiet truth behind the WTTC’s alarm bell. If we lose the people, we lose the experience.
Perhaps that message carried extra weight in Rome, of all places. The city that once built an empire on roads and hospitality knows a thing or two about longevity, whether the modern travel industry can show the same staying power.
Conclusion
The WTTC’s report is more than a warning; it’s a mirror. It reflects the triumph and fragility of an industry that connects billions and generates trillions, and when done well, reminds us that the world is still worth exploring.
It seems that tourism’s future will depend not just on where people go but also on who helps them get there.
By Bridget Gomez
BIO:
Bridget has never been one to sit still. Of Portuguese heritage, she first trained as a nurse. She threw herself into work at the Commonwealth Veteran Affairs Repatriation Hospital, tending to old soldiers with stories almost as colourful as her own would become. It was rewarding, steady work — but wanderlust has a louder voice than routine.
So, she swapped starched uniforms for a backpack and set off on a twelve-month gallop around the globe. Along the way, she scribbled in journals, capturing the dust, the laughter, the odd missed train, and the occasional glass of wine too many. Those notebooks soon became a travel blog, her way of reliving and sharing the journeys with anyone willing to read.
Eventually, Bridget stumbled across Global Travel Media and, in her words, “the rest is history.” Now she writes with the same mix of heart and mischief that fuelled her travels.
