Space to Grow: Job Transitions in Ontario’s Tourism and Hospitality Industry

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Ontario’s tourism and hospitality sector hard, with significant job losses and reduced prospects for near-term recovery. As part of the Tourism and Hospitality Emergency Response project initiated by the Ontario Tourism Education Corporation, Signal49 Research researchers examined 48 tourism-sector occupations and found that they have an average of nine potential job transition options.

Workers need the right combination of skills, abilities, knowledge, facility with tools and technology, and any special qualifications in order to maximize the number of transition options available. This is the most significant barrier facing displaced tourism workers. Their best approach is to focus on retaining and upskilling. Those workers whose jobs have few potential transitions may need to consider accepting a lower-paid job, transitioning out of the sector, or moving to another part of Ontario.