In the second quarter of 2023, the accommodation establishments in Portugal, as well as catering and other tourism activities, reported a substantial surge in employment.

According to statistics revealed, the industry now has a total of 332,400 workers, which is 28.8% as compared to the previous year.

Moreover, the data has reported that between the months of April and June of this year, the workforce increased by 6.7%.

This figure pertains to the employees holding jobs in restoration, accommodation, and relevant sectors in the overall economy.

Consequently, this figure indicates a 0.4% rise in comparison to the corresponding period of 2022.

Workforce qualifications

During the months of April, May, and June of this year, 54% of the overall workforce of Portugal reported having a secondary education or qualifications surpassing that.

In addition, this workforce makes up the entirety of the people working in the hospitality and accommodation sectors, as well as any other relevant markets.

The employees with these qualifications have increased by 5% in this quarter, in comparison to the same months back in 2022.

It was further revealed that this data set is proof that the sector is showing a continuous upward trend in the qualifications of employees being hired.

Furthermore, this trend is fairly recent and is being highlighted by previous statistics.

For example, back in 2017, the sector had only 40% of employees who met or surpassed these qualifications.

Decrease in tourism

As per the data obtained, the tourism sector in Portugal in 2021 faced a steady decline, especially where its workforce is concerned.

Back then, around 332,400 employees were recorded, which was due to the number of people going unemployed at the time of the pandemic.

Overall, this figure indicates a decline of over 1.5% when compared to the figures reported in 2022.

In 2021, Portugal boasted no less than 74,000 active tourism companies operating throughout the country and making marketing efforts to attract more people.

New initiative

In March of 2023, the Ministry of the Interior in Portugal decided to take charge of tourism, encouraged by the rising numbers.

As a result, it launched a new initiative, which comprised a total of 20 different measures.

These included a detailed strategic plan, which will cover the entire workforce in the tourism sector and strengthen it by around 20%.

Talking more about the initiative, the Ministry of the Economy and Maritime Affairs added that the main objective of this agenda is to aid in the improvement of the workforce.

Consequently, the initiative is going to help elevate the number of qualified employees in the workforce by offering them secondary or higher education.

The Ministry hopes that its efforts will help improve the capabilities and educational qualifications of at least 10% of the workforce employed in the tourism sector.

According to the Ministry, it is hoping to augment the enrolment of students from across the country into programs that are specifically designed for tourism.

One of the goals of the initiative will, thus, be to enhance the workforce present in the sector by around 20%.