The Future of Work in Hospitality: A Third World Perspective from Indonesia

Before the current pandemic, WTTC estimated that more than 330 million people worked in the Travel and Tourism industry. This sector played a pivotal role in poverty eradication and inequality reduction.After the pandemic, some 121 million jobs have been lost. The majority of the work was in Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in developing countries. This paper will examine what its rebuilding means for hospitality workers. Using descriptive library research, this paper will focus primarily on Indonesia. Hospitality will remain labor intensive and “high touch”. It requires physical and emotional contact between consumer and producer. “Soft skills” (empathy, emotional, social and spiritual intelligence) rather than technical skills are the keys to success. The four dimensions of work (Formation, Product, Process and Remuneration)can be applied to hospitality work. Hospitality work can also help respond to the global pandemic in mental health. An appropriately designed travel experience has proven to be very therapeutic.Hospitality is one of the more resilient, innovative and flexible industries in the world. This paper will focus on the kind of travel that will not have a disruptive impact on the environment nor contribute to global warming. Rather it will foster global solidarity and cross-cultural understanding. There is a need to view these changes as ultimately beneficial for the planet as well as global tourism communities. Then future travelers will have the best and most informed human experience they possibly can.

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