A new analysis of staff shortages by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has revealed a labour shortfall in Portugal, with nearly 50,000 Travel & Tourism jobs across the country predicted to be unfilled.

The research looked into labour shortages across Portugal and other major travel and tourism destinations, such as the U.S., France, Spain, the UK, and Italy.

The data shows Portugal is forecasted to see a shortfall of 49,000 workers in the third quarter of 2022, with one in 10 vacancies expected to remain unfilled this year, making it the least affected country of those analysed.

Before the pandemic, in 2019, more than 485,000 people were employed in travel and tourism in Portugal. But 2020 saw the loss of over 80,000 jobs.*

Portugal saw the beginning of the recovery in 2021, with a 32.6% growth to the sector’s contribution to the national economy. However, staff shortages have been prevalent in the country, with thousands of vacancies that remain unfilled, putting the sector under pressure.

WTTC analysis shows Portugal’s hotel industry is expected to be the worst affected, as both hotels and food and beverage segments are forecasted to have 13% (one in eight) and 12% (one in eight) of job openings unfilled, respectively.

Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO said: “The Portuguese government has always put travel and tourism at the forefront of their agenda, and is already addressing this issue with strategic measures.

“The future of Travel & Tourism in Portugal looks bright, and in order to ensure a full recovery of the economy and the sector, we need to fill these vacancies to guarantee Portugal can meet the long-awaited travellers’ demand.”

Last week WTTC revealed that up to 1.2 million travel and tourism jobs across the EU will remain unfulfilled, with hospitality, aviation, and travel agencies being the most affected.

The global tourism body believes by implementing these measures, travel and tourism businesses will be able to attract more workers.

This in turn would enable the sector to meet the ever-growing consumer demand and further speed up its recovery, which is the backbone to generating economic well-being across the country.