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Tourism Vancouver Island

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Employment Survey Results

Download the full report:
phase2employmentsurvey.pdf (1mb)

Objectives of the study:
  1. To describe the demographic composition of the current tourism labour force in the Vancouver Island region;
  2. To describe the types of jobs generated by the industry;
  3. To report on the types of job tasks performed by those employed in the industry;
  4. To investigate the origins of the current tourism labour market including individuals employment history and motivations for choosing to work in tourism;
  5. To report on the job satisfaction of those working in the industry;
  6. To compare the types of recruitment/job search and retention strategies used by employers and employees in the industry.

The data contained in this report were collected in the fall of 2002. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire, which was sent to a randomly selected sample of individuals from 800 tourism organizations in the Vancouver Island region. The sample was generated from the tourism database developed in Phase I of the tourism labour market. 341 surveys were returned for a 45% response rate from organizations (n=766 valid organizations).

The study findings include:
  • Tourism provides employment for a heterogeneous population;
    • Individuals of all ages were represented in the study, with 50% between the ages of 40-60 years.
    • Women (61%) were represented slightly higher than men (39%).
    • 67% of the sample had completed some form of post-secondary education.
    • Individuals from every region of the island were well represented in the study.
  • Tourism generates a diversity of different jobs, in a range of tourism sectors;
    • Individuals reported identification with 11 sectors of tourism, plus others not mentioned in the survey.
    • 40.4% of the sample was owners or operators, 46.6% were in management or mid management level positions, and 12.8% were either employed at the department or entry level within their organization.
    • The majority of individuals were employed on a full time year round basis with and 11% shift in full time to part time employment in the fall and spring seasons, and a 25% shift in the winter months.
  • Individuals perform a range of job tasks at all levels of employment;
    • There was a broad range of job tasks performed by those in the sample ranging from face to face customer service (for all levels in the organization) to administration and core management functions (financial management, marketing, research, strategic planning, human resources).
  • The majority of individuals enter the industry from other industries, and often have little or no background in tourism;
    • Patterns of migration into tourism indicate that the current labour market is comprised of individuals who shifted into tourism after working in all other areas of the labour market.
  • Individuals choose to work in tourism for a range of positive reasons;
    • The reasons why individuals choose to work in tourism are primarily positive in orientation. Tourism was seen as an industry where individuals could work in pleasant surroundings, with people and utilize existing business skills. For many, working in tourism was chosen because it was conducive to their lifestyle.
  • Overall job satisfaction within the industry is high;
    • In all but a few items, individuals working in the industry reported high levels of job satisfaction.
    • Areas where individuals are less satisfied include the level of benefits provided, training and education opportunities and opportunities for advancement.
    • Individuals using their job as their primary source of income were more satisfied with their level of income than those using it to supplement other forms of income.
  • Tourism provides jobs for local residents;
    • Tourism has provided a range of employment options for “local residents”, but has required in migration of labour as well. 33% of individuals said they had to relocate for their job, and 46% of the sample had lived in their community for less than 10 years.
  • Organizations and employees were found to use similar job search strategies, but differed in their preferred retention strategies;
    • Overall, organizations and employees in the region depend on a limited number of unsophisticated recruitment/job search strategies.
    • Employees were more motivated to remain working with their current organization if benefits, increases based on seniority and positive work environments are provided.
  • The training and education needs of those working in the industry are primarily in core management functions.
    • The sample indicated a range of training and education needs, primarily in management functions such as marketing, financial management, human resource management, research and strategic planning.
    • Additional training in use of technology was a training priority for 33% of the sample.
Recommendations emerging from this study include:
  1. Using information from the study to understand and advocate for the quality of tourism employment.
  2. Sharing the findings with tourism organizations to refine recruitment and retention efforts and to increase levels of job satisfaction.
  3. Encouraging educators to respond to training and education needs for individuals working within the industry.
  4. Finding ways to get qualified applicants and employers connected, and
  5. Developing a system to monitor issues in the labour market and continue further research.
Back to Employment Survey Page or Continue on to the In-Depth Interviews.