The Gozo Tourism Association has released its 2025 Budget proposals for Government, with an entire section dedicated to the issue of human capital on the sister island – particularly the shortage of tourism workers.
The GTA took Government to task once again for offering superior job conditions, making it extremely difficult for businesses to keep local staff, often preferred in the hospitality and tourism industry as local staff provide tourists with a more authentic experience and tend to be more knowledgeable about their home.
Indeed, writing in its pre-Budget document, the GTA said:
“Combined efforts need to be taken to address the shortage of workers in the touristic sector. Some of the working conditions in the touristic sector are not enticing, while unmatched competition coming from jobs in the Public Sector are making it impossible to recruit local staff.
“Along the years this lack of Gozitans not interested to pursue a career in the tourism sector has been on the increase and these gaps were mitigated by the influx of foreign workers. This fact lessened the authenticity of the touristic offer and tourist’s experience, whilst offering new challenges like language, lack of cultural heritage, integration and other social issues.”
Tourism is an exceedingly important sector for Gozo, accounting for over 10 per cent of employment on the island, while it also acts as a main source of revenue for scores of residents.
The GTA also stated that currently, ‘Destination Gozo’ is meting guest expectations, evidenced by 38-40 per cent repeat guests, but to maintain standards the issue of worker shortages must be addressed.
With this in mind, it made the following proposals:
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