At the top of the issues that concern the country’s tourism industry this year, the lack of staff emerges again. In 2022 one in five hotel jobs will be unfilled. In absolute numbers, staff shortages based on “Insete” data amounted to 60,225 of the 262,981 jobs provided in total based on the organization chart in the hotels. For 2023, throughout the tourism industry, travel agencies, airline services, car rentals, etc., staff shortages reach or exceed 100,000, with all that this implies for their smooth operation.

President of SETE: Pandemic and economic crisis in the period 2013-2019 changed the data in the labor market in the tourism sector

In his intervention at APE-MPE, the president of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises, Yiannis Retsos, noted that the lack of personnel in the tourism sector, as well as in other sectors of the economy, is a huge issue. Since tourism is a service, the inability to find qualified workers has an impact on the product offered, he notes. The factors for this phenomenon, which is not only Greek, are many. However, two are the main ones according to Mr. Retso. One factor is linked to the pandemic, which “violently” shut down the global tourism industry, pushing workers into other industries. The other factor concerns the period 2013-2019, when the tourism economy was growing and most sectors of the economy were in recession. During this period workers turned massively to tourism, while from 2020 to 2022 the exact opposite happened. These two reasons combined with the seasonality of the tourist season exacerbate the problem, notes Mr. Retsos.

The example of Patmos is typical, where with 2.5 months of tourist season the locals have turned their backs on tourism businesses, as noted by the island’s officials at a recent event in Athens. Obviously in the tourist areas where the season exceeds 6 months the situation is different, but again the seasonality of the sector is a disincentive for permanent employment.

Consistent entrepreneurs do not face problems.

At the same time, the need for staff has increased mainly due to the upgrading of the hotels, which now need more people, reports APE-MPE the Michalis Vamiedakis, president of Allsun Hotels in Greece and development consultant of Danaos Travel. Mr. Vamiedakis, who speaks of a shortage of 100,000 people in the tourist chain, notes that hotels that had good ties with their staff do not face serious problems. From the above it becomes clear that a healthy working environment is a factor that is taken seriously by prospective employees. There are countless examples of workers leaving positions with higher salaries for companies distinguished by a good working environment, Michalis Vamiedakis said to APE-MPE. “You cannot invest 50 million euros in Mykonos and have workers in containers,” added Vamiedakis.

“In hotels the minimum wage is higher than the general minimum”

Regarding the wage status of tourism workers, the president of SETE reminds that “the hotel industry, which employs 150,000 workers in the country, has a mandatory sectoral contract which means that everyone must apply it. So the resulting wages, even the lowest ones, are much higher than the general collective agreement of the employees. The minimum threshold is higher than the general minimum threshold, while there is no ceiling on high wages, since this is determined by the market. When there is demand and a small supply of workers, wages go up”, adds Mr. Retsos.

Shortages by geographic region and the introduction of foreign workers

Based on the “Insete” research in 2022, of all the jobs foreseen based on the organizational chart, 27% correspond to jobs in hotels located in the South Aegean region, followed by Crete with 20%, the Ionian Islands with 12% and Central Macedonia with 10%. In all other regions, it accounts for less than 10% of the total. 24% of the total shortages (14,346 job vacancies) were recorded in the South Aegean, 18% (10,808 positions) in Crete, 10% (5,891 positions) in Central Macedonia and 14% (8,378 positions) in the Ionian Islands.

In Crete, the problem is addressed with imported workers

Focusing on Crete, speaking to APE-MBE the president of the Hoteliers Association of Heraklion Nikos Chalkiadakis he mentioned that this year the problem will be tackled with imported workers. In fact, he pointed out that specialized offices from abroad, which until recently brought in interns from tourism schools, will supply Greek hotels with European workers this year. In the fear of a change in the character of Greek hospitality, Mr. Chalkiadakis emphasized that he does not exist since the filling of vacant positions concerns services that are not at the forefront of the hotel chain.

The Greek worker is in demand in foreign markets

At this point, a special mention should be made of the Greek tourist worker, who is in demand in the Swiss resorts in winter. There are dozens of Greeks who work in them in the winter, since he is accompanied by his good reputation and hard work, as Mr. Vamiedakis mentions. On the same wavelength and Theodoros Terzopoulos executive in important tourism companies and current general manager and managing director of Patmos Aktis tells APE-MPE that the value of Greek workers goes beyond the Greek borders.

Staff needs by hotel category

The 4- and 5-star categories represent 58% of all positions based on the organizational chart (73,462 and 78,333 respectively). In absolute terms, most staff shortages were observed in 4-star hotels (16,381 or 27% of total shortages) and 3-star hotels (15,361 or 26%). The 5-star hotels are the ones that had (in percentage terms) the fewest shortages (15%) in relation to their needs. 2 and 3 star hotels are the ones that had the most shortages (31% and 28%) in relation to their needs.