Kolkata, Jan 25 (FN Agency) A year that was different and difficult in equal measure impacted both individuals and industries, and while some adapted more easily to the ‘new’ normal of working remotely, several like the contact-sensitive hospitality and tourism sector witnessed a sharp decline in business and therefore employment. On National Tourism Day, Indeed – the world’s #1 job site, took a look at hiring trends activity across the Hospitality & Tourism sector in 2020.
Data from Indeed, a real time indicator of labour market activity in India, showed that the hospitality and tourism sector in India witnessed a sharp 41% decline in hiring between 2019 and 2020. Job seekers’ appetite for tourism jobs also plummeted as job searches on Indeed was down 31%, over the same period. 2020, like 2019, saw the demand (job searches) for tourism jobs outstrip supply (job postings), only witnessing some form of parity in May 2020. Long after the lockdown was lifted and despite safety measures in place, hiring in the hospitality and tourism sector slowed down by half ( 51%) in December 2020 as compared to the same period last year. Of all the hiring in 2020, metro cities New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai accounted for nearly half of the job postings on Indeed. Maximum aspirants for these jobs, however, emerged from Jalandhar, Chandigarh, New Delhi, and Lucknow in 2020.
This was an interesting departure from the top cities in 2019 where job seekers looked for hospitality and tourism jobs, namely popular tourism hubs before the pandemic set in: Goa, Panchkula, Chandigarh, Guwahati and Delhi. “Though job postings and searches have seen a dip from pandemic-induced restrictions on mobility, while fear of the virus kept consumers away from traditional vacation spots, there is hope in a new year, and a new season of travel. All sights are trained on its recovery, which we hope will be spurred by the surge in domestic travel and the recently initiated vaccination drive,” concluded Sashi Kumar, Managing Director, Indeed India.