Fast Facts

Highlights from: Human Resource Module of the Tourism Satellite Account

In 2010, the tourism sector accounted for 1.6 million jobs—9.2% of all jobs in Canada.
As a job creator, tourism industries were exceeded only by retail trade (2.0 million) and healthcare and social assistance (1.7 million).
Following declines in 2009, jobs in tourism rebounded in 2010.
In 2010, the food and beverage services industry was the largest employer among tourism businesses, accounting for more than 50% of all tourism jobs.
Due to a higher proportion of part-time jobs, the total number of hours worked per week was lower in tourism industries in Canada compared with jobs economy-wide.

The tourism sector will return to labour shortages in 2012, equivalent to 9,500 full year jobs.
By 2025, the tourism sector will see a labour shortage equivalent to almost 219,000 full-year jobs.
Increasing the rate of employment of entry-level occupations and accelerating the rate at which immigrants enter the tourism workforce by just 1% per year each over the next decade could alleviate up to 85% of the projected shortages.

Occupations within the food and beverage services industry tended to pay below the median of the tourism sector as a whole. This compensation trend was consistent in frontline and managerial positions for both full-time and part-time employees.
Alberta consistently reported salaries and wages above the national median. The Atlantic provinces, on the other hand, paid lower salaries and wages than the national median.
Within the industry groups, food and beverage services (74%) and accommodation (70%) businesses had the highest percentage of staff receiving gratuities.
Almost twice as many respondent organizations in 2010 offered training and development opportunities to their staff, compared with the 2008 study.
The most common benefits programs offered were group health and dental insurance, life insurance, and long-term disability.

In the tourism sector, one third of workers are 15–24 years old, compared with 15% in the general Canadian labour force. One third of tourism workers attend school full-time.
The tourism sector labour force is comprised of 52% women and 48% men
The accommodations industry employs almost three quarters of its labour force on a full-time basis. Comparatively, 51% of the labour force in the food and beverages services industry works full time.
Overall, the Canadian labour force and the tourism sector employ a similar proportion of people born inside and outside Canada.
Forty-two percent of the total tourism labour force has at least some postsecondary education.