Research / Publications > Productivity and Tourism
Productivity and Tourism
Productivity rates can be impacted by many factors, however many tourism industries face productivity challenges because much of the work is labour intensive. Furthermore, in the case of a sector such as tourism, the definition of productivity is complicated, and any measurement must be multi-faceted.
Following consultations with tourism and productivity experts, two papers were developed that, based on the fields of Human Resource Management and Economics, summarize the current situation as it relates to productivity measurement and offer recommendations to further this research priority.
Building on the learning gleaned from these papers, the CTHRC commissioned an economic analysis of the data contained within the Human Resource Module of the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA-HRM). The study was launched in order to determine whether this data could be used to assess productivity trends in specific tourism industries. The findings from this initial study were promising. Labour productivity was found to increase with the capital labour ratio, the proportion of part-time hours, the share of hours supplied by women and immigrants and with the share of prime-age workers. In order to continue to understand this topic, the Council is investigating additional sources that will further augment our knowledge of productivity in the tourism sector and how to ensure its future growth. These sources include the Workplace and Employee Survey (WES), as well as the Capital, Labour, Energy and Materials database (KLEMS).
