The employment in the travel services sector in Australia has shown significant fluctuations over the past decade. From 2013 to 2023, the number of employees in this sector grew from 37.9 thousand to 45.67 thousand, with notable peaks in 2017 and 2018, and a drastic decline in 2020 due to the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The recovery from this downturn was marked by a strong rebound in 2021 and continued growth through 2023.
Year-on-year trends of particular interest:
- 2013-2014: 5.8% increase
- 2015: 5.49% decrease
- 2016-2018: Steady growth around 2.97% - 10.55%
- 2019: 5.33% decrease
- 2020: 26.53% decline
- 2021: 22.42% rebound
- 2022-2023: Continued recovery with 11.03% to 7.35%
The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) over the past five years has been relatively low, at 0.29%, signifying slow recovery phases post the pandemic shock. However, the forecast for 2024 to 2028 shows a more optimistic outlook with a predicted CAGR of 1.21% and a total growth rate of 6.18% over this period, indicating resumed and steady growth in the travel services employment sector.
Future trends to watch for include:
- Continued recovery and resilience in the post-pandemic tourism industry
- Technological advancements and their impact on travel service jobs
- Global economic conditions and their influence on travel demand
