Thousands of foreign workers will have to be hired by Icelandic companies in the tourism industry over the next few years as the number of foreign travellers continues to grow. Economists at Arion bank project that the number of foreign travellers this year will be 27.5% higher than in 2014 and that the number will grow by 20% in 2015. The number of foreign visitors is projected to have grown to 2 million by 2018.
Labour market and infrastructure struggling to cope with the growth
Analysts at Arion bank presented their analysis of the tourism industry at an open presentation this morning. Arion bank economist expect the industry to continue to grow, exacerbate several challenges it is already facing. Among these is the shortage of skilled workers. To meet the projected growth the industry will have to hire foreign workers.
Anna Hrefna Ingimundardóttir, a specialist at the bank told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service that the growing number of foreign visitors was also causing significant strain on the infrastructure of the industry. Keflavík International Airport was already struggling to deal with the current numbers of travellers. The government had to respond immediately to these developments.
Labor shortages looming in tourism, restaurants
The most pressing challenge, however, was the inability of the domestic labour market to respond to the growing need for workers in the tourism industry. There is a pressing shortage of educated workers, not only in tourism but in various related service sectors, for example the restaurant industry.
Thousands of foreign workers will have to be hired by Icelandic companies in the tourism industry over the next few years as the number of foreign travellers continues to grow. Economists at Arion bank project that the number of foreign travellers this year will be 27.5% higher than in 2014 and that the number will grow by 20% in 2015. The number of foreign visitors is projected to have grown to 2 million by 2018.
Labour market and infrastructure struggling to cope with the growth
Analysts at Arion bank presented their analysis of the tourism industry at an open presentation this morning. Arion bank economist expect the industry to continue to grow, exacerbate several challenges it is already facing. Among these is the shortage of skilled workers. To meet the projected growth the industry will have to hire foreign workers.
Anna Hrefna Ingimundardóttir, a specialist at the bank told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service that the growing number of foreign visitors was also causing significant strain on the infrastructure of the industry. Keflavík International Airport was already struggling to deal with the current numbers of travellers. The government had to respond immediately to these developments.
Labor shortages looming in tourism, restaurants
The most pressing challenge, however, was the inability of the domestic labour market to respond to the growing need for workers in the tourism industry. There is a pressing shortage of educated workers, not only in tourism but in various related service sectors, for example the restaurant industry.
