Preparing the tourism workforce for the digital future

Embracing digitalisation throughout the tourism ecosystem will help to drive the ability of business to build resilience in a post-COVID-19 era. This will include exploiting the opportunities digitalisation opens up for marketing, product and destination development, as well as investing in human capital and skills to retain and develop a skilled workforce. To support the digital transformation of the sector, this report examines: i) the role of digital technology in tourism and its impact on work organisation; ii) how digitalisation affects the demand for skills in the sector; and iii) the role of government in creating the conditions to support the digital transformation of tourism business models, and preparing the tourism workforce for change. Acknowledging that national policies will need to be responsive to needs across a diverse sector, with varying levels of digital maturity amongst enterprises (and people), the report presents a selection of policy considerations to prepare the tourism workforce for the digital future.