THE hotel industry is losing some of its best staff to foreign employers as well as to Philippine call centers, an industry association said.
“The brain drain within the hospitality group, it’s happening,” Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA) Philippines President Loleth G. So said, describing the losses as taking place “within the country” as well as “out of the country.”
Speaking at a news conference last week in Pasay City, Ms. So said domestic rivals competing for hotel workers include the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, while foreign companies like the cruise industry employers are also hiring away its workers.
Agnes Pacis, HSMA director for membership, said the competition for talent is also affecting hotel sales and marketing personnel.
“We are experiencing it ourselves as practitioners. It used to be that we’re competing with other hotels. But now we’re competing with other industries like banks and BPOs,” Ms. Pacis said.
Ms. Pacis proposed that government and industry associations boost their efforts in attracting more workers to the hotel industry.
“Maybe some incentives can be put in place. Universities could encourage more enrollment in tourism and hotel and restaurant-related courses,” Ms. Pacis said.
“Industry associations could also come up with training programs. We can improve in the area of education and awareness-building. The tourism industry is affected, more than any other industry,” she added.
In June, the Philippine Statistics Authority estimated that employment in all the tourism industries hit 5.35 million in 2022, against 4.9 million in 2021.
The tourism industry accounted for 6.2% of gross domestic product last year, up from a 5.2% share in 2021.
The combined economic contribution of tourism rose 36.9% to P1.38 trillion last year.
In 2023, the Department of Tourism has set a target of 4.8 million international arrivals compared to 2.65 million last year. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
