Tourism employment: Towards an integrated policy approach

The exponential growth of Turkish tourism made the industry an important area of employment for a variety of groups in the labor market. This paper aims to define the structural dynamics of the tourism labor market and the problems that may potentially hinder tourism development at large. The mismatch between the needs of the labor market and the available labor force causes a qualitative degradation of tourism services. Given government's commitment on tourism as an industry generating both employment and revenue, strong contribution through policy making is necessary in order to improve tourism industry in general and tourism employment in particular. The integrated policy approach combines tourism policy, education policy and labor policy to form a common denominator that would enhance tourism employment, hence tourism industry across the board. Copyright © 2010 anatolla Printed in Turkey. All rights reserved