Tourism sector lacks professionals

In the tourism sector, the demand for new workers, especially in hospitality, has increased in the North of Portugal in comparison to Greater Lisbon and Algarve. A report from Michael Page showed scarcity of resources in some operational roles that continue to be required by companies. Those roles include chefs, kitchen assistants and operations managers.

Up North, the recruitment covers essentially the luxury segment, pressured by the increasing demand of professionals by the opening of new hospitality units in Porto and the expanding niche of river-cruises in the Douro.

On the sector’s trends, the report reveals that the market is demanding qualified professionals in Hospitality Management. In addition, companies are also looking for professionals with strong analytical skills as well as training in some complementary areas, like marketing revenue management, customer service and multilingual.

“Dynamism, resilience, management skills, results-driven, analytical skills, pragmatism and problem-solving, besides a passion for the sector, are highly-appreciated by employers”, Francisco Emauz Ribeiro, Michael Page’s Associate Manager in Lisbon, referred.

Besides soft skills, the criterium of professional experience has become very important for strategy-related management positions.

Recruitment data also shows increasing stability for senior professionals in the sector both in terms of contracts and salaries. As an example, an operations manager can earn up to 100,000 euros annually.

Michael Page also noted a decrease in employment precarity, especially in operational roles, “due to the decrease in the seasonality of the sector and the inversion of the supply/demand logic.”