University of São Paulo Research Highlights Tourism as Key to Employment
According to data from Embratur, Brazil received around 5.91 million foreign tourists in 2023. There is an extensive network of workers to serve all these people. When analyzing Brazil alone, it can be seen that the sector was responsible for generating more than 214 thousand jobs in 2023, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Such is the importance of tourism in employability that it is recognized in SDG 8 (Sustainable Development Goals) of the United Nations , which deals with decent work and economic growth.
Although these numbers are high, work in the tourism sector still faces issues such as informality, low salaries, depending on the position, stereotyping, among others, says Milena Manhães Rodrigues, a PhD student in Tourism at the School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities at USP.
Wide, but with problems
Working in tourism offers a variety of opportunities in different areas: from accommodation, agency, transportation, food to events and tourism planning. “Most of the positions are temporary, have high turnover, low pay and long working hours. There is a contradiction between the economic importance and the practice of hospitality in the services provided to tourists, in the face of the devaluation of workers,” explains Milena.
It is in this context that informality and flexibility in working conditions come into play, adding the problems of outsourcing in the events sector and the lack of employment ties for guides who work as freelancers, providing services to travel agencies, to the tourism equation.
Devaluation
The researcher comments that, with several positions that do not require much training or previous experience – such as cleaning and customer service activities – come low salaries, instability, young workers working in activities that they consider temporary and the devaluation of female work.
“In Brazil, occupations related to cleaning and housekeeping are traditionally undervalued and have a female profile and receive on average one minimum wage, while other tourism workers earn between two and three minimum wages,” adds Milena. The difference in salaries and positions held is not limited to this aspect; it is also reflected in stereotypes, especially in interactions involving gender, class, race and ethnicity, age and legal status.
Changes
The relationship between work and tourism is a relevant social issue and object of research. The researcher cites, as an example, Labor Movens – Working Conditions in Tourism” , a Teaching, Research and Extension Group created in 2020 at the University of Brasília.
For Milena, the university has the important role of investigating this area that is constantly being updated and changing, “so that tourism becomes more than just a job generator: a career opportunity,” she emphasizes.