A LOCAL PERSPECTIVE
Hospitality offers opportunities for a better future for South African youth The tourism industry has been one of the hardest hit by Covid-19. In 2019, the sector contributed seven per cent to GDP — now, as a result of the pandemic, it contributes a mere four per cent. As such, it is vital to find new ways to revive tourism, such as the recent rise of digital nomads and ‘workations’. By Harpreet Singh Chhatwal, area senior HR director – Middle East & Africa, Radisson Hotel Group.
Y
oung people make up a third of South Africa’s population, around 17.84 million South Africans. Yet they are also the population group most affected by unemployment, according to Stats SA, with a record per cent unemployed in the first quarter of 2020 — and the pandemic has only further exacerbated the challenge of youth unemployment in the country. With such high unemployment rates, it might seem like there aren’t many opportunities available for young South Africans to make a better life for
themselves. However, one sector could play a vital role in reducing youth unemployment. The travel, tourism and hospitality industry, as a whole, is one of the largest employers in the country, contributing 4.5 per cent of total employment in South Africa in 2018 and employing more than 740,000 South Africans in that year alone. As the world begins returning to a semblance of normal, and more people are able to travel, the industry is expected to experience an economic boom leading to more job opportunities being created. The
22 Business Events Africa September 2021
International Labour Organisation (ILO) notes that the hospitality industry is one of the top job-creating sectors and has a significant multiplier effect on employment in other related sectors, estimating that every new job created in the hospitality sector supports 1,5 jobs along the supply chain and proportionately boosts the economies of local communities. More than employment, though, the hospitality industry also offers South Africa’s youth a wide range of opportunities for growth and development as well as a sense of purpose and dignity. www.businesseventsafrica.com
