The increase in the travel demand in Portugal registered in the second half of this year has brought into light the fact that the country lacks 85,000 workers engaged in the travel and tourism sector.
Such estimation has been reached by the recent report of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), while the same has stressed that such figures could have a “significant impact” on the country’s economic sector and would help to manage the crisis that this sector is facing due to the devastating situation provoked by the virus, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
WTTC’s report notes that the surge in the travel demand, especially during the peak summer season, has unvield difficulties in hiring people in this sector. The company said that by the end of this year, the shortage of workers in the travel and tourism industry would reach 85,000.
The travel company has also estimated that the shortage of employees in Portugal should remain, adding that an average shortage of 53,000 workers will be registered during next year.
“Portugal’s economic recovery could be at risk if we do not have enough people to fill those jobs when tourists return,” the President of the WTTC, Julia Simpson, pointed out in this regard.
The lack of workers engaged in this sector puts many businesses that are facing profound difficulties at risk.
In addition, the company also stressed that despite the country’s authorities’ measures taken last year to deal with the current pandemic situation, a total of 92,000 people who worked in the travel and tourism sector had lost their jobs.
Previously, the European statistics provider, Eurostat, stressed that the European tourism sector had been highly affected by the spread of the Coronavirus and its new strains.
Eurostat’s report showed that the figure for nights European Union tourists accommodated in establishments decreased by 61 per cent for a period from April 2020 to March 2021, accounting for a total of 1.1 billion tourists.
The most profound decrease was noted in Malta, Spain, Greece, Portugal, and Hungary, while each of these countries experienced a decline of more than 60 per cent.
Earlier this month, the figures provided by the European Travel Council (ETC) showed that tourism across the EU suffered a 77 per cent decline in comparison to pre-pandemic levels.
According to the European Travel Council (ETC), international tourist arrivals in European countries are expected to decrease by 60 per cent by the end of the year.
