Bridging the gap: How upskilling initiatives can boost tourism job creation

The Tourism & Hospitality Skill Council (THSC), under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the global digital payments giant Visa. The three-year partnership, valued at up to $1 million, aims to upskill at least 20,000 Indian youths across 10 states in tourism-relevant skills. The programme is set to focus on essential roles within the domestic tourism industry, such as tour guides, customer-service executives, naturalists, and paragliding tandem pilots, and thereby elevate the tourism service experience for tourists. This is certainly a good move not just because the sector is facing an acute skill gap but also because the tourism industry has immense potential to drive economic growth and generate millions of jobs. The tourism and hospitality sector currently contributes 7.5 per cent to India’s gross domestic product, which makes it a significant contributor within the services sector. In 2022, the industry employed 39 million people, equivalent to 8 per cent of India’s employment, with $28.08 billion in foreign-exchange earnings and 1.7 billion domestic tourist visits in 2023.

All five core sub-sectors combined —travel and tourism, hotels, food services, facility management, and cruise liners — are expected to employ 53 million people by 2029. Given the industry’s vast potential to create employment, especially in the light of the evolving skilling landscape, an increased focus on upskilling and reskilling initiatives is crucial to ensure the workforce remains adaptable and meets industry needs. A report by the THSC released a few months back estimated around 5.7 million youths needed to be trained to meet an expected incremental labour demand of 3 million workers between 2025 and 2028. Skilling gains more importance in the face of technological advancements that are changing the way the tourism and hospitality industry operates. Industry-led training initiatives must be supplemented with state-specific policies carried out by state governments to address the challenge. Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, for instance, launched a scheme to provide resources and training to homestay hosts and took on board local residents living near heritage spots to bolster the homestay business in the state. However, at a broader level, industry norms of long working hours and low wages deter youths from continuing in the industry and contribute to high attrition among the workers, affecting not only workforce stability but also the industry’s ability to meet changing consumer demands.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Index, India is ranked 39th among 119 countries in 2024. This is a stark improvement over its previous rank of 54 in 2021. However, tourism numbers are favourably skewed towards a few states. Those like Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh have a high share of domestic and foreign tourist arrivals. Clearly, laggard states in this regard need to make the right pitch to ratchet up their position in the lucrative forex-earning sector. Successful tourism campaigns like Kerala’s “God’s Own Country”, along with initiatives like skilling and technology adoption, can be a good way forward.