Election campaigns are great opportunities to reflect collectively on our aspirations for the future. And if we were talking about tourism.
Posted at 2:00 p.m.
In 2019, before the pandemic, tourism injected $104.4 billion into the Canadian economy1. In Quebec, it was the third export product, representing some $16.4 billion in revenue and 400,000 jobs.2.
After more than two years of unprecedented global upheaval and despite the insecurities linked to inflation, the recovery is firmly underway. Notably thanks to the renewed attachment to their part of the country of Quebecers, who realized that an evening at a festival, a night at a hotel or a meal at a local restaurant satisfied their crying need to escape.
Tourism is the happiness industry!
However, the situation is worrying and the challenges colossal.
Already an issue in 2019, the labor shortage is now the main obstacle facing the hospitality industry. The hardest hit by the pandemic, it should be remembered.
Responding to the call of governments, several qualified employees have reoriented themselves over the past two years. And this, despite the fact that an overwhelming majority said they preferred to continue in this sector.3.
Particular fact, according to RH Tourisme Canada, 36,000 management positions are currently to be filled in the country. The industry is affected at all levels. And this exodus of skills does not spare Quebec.
We cannot escape it… the government must get involved to resolve this crisis.
First, organizations with a mandate to restore the image of the industry, badly damaged during the pandemic, must obtain increased support. They now have a dual mission: to position Quebec’s tourism offer on the national and international stages, while attracting workers to its trades and professions.
Towards sustainable tourism
It is also essential to make maximum efforts to promote training in the hospitality sectors. Just as it does for other industries, the government must encourage young people to choose tourism as a profession of the future. And to support them in obtaining their diploma: their passport to a lasting career. Because tourism is not just a temporary industry. Its staff and managers will have to make a shift towards sustainable and ethical tourism; safer, more technological and well anchored in its environment. And they’ll have a better chance of getting there with quality training.
Let’s take inspiration from existing models! Let’s develop, for those who have chosen to pursue a career in tourism, professionalization and enhancement tools to distinguish them from occasional employees who come to give them a hand during the high season.
In terms of immigration, the government must add additional measures specific to the tourism industry to facilitate the recruitment of foreign students. Regardless of their mother tongue, a student living a positive integration into their learning environment, in French, will be more likely to choose Quebec as their adoptive land.
Emploi Québec must get out of its old paradigms, consider tourism as a priority industry, adapt and modernize its practices in order to meet the specific needs of its sectors of activity.
The government must also strive to break down the silos between the departments of Education, Labor and Immigration, and thus promote innovative initiatives for the industry.
Tourism is an economic pillar of Quebec, an important lever for the development of our regions and a fundamental tool for social cohesion.
I dream of a government that will proclaim it loud and clear!
1. According to Destination Canada