Here's how surging demand for travel is leading to unique challenges and opportunities for the industry, according to experts

By Josh M. Carney

Summer travel season is reaching its peak and companies across the hospitality industry are having to service more customers with fewer resources. From hotels to airlines, staffing shortages are forcing companies to rethink how they can add value for employees — such as providing growth opportunities — to attract and retain workers that can both help meet surging demand and envision a long-term career in the industry.

We spoke with Top Voices across the travel and tourism sector about how the latest industry and economic trends are changing the way companies operate, what that means for workers and how professionals can prioritize their career advancement during the busiest times of the year.

Below are their takeaways. Share your own in the comments.

How businesses can invest in workforce development to attract and retain workers

More than 8.8 million travel and tourism jobs across North America were lost in the first year of the pandemic, according to Statista . Even as organizations across these industries continue operating below pre-pandemic staffing levels, growing trends such as blended travel — where consumers combine their business and leisure trips — has not only helped companies grow new services but stabilize their workforce, says Mike Dominguez , the CEO of a hospitality management company. If hotels are “getting some stability on all nights of the week,” he says local teams can better “balance and manage” their workforce.

To meet the increased demand for services, Dominguez acknowledges that more prospective employees are coming from outside the industry, but that some communities are still struggling to find frontline roles such as housekeepers. “We’re all preparing for growth,” he says, but societal obstacles, such as the lack of affordable and accessible daycare as well as temporary work visas , are stunting a potential rebound for certain roles: “It’s hard to get a housekeeper if they don’t have a place to put their kids.”

The shift to virtual learning during the pandemic also limited the amount of 16 to 25 year-old workers who provided a steady stream of flexible labor for hotels, Dominguez says. “We’re starting to slowly see that come back,” which is one reason why he believes “it’s important for us to put together career tracks” so workers better understand potential paths.

Outlining specific stages of career growth, providing opportunities for upskilling and investing in certification programs are a variety of ways he points to for supporting employees’ future growth. “Too many times we’ve told people ‘I’ll support your development,’ instead of helping them by saying ‘this is what a career path could look like,’” he says.

Investing in workforce development is a competitive advantage for travel and tourism companies, because “our industry has always been a training ground to teach people,” Dominguez says. “What I’ve always loved about this industry is if you work hard, if you want to learn…you can advance a career very quickly.”

?? Check out more of Mike Dominguez’s insights on how travel businesses can attract and retain talent.

How surging demand can set workers up for career growth

“Airlines are hiring like crazy right now,” and if you’re looking to develop a career in aviation, the summer travel peak is “a really good point to step in and progress your career 200% because you experience it full on,” says Adva Amir , a pilot for a North American airline.?

Companies across the industry are not only staffing up for in-flight roles but essential ground crew , dispatchers, terminal staff and more to accommodate the busy season. For those just beginning their career journey, Amir says not to stress about the starting role. “One good thing about working for the travel industry is if you work for an airline you can start as ground crew, then you can be a flight attendant and then you can be a pilot all in the same company.”

For those already in the industry, Amir says the surge can be a good time to use challenges that arise — such as weather and maintenance — to their advantage to get additional experience. “The best pilots are those who tried and did a lot of things in the industry,” from filling in for a gate agent to switching bases to a regional airport or high-traffic hub, she says. “Changing environments is really, really good for professional growth.”

For professionals outside the industry looking to find a way in, showing how you can support a team and “that you’re able to work with people” is critical, Amir says. Highlighting volunteer work, dedication to a side hustle or activities that show you’re “open-minded” is valuable to airlines who are looking for employees who can engage with customers. “Even me as a pilot, you may think I’m just sitting in a cockpit and working with the other pilot,” she says, “but actually I’m working with dispatch, maintenance, operations, ground crew, and we all need to work together to get one airplane safely and on time to its destination.”

Overall, “I see a lot of growth opportunities” during the busiest travel seasons, Amir says. Which is why she encourages workers to set long-term goals that will help them stay focused on their professional development when they may be strapped for time or resources. “Put goals to yourself,” she says. “It’ll be easier to progress and navigate your flight plan in order to get to your destination.”

?? Check out more of Adva Amir’s insights on how change can catalyze career growth.

Why emerging travel trends are leading to new opportunities across the industry

Even though the industry has yet to fully recover job losses brought on by the pandemic, worker shortages and changing consumer preferences for travel are leading to new opportunities for companies who are reinventing their pitch to attract new workers, says Rafat Ali , the founder of a B2B news and events company for the travel industry.

Spiking demand for travel among U.S. consumers is being “driven by people being able to work and live from anywhere in many industries,” Ali says. Remote workers who are able to stay for longer are also blending their business and leisure travel , which has bolstered the popularity of vacation rentals since the pandemic. Not only are more business travelers seeking out rental properties, but they’re booking closer to their stay, leading to new challenges for renters. The steady demand for rentals has led to a spike in roles, such as vacation rental manager or property manager, to effectively respond to consumers' needs. These positions are becoming “the new types of roles that you hire up in advance of summer,” Ali says.

The race to hire across the sector is also sparking “an obvious transfer of talent,” as travel and tourism companies have an opportunity to attract laid off workers in industries they have historically struggled to compete with, Ali says. He references how organizations, such as Singapore’s Changi airport , are trying to reinvent their pitch to knowledge workers as an opportunity to “build a career at the cutting edge of tech and real life” by showing how their roles work within a “live laboratory of human behavior.”

Industry-wide staffing across the U.S. are expected to not only recover from COVID but grow at the fastest rate among any sector by 2031, and these types of opportunities are what people coming into the industry are looking for, Ali says.?

?? Check out more of Rafat Ali’s insights on what the latest travel trends mean for industry workers.

Fuel growth opportunities by leaning on technology to do more with less

Travelers are booking their trips closer to their arrival time, and it's forcing some organizations to dedicate more resources to capture consumers, says Janette Roush , who leads marketing efforts for New York City’s tourism board. “Whether it is booking the actual trip or booking things that you are going to do once you arrive, this is all happening at the last minute,” she says.

That means workers are having to dedicate more time and money to connect with their consumers closer to their arrival. Roush says her team is starting to lean on the emergence of generative AI to help them respond more efficiently to these shifting habits. She believes chat bots are “a great opportunity” to learn more about what consumers want out of their next vacation and for brands to help make the most relevant information easier to find: ”That’s first party data that you can then mine to say, ‘what are people interested in when they come to our website?’”

Beyond consumer-facing use cases for generative AI, Roush says her team has the most fun using it to strategize new ways of approaching recurring events or projects. When her team was discussing how to improve programming for NYC Restaurant Week, they used generative AI to brainstorm new ways of tracking campaign performance and potential tactics for working with an existing partner. “It lets you look at your job in a different way that keeps you engaged because you’re continuing to learn,” she says.

Doubling down on educational opportunities around AI that can make workers more efficient in their response to surging demand is a valuable way for employers to invest in their human capital, Roush says. She’s started hosting trainings for her entire team to show them how they can use these emerging tools to help them in their role. “I don’t see it as a shortcut,” she says. “It’s a different way of doing something that might provide a result that’s more interesting than you would’ve done just on your own.”

?? Check out more of Janette Roush’s insights on using technology to reimagine your role.

About this article

This article features travel and tourism experts from LinkedIn's Top Voices program sharing their advice on how to prioritize career development during busy seasons. Top Voices is an invitation-only program featuring a global group of experts on LinkedIn covering a range of topics across the professional world, helping members uncover valuable knowledge relevant to them. You can learn more here .

Who is eligible to be a Top Voice

LinkedIn members who meet high trust standards, are consistently active on the platform and share valuable expertise are eligible to be a Top Voice, with the exception of LinkedIn and Microsoft employees, members who have violated LinkedIn’s User Agreement — including our Professional Community Policies — or individuals currently running in a political election for an executive, legislative or judicial position.

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