Brief

Accelerating tourism’s impact on jobs

Lessons from market system analysis in seven countries

Short description

Tourism is an important sector in many developing countries. Globally, it has been the highest generator of new employment and its importance will continue as long-term growth is expected to continue over the next 10 years. Positive growth in tourism has positive knock-on effects in supporting sectors such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing, retail, handicrafts, and financial services – one new job in tourism creates one and a half indirect jobs.

Tourism can be inclusive too. It offers opportunities for women, youth, and other marginalised groups such as migrants, indigenous and tribal peoples. It creates jobs for people of all ages and skill levels and provides opportunities for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) – enterprises of fewer than ten people employ almost half the workforce.

So where can development projects position themselves to drive the most change? The Lab has taken stock from seven of its tourism markets systems analyses to understand the common challenges and opportunities in a wide array of contexts. To find out how your project can quickly identify these challenges and potential opportunities, have a read of this tourism synthesis brief. ​

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