Imagining expanding your hospitality brand or personally contributing to a flourishing tourism market with immense growth potential? Australia's hospitality and tourism sector is experiencing a vibrant resurgence, welcoming visitors from around the globe and offering significant investment and career prospects.

Strengths & Opportunities: Australia's hospitality and tourism sector is in a strong recovery phase following the pandemic, with many indicators pointing to continued growth beyond pre-pandemic levels. The sector plays a significant role in the country's economy, generating over $32 billion in annual spending and supporting over 350,000 businesses, including 100,000 in regional Australia (ATEC, March 2025). Opportunities exist in meeting increasing demand, leveraging new technology adoption (e.g., cloud collaboration, digital ordering systems) to improve efficiency and customer relationships, and expanding distribution networks for tourism products. The Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) is advocating for government support in air access, workforce development, destination marketing, and digital transformation to ensure Australia remains a leading global destination.

Skills Shortages: The hospitality and tourism industry is rife with challenges, with labor shortages being a primary concern. Record turnover rates and wage inflation are increasing labor costs. More than half of hotel CFOs surveyed by EY cited labor shortages as the biggest strain on net operating income (NetSuite, April 2025). The sector depends heavily on people serving people, making talent in short supply a significant hurdle. There is an urgent need to rebuild workforce capacity to meet growing demand.

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