SOURCE: DESTINATION BC, VALUE Of TOURISm 2005-2015
jULY/AUGUST 2018 BCBusiness 101
Tourism Human Resource Council (CTHRC) estimates
that the gap between labour supply and demand could
be 228,479 jobs by 2030.
A 2016 economic impact study on B.C.'s tourism
labour shortage commissioned by go2HR found that
the thirst for workers began outstripping supply in
2013…14. "It's really when the economy started taking
oˆ again," Christine Willow explains. "My personal
view is when you get to 4- or 5-percent unemployment,
you're at pretty well full employment, and so competi-
tion gets much stiˆer."
The report, prepared by Grant Thornton
LLP in
Vancouver and Econometric Research Ltd., based in
Hamilton, Ontario, reveals how labour constraints
are aˆecting tourism operations. Just over 50 percent
of the employers surveyed said they couldn't hire all
the people they needed to function
at full capacity and/or expand their
business in 2014. As a result,
roughly half lost revenue and
more than 11 percent consid-
ered closing shop.
The most commonly cited
implications of the inability to
hire enough employees were:
Most of the unœlled positions were lower-skilled
(56.6 percent), with 30.7 percent higher-skilled and
12.6 percent management. Although tourism includes
senior positions right up to the
CEO level, the industry
competes with construction, IT and other sectors for
the young workers who traditionally œll entry-level
jobs, notes Chemistry Consulting's Willow.
And demand for workers isn't limited to B.C. Also
looking for tourism employees are Australia, Belgium,
Switzerland and the U.S., "countries that you wouldn't
even think would possibly have that shortage," Willow
says. "So competition is œerce, I would say, worldwide
for hospitality and culinary staˆ."–F.S.
1.5% Cariboo Chilcotin Coast
63.2% Vancouver, Coast
and Mountains
16.1% Vancouver Island
11.1% Thompson Okanagan
5.1% Northern B.C.
3.1% Kootenay Rockies
$4.7 billion
Total wages and
salaries in 2016
$4.5 billion
Total wages and
salaries in 2015
$35,000
Average compensation in
2015 and 2016
SOURCE: DESTINATION BC, VALUE Of
TOURISm IN 2015 AND 2016
• Staff burnout: 71.4%
• Hired underqualified staff: 70.5%
• Reduced customer services: 54.6%
• Missed business opportunities: 47.8%
• Increased business costs: 42.2%
• Additional overtime: 35.7%
