The widening gap between seasoned professionals and new entrants into South Africas travel industry has emerged as a critical issue, especially in light of post-pandemic employment challenges. This experience gap, experts say, threatens the long-term sustainability of the industry.
During the Modern Mavericks vs. Heritage Heroes debate at the ABTA Conference in early October, the Heritage Heroes Claude Vankeirsbilck , COO of Tourvest Travel Services Claudia Armstrong , Owner of Thats IT Africa Partner and Phale Naake , Director of Strategic Procurement at the National Treasury echoed a sentiment previously shared with Travel News practical experience holds more weight than formal qualifications.
South Africas formal education system has been slow to keep pace with industry demands, said Modern Maverick, Kamogelo Maerman , National Sales Leader at FCM Travel. He pointed out that the subject of tourism was only introduced to the matric syllabus in 1996. The Heritage Heroes confirmed that due limited training with practical value, travel agencies are forced to provide specialised training for sales and travel trade systems.
The Covid hangoverIn addition to educational shortcomings, the travel industry continues to grapple with the lasting effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic had a devastating impact on the sector globally, with nearly 70 million tourism jobs lost between 2019 and 2022, according to the World Travel Tourism Councils WTTC Social Trends in Travel Tourism Employment report. Women and young people were disproportionately affected, with 6.4 million fewer women and 3 million fewer workers under 25 employed in the travel sector during this period.
This workforce represents employees who have more likely remained in informal, part-time and low-wage roles, says WTTC President and CEO, Julia Simpson . She called for more investment in skills development to unlock the full potential of these groups.
