Dar es Salaam (ILO News) The International Labour Organization (ILO) is organizing a Sub-regional tripartite workshop on the promotion of the ILO Guidelines on decent work and socially responsible tourism in Arusha, Tanzania from 21 to 22 May 2019.

The workshop, to be officiated by the Director ILO Country Office for Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, Mr. Wellington Chibebe, will be attended by about 40 representatives of workers’ and employers’ organizations and governments from the three countries - Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and other relevant stakeholders.

It is aimed at knowledge sharing among the participants on policy priorities for the design of holistic sustainable tourism development policies with a view to improve productivity and working conditions in the sector and capacity building on the promotion of the above guidelines. It will focus on the role of tourism as a catalyst for jobs, inclusive socio economic development and poverty reduction in rural areas and will pay particular attention to gender equality issues.

Themes to be covered at the workshop will include:

• Promoting full and productive employment
• Promoting sustainable enterprises
• Investing in the human resource development, addressing the need for targeted training and preparing for the future of work in a fast evolving services sector
• Implementing international labour standards and promoting rights of people and groups vulnerable to discrimination, people with disabilities and gender equality and
• Promoting effective social dialogue between workers’, employers’ and government representatives and giving workers a voice within the tourism sector

Globally, tourism directly and indirectly contributes to job creation, particularly for women and young people, while fuelling growth through micro-, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) : Economic Impact 2019, in 2018, travel and tourism overall (directly and indirectly) generated 319 million jobs.

In 2017, tourism overall contributed to 9.7% of Kenya’s GDP, and is expected to rise by 5.1% annually to reach 9.1% of GDP by 2028 and over 1.1 million jobs were created by the industry, representing 9 per cent of total employment. In Tanzania the total contribution of tourism to GDP was 9%, and is expected to reach 10.1% in 2028. The sector generated 1.1 million jobs representing 8.2% of total employment. In the same year, Uganda’s tourism industry contributed 7.3% of GDP, which is forecasted to grow slower with a rise of 5.7% annually to 7.1% GDP in 2028. The sector overall generated approximately 605,000 jobs, representing 6.3% of total employment, a number expected to reach almost 900,000 jobs in 2028 (6.2% of total employment).

The three countries have great potential to further develop their tourism industry. However, decent work challenges including poor working conditions and low skills levels need to be addressed with a view to improve the industry’s productivity and competitiveness and take full advantage of its potential for economic development and jobs creation.