Jamaica's Bartlett Says Paradigm Shift Needed To Address Tourism Staff Shortages

Jamaica's Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett says a "paradigm shift" is needed in the way the global travel industry attracts and retains staff amid post-COVID-19 shortages.

"The tourism industry needs to recover its attractiveness to workers and should undergo a deep and thorough analysis as to the factors which gave rise to this situation," Bartlett said at the World Travel Market in London, UK.

"Tourism, pre-pandemic has not been the best employer and many view our sector as low paying, low skilled and seasonal, offering little job security and social security. Hence, the need for a new charter to reimagine the labour market relations, the re- architecture of the social contract between the workers and the employers of the industry."

Bartlett announced the creation of a cross-sector collaborative group that will work to combat declining workforce numbers. Spearheaded by the Resilience Council, which Bartlett co-chairs, and the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), the working group is being formed with participants across the industry.

The group will focus on key areas such as wages, working conditions, career paths, empowerment and communication that need immediate improvement.

Bartlett says the negative employment is threatening the integrity of the promise to offer a seamless and exceptional experience for visitors to destinations, according to Bartlett.

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