This report focuses on enhancing skills development and career progression for people employed in small, medium and micro-sized tourism enterprises (SMEs), to create more and better tourism jobs. The contribution quality jobs can make to building a competitive and sustainable tourism sector is discussed in the first section, followed by analysis of the sector’s labour intensity and labour market characteristics, which put significant strain on businesses to attract, retain and develop a skilled workforce, with productivity and competitiveness implications. Around half of the tourism workforce in OECD countries works in enterprises employing fewer than 10 people, while around three quarters work in enterprises employing fewer than 50 people. SMEs face a range of practical difficulties and constraints when it comes to making the most of the human resources available in the enterprise and planning for future skill needs. SMEs also typically lack the capacity and resources available in larger organisations to facilitate and encourage workforce development. The recurrent nature of interlinked challenges in the sector (seasonality, high share of SMEs, working conditions, recruitment and retention difficulties, high turnover and vacancy rates, poor image and weak training culture etc.) has implications for tourism workers and for the quality of tourism jobs, business performance and tourism growth. This highlights the need for innovative workforce development approaches to address these challenges and structural issues and underscores the need for comprehensive responses, with active involvement of public and private actors.

The report presents a selection of key policy measures to deliver sustainable tourism growth that, in turn, avoids repeating mistakes of the pre-COVID-19 era. The pandemic has dramatically changed the policy context for tourism. Looking beyond the immediate challenge to minimise the negative impacts of the crisis, foster safe travel, and support a sustainable recovery, many countries are now exploring the opportunity to fast track the move to greener, more sustainable tourism development. An integrated approach to tourism policy is key to achieve this objective, with input and support from industry and civil society. Particular emphasis is needed on environmental sustainability, inclusiveness, diversification, and innovation, prioritising visitor management over visitor attraction. There is no one-size fits all solution. Destinations are adopting a multiplicity of approaches to place sustainability at the centre of their tourism development. However, common to all is the overarching objective to evolve, sometimes radically, current tourism business models. It will be critical for all destinations to establish effective and representative multi-level governance mechanisms. Key policy considerations to help avoid potential pitfalls of the pre-COVID19 era, and implement a sustainable vision for the future include: Reconsidering perceptions of tourism success. A paradigm shift in perceptions is required across all levels of government and on behalf of all stakeholders, with a greater focus on environmental and socio-cultural pillars of sustainability. Adopting an integrated policy-industry-community approach. Policy-makers need to ensure that efforts to grow tourism are pursued within the wider context of relevant city, regional, and economic development strategies, and in close co-operation with industry and local communities. Mainstreaming sustainable policies and practices. Policy-makers, at all levels of government, should take additional steps to better support the transition to a green, lowemissions and climate-resilient tourism economy. Developing more sustainable tourism business models. Businesses have a key role to play by: adopting eco-responsible practices for transport, accommodation, food and attractions; better positioning tourism activities with a positive impact on sustainability; and using technology to better manage visitor flows. Implementing better measurement for better management. Countries require a robust, timely and disaggregated system of tourism statistics to determine the desired type and scale of tourism appropriate for individual destination.