The travel industry has already started to make its comeback — but hospitality workers, so far, aren’t returning to their jobs as quickly as tourists are booking vacations.
Labor shortages were top of mind for tourism industry leaders gathered for the Maryland Tourism & Travel Summit Monday. The annual conference runs through Wednesday and offers insights into the state of the industry and forecasts for its future.
“There is no greater crisis,” said Tom Riford, the Department of Commerce’s assistant secretary for the division of tourism, film, and the arts. “We’ve got to put people to work; we’ve got to continue moving forward.”
The hospitality sector is far from the only industry to be hit by workforce challenges as the world recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic. As of August, employers were still seeking to fill 10.4 million jobs across the U.S., according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Labor shortages have led to cascading complications amid the recovery, including supply chain disruptions as understaffed businesses struggle to meet demand.
