News · 19 October 2026
Tourism jobs in Europe: 40.7 million, and not enough people
The World Travel & Tourism Council's new Europe report counts 40.7 million jobs supported by travel and tourism and warns that the sector needs more workers than it can find. If you hold a degree in another field and you're thinking about hotels, here's what the numbers do and don't tell you.
Europe's travel and tourism sector supported 40.7 million jobs in 2025, around one in ten.[1] That's the headline figure from the report the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) put out on 9 October 2026, at its 26th Global Summit in Valletta.[1] It expects the sector to support more than 50 million jobs in Europe by 2036, and it warns that the sector already needs more workers than it can find.[1]
Say you've finished a degree in business, languages, law or something else, and you're wondering whether there's a future for you in hotels. That last point is the one that concerns you most. It's also the easiest one to misread.
How many tourism jobs are there in Europe?
The full title is Travel & Tourism in Europe: A Deep Dive Into Growth, Outlook and Policy, and it covers two things: how big the sector is, and eight priorities for governments.[1] Here are its main figures on jobs and growth:[1]
| Measure | WTTC figure |
|---|---|
| Jobs supported by travel and tourism in Europe, 2025 | 40.7 million, around one in ten |
| Share of Europe's economy, 2025 | 9.4% |
| Sector growth forecast, 2026 | 3.1% (wider European economy: 1.1%) |
| Jobs forecast, 2036 | more than 50 million, 8.3 million more than in 2026 |
| Young people's share of direct jobs | 13.1% (wider economy: 8.3%) |
| Projected workforce shortfall by 2035 | Germany 26%, Greece 27% |
WTTC itself says its forecasts can shift with economic and political conditions.[1] So treat 2036 as a direction, not a promise.
Is there a shortage of tourism workers in Europe?
WTTC thinks so. The sixth of its eight priorities is all about people: attracting talent and upskilling it.[1] The sector also employs a lot of young people: they hold 13.1% of its direct jobs in Europe, against 8.3% across the economy as a whole.[1] In Germany and Greece, WTTC expects the workforce to be 26% and 27% smaller than the sector needs by 2035.[1] Among its fixes are apprenticeship pathways and wider recognition of the Hospitality and Tourism Skills Passport.[1]
Here's what the release won't tell you. It doesn't split the gap by job, so you can't see how many of the missing people would be receptionists, cooks or managers. It names no other countries either. Nobody can honestly read a management post into these numbers. They show a sector that's short of people now, with gaps of more than a quarter projected in two countries by 2035.[1]
What does it mean if you're switching into hospitality?
A shortage isn't a job offer, and a degree in another field isn't hotel experience. The gap you'd have to close is practical: how a hotel runs, how rooms get priced, how you lead a team on shift.
Your first degree still counts, though. Our Postgraduate Diploma in Hospitality Management at BHMS takes a bachelor's degree in another discipline, so you don't have to start a second bachelor's.[2] The six months on campus in Lucerne include Supervisory Development, Yield and Revenue Management and two courses in F&B Operations.[2] The shorter Graduate Certificate's core includes Revenue Management, Innovation and Change Management and Emotional Intelligence in the Hospitality Business.[3]
Graduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma: which fits you?
| Graduate Certificate[3] | Postgraduate Diploma[2] | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 10 weeks over three months, two intensive terms | 12 months: six months of study in Lucerne, then a six-month internship |
| Internship | None | Six months, in Switzerland or worldwide |
| Award | BHMS and Robert Gordon University (UK), 30 ECTS | BHMS, 60 ECTS |
| Entry | Associate degree or equivalent plus at least two years of full-time work; IELTS 6.0 | Bachelor's degree in another discipline, or an associate degree or equivalent plus two years of full-time work; IELTS 5.0 |
| Intakes | November 2026, May 2027, August 2027 | November 2026, February 2027, May 2027, August 2027 |
The biggest difference is the internship. With the diploma, you spend the second half in the industry. Placements in Switzerland pay CHF 2,390 a month gross, before deductions for room, board and social insurance.[2] The certificate has no internship at all: it's ten weeks of taught study.[3] If hotel experience is the gap in your CV, that settles it.
The certificate suits a different person. Think of someone with two years of full-time work behind them who wants ten weeks of study and a dual award from BHMS and Robert Gordon University.[3] On cost, the diploma is CHF 40,700 for the year, all-inclusive.[2] You'll find the certificate's fee on the fees page.
A word on languages, because it matters. Placements inside Switzerland depend very much on German, French or Italian.[2] Speak none of the three? Then plan on placements abroad, too: they're arranged worldwide.[2] German actually counts twice: it helps with Swiss placements, and Germany is one of the two countries the WTTC release names with a projected shortfall.[1][2]
What's the next step?
If you want the year with the internship, start with the Postgraduate Diploma in Hospitality Management. Already working, and the ten-week route sounds right? Read the Graduate Certificate page instead. Each one lists the modules, the entry rules and the coming intakes. For both programmes, the next one is November 2026.[2][3]