As education spaces threaten future development, tourism income hit$ 2.2 trillion.
The international tourism industry is still in the grip of a staffing crisis, no one caused by declining employment, but by poor skill quality.
Editions
World
WRITTEN BY:
Marga Manlapig
February 19, 2026
The UN’s World Tourism Barometer reported last month that foreign tourist arrivals were up by 4 % as of December 31st, 2025, clocking in at 1.52 over travelers, more than 60 million more than the full seen in 2024.
A new record was set in terms of global commerce revenues, with US$ 2.2 trillion as of last count due to strong desire and increased weather connectivity.
Despite these encouraging developments, the industry struggles to keep up with the great numbers, and the industry’s continued human resources crisis is at the center of the issue.
The key problem here is the value of the employees coming on board, even though we aren’t specifically talking about a deficit in staff numbers by definition.
We ask market experts: Is it time to reevaluate knowledge in the tourism sector, both regionally and globally, because education and training play a significant role in this?
a workforce that is very young and untrained.
Keep in mind that over 50 % of the world’s labor is under the age of 25, according to data from the World Travel &, Tourism Council, which are typically new graduates, college volunteers, college students, and even students in high school who are taking part-time jobs.
While some of these young people received adequate teaching through their college or vocational training, it is becoming clear that the majority of them require more instruction and guidance.
By the end of the current generation, over 882, 000 hospitality workers worldwide will need more in-depth education and training, according to estimates.
This could lead to a possible disaster for tourism because professionals in the sector are required to have a wide range of skills to manage both top- and back-end operations.
Additionally, if its employees do not have the necessary skills and abilities to deal with different scenarios on an in-situ/in-person schedule, a people-centric business will struggle.
Recent issues in learning for global tourism
Despite the ongoing shortage of staff members, it is becoming clear that training and education are the main problems affecting people solutions in commerce.
Researchers highlighted a number of pressing issues in this regard, with special attention to the following:
There is a clear disconnect between the curricula that are already in place and the changing industry demands As a very active industry, tourism and the related fields of corporate aviation and hospitality are rapidly evolving, and educational development in schools struggles to keep up. However, what might be on the current course may be outdated when a scholar graduates and works in the field,
Rapid technological advancement and adoption Compared to the initial point, the majority of tourism curricula do not offer training in digital skills or, at the very least, an introduction to the related technologies being used in practice. Although some schools work with hotel management companies or airlines to provide their kids with an introduction to the systems in use, no all institutions do so.
Universities and technical schools are struggling to include natural hospitality practices into their existing syllabi along with the addition of concepts related to renewable tourism, full inclusivity in operations, and economic management, and the need to use sustainability practices.
The efficacy of cross training methods Another factor to consider is that many commerce professionals who left school right away between 2022 and 2023 did not receive the same level of engaging training as those who had finished before the pandemic. Although composite learning improved with respect to theory, practice was a different issue: not even the best online simulations have improved employee training for the demands of in-person interaction at work.
Given how urgent these problems are, we intend to look into how the public and private areas can work together to solve them and offer long-term solutions to improve commerce training for a better world labor.
Airlines and Aviation | Exclusives | International | Hospitality | HR & Careers | Human Resources | Recruitment | Tourism | Tourist Guides | Training | Travel Agents | Exclusives | World | Hospitality | HR & Careers | HR &
hospitality training | UNWTO | World Tourism Barometer | World Travel &, Tourism Council | World Tourism Education | UN Worth Tourism Organization | World Tourism Barometer | World Travel &, Tourism Council
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As education spaces threaten future development, tourism income hit$ 2.2 trillion.
The international tourism industry is still in the grip of a staffing crisis, no one caused by declining employment, but by poor skill quality.
Hotels, HR & Careers, Human Resources, Recruitment, Tourism, Tourist Guides, Training, Travel Agents, and Airlines and Aviation, Editions, Global, Editions, Global, Hospitality, HR &
WRITTEN BY:
Marga Manlapig
February 19, 2026
The UN’s World Tourism Barometer reported last month that international visitor arrivals were up by 4 % as of December 31st, 2025, clocking in at 1.52 over travelers, more than 60 million more than the full seen in 2024.
A new record was set in terms of global commerce revenues, with US$ 2.2 trillion as of last count due to strong desire and increased weather connectivity.
Despite these encouraging developments, the industry struggles to keep up with the great numbers, and the industry’s continued human resources crisis is at the center of the issue.
The key problem here is the value of the employees coming on board, even though we aren’t specifically talking about a deficit in staff numbers by definition.
We ask market experts: Is it time to reevaluate education in the tourism sector, both regionally and globally, because education and training play a significant role in this?
a workforce that is very young and untrained.
Keep in mind that over 50 % of the world’s labor is under the age of 25, according to data from the World Travel &, Tourism Council, which are typically new graduates, college volunteers, college students, and even students in high school who are taking part-time jobs.
While some of these young people received adequate teaching through their college or vocational training, it is becoming clear that the majority of them require more instruction and guidance.
By the end of the current generation, over 882, 000 hospitality workers worldwide will need more in-depth education and training, according to estimates.
This could lead to a possible disaster for tourism because professionals in the sector are required to have a wide range of skills to manage both top- and back-end operations.
Additionally, if its employees do not have the necessary skills and abilities to deal with different scenarios on an in-situ/in-person basis, a people-centric business will struggle.
Recent issues in learning for international tourism
Despite the ongoing shortage of staff members, it is becoming clear that training and education are the main issues affecting human resources in commerce.
Researchers highlighted a number of pressing issues in this regard, with special attention to the following:
There is a clear disconnect between the curricula that are already in place and the changing industry demands As a very active industry, tourism and the related fields of corporate aviation and hospitality are rapidly evolving, and educational development in schools struggles to keep up. However, what might be on the current course may be outdated when a scholar graduates and works in the field,
Rapid technological advancement and adoption Compared to the initial point, the majority of tourism curricula do not offer training in modern skills or, at the very least, an introduction to the related technologies being used in practice. Although some schools work with hotel management companies or airlines to provide their kids with an introduction to the technology in use, no all institutions do so.
Universities and technical schools are struggling to include natural hospitality practices into their existing syllabi along with the inclusion of concepts related to renewable tourism, full inclusivity in operations, and economic management, and the need to use sustainability practices.
The efficacy of hybrid training methods Another factor to consider is that many tourism professionals who left school right away between 2022 and 2023 did not receive the same level of interactive training as those who had finished before the pandemic. Although hybrid learning improved with respect to theory, practice was a different issue: not even the best digital simulations have improved employee training for the demands of in-person interaction at work.
Given how urgent these issues are, we intend to look into how the public and private sectors can work together to address them and offer long-term solutions to improve tourism education for a better global workforce.
Marga Manlapig
Join the community today
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Most Read
Dubai South inaugurates RH Aero’s new facility
The largest artisan fair in Europe is held in Vilnius.
Hotel chains lose 20 % of guests as a result of data silos.
Tech and luxury partnerships are highlighted in Qatar Airways advertisements.
Radisson and BNW reveal RAK Central’s first hotel.
&# 13,
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