Post-Pandemic Tourism Faces Persistent Labour, Skills Gaps: ILO

Mexico’s tourism sector is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, but labour and skills shortages continue to constrain growth. Youth, women, and migrants remain overrepresented in lower-paid roles, while employers report strong demand for transversal, managerial, digital, and green skills, reports ILO. 

“Inclusive employment policies and targeted skills development are essential to support the tourism sector’s recovery and long-term resilience,” says Adriana Vázquez, Queretaro’s Minister of Tourism.

Tourism is one of the world’s most labour-intensive industries, creating opportunities for highly skilled professionals as well as individuals facing employment barriers, including youth, women, and migrants, reports ILO. Globally, labour supply is not keeping pace with demand. Structural challenges such as seasonality, low wages, informality, and limited access to training reduce job stability and career progression. Migrants often fill positions that are difficult to staff locally, and women continue to be underrepresented in higher-skilled and leadership roles. 

The pandemic exacerbated these challenges, causing many workers to leave the industry and exposing structural issues such as inadequate infrastructure and limited formalization. Informal employment remains common, particularly in low-income countries, limiting access to social protection, training, and finance. ILO frameworks, including Recommendation No. 204 on formalizing employment and Recommendation No. 208 on quality apprenticeships, provide guidance to strengthen skills, improve job quality, and promote inclusive employment.

In Mexico, tourism is showing strong recovery but labour gaps persist. Between January and June 2025, the country welcomed 23.4 million international tourists, a 7.3% increase from 2024, generating US$16.68 billion in revenue. Cancun and the Riviera Maya added 2,100 hotel rooms in the first half of the year, accounting for 97% of national openings, yet filling these positions remains challenging due to skills mismatches, reports MBN. Hotel occupancy rates during peak summer weeks reached 76% in Cancun and 75% in the Riviera Maya.

At the federal level, Mexico released a US$22 billion Tourism Investment Portfolio in 2025, covering 473 projects across 26 states. The portfolio aligns with the 2025–2030 National Development Plan and aims to facilitate investment, remove obstacles, and enhance competitiveness. President Claudia Sheinbaum states that the strategy aims to position Mexico as the world’s fifth most visited country by 2030.

Despite recovery and investment, labour and skills shortages continue to constrain tourism. Many positions are temporary or seasonal, limiting career development and access to training. ILO data highlights the critical need for communication, collaboration, management, digital, and green skills. According to ILO and Cedefop, employers increasingly value transversal skills like communication, teamwork, and self-management, alongside managerial capabilities, digital competencies, and green skills related to sustainability.

Strengthening training systems, promoting formal employment, and implementing inclusive employment policies are essential to transforming tourism’s fragile recovery into resilient and inclusive growth.