In a groundbreaking move for the global tourism industry, the UN-Tourism (UNWTO) has launched a pioneering employment dataset emphasizing the tourism sector’s role in sustainable economic growth.
Saudi Arabia, Vice-Chair of the UN Tourism Committee on Statistics alongside Austria and Spain as co-chairs, has played a pivotal role in developing this dataset, which will help countries align tourism with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The dataset provides insights into tourism employment across ten major sectors and tracks gender, employment status, and other key demographics for the first time.
However, The Ageless Tourism Initiative, an advocacy group of the World Tourism Network founded to enhance the travel experience for mature tourists, advocates for including age-specific data on employees in tourism roles.
The Ageless Tourism initiative, co-directed by Adriane Berg, Founder of The Ageless Traveler, and Juergen Steinmetz, Publisher of eTurbo News and Founder of the World Tourism Network, emphasizes that this critical layer of information could encourage the hiring of older employees who bring a wealth of understanding and empathy for mature travelers – a demographic projected to generate 1.6 trillion trips over the next 25 years.
“Older travelers are often treated as incapable of adventure or discouraged from long-distance travel despite being active, curious, and enthusiastic tourists,” said Berg. “By hiring mature staff with lived experience, the tourism industry can better address the needs of older travelers, who deserve a welcoming and accessible experience.”
With Saudi Arabia’s leadership in the UN Statistics Committee and the Group of Friends on Older Adults and the Economy, Ageless Tourism urges Saudi Arabia and other committee members to expand the dataset’s scope to include employee age.
Such data could help gauge whether the tourism sector provides employment opportunities to mature adults – a crucial factor in reducing economic marginalization and income inequality among people over 60.
This new dataset, developed in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), supports several SDGs, including SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG 12 (sustainable consumption and production). Regularly updated, the dataset is anticipated to aid tourism ministries, economic agencies, unions, and researchers worldwide in developing policies that advance workforce diversity and enhance job quality within tourism.
According to Ageless Tourism’s State of the Tourism Industry Report on 60+ Tourists, mature travelers spend more per trip and face more barriers to travel through ageism than any cohort.
The industry’s hiring of older persons will better serve this demographic, providing a catalyst for economic development and lifting the dependency of many older people through employment opportunities. Ageless Tourism offers a consultancy for dataset leaders to provide vital guidance in age inclusivity.
For more information on the World Tourism Network and its interest groups, advocacy, and membership, go to www.wtn.travel
To join the Ageless Tourism Initiative, go to www.agelesstourism.com
