The Invisible Workforce
Who gives credit to the millions of people working in tourism and hospitality today?
Every other person on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh is part of a tour group. Tour guides are the lifeblood of the city — bringing history, heritage and culture to life. The same is true for every destination that depends on people to make it work. Tourism and hospitality support 366 million jobs globally — 1 in 9 according to the WTTC. A stat to celebrate.
But there are difficult truths behind that number.
The majority of tourism businesses are SMEs or micro-businesses. The work is seasonal, precarious and relatively low paid. In emerging markets like India, informality is the norm. No contracts, no safety nets. Not much is ever mentioned about the darker sides — the exploitation of women and children in informal work, or the sex trade. Turning a blind eye is unforgivable. Every visitor has a responsibility to call out bad practices and illegality wherever they find it.
And then there is one of the worst models of all: the free tour. Pay what you want. A trend I coined a phrase for almost two decades ago — free is the new F word. The tourist feels like they got a bargain. The platform takes a cut. The guide depends on tips. Extractive at best, degrading at worst. No-one should receive nothing for their insight and expertise.
And what about the silent disco — enjoyable in theory, if it were actually silent. In practice, fifty people singing at full pelt. Silent for the participants, anything but for everyone else.
Airbnb - borne out of a legitimate need - has morphed into the behemoth of short term rentals, earning USD12 billion in revenue with fewer than 9,000 employees. That's some profit margin for simply providing the platform for hosts and guests to transact. Accused of hollowing out the souls of destinations. Streets that were once neighbourhoods, residents displaced unable to afford to live locally. In response, the Fairbnb concept puts local communities at its heart — driven by purpose to give back, not extract. Not creating a generation of key lock kids.
Closer to home, Mercat Tours in Edinburgh - a B Corp - is spearheading fair and inclusive work for tour guides. The model can work. It just requires the will to put people on a par with purpose and profit.
The other major threat is AI and automation. Disintermediation at scale. Travel agents replaced by AI, with consumers going straight to source. And what of the tour guide? Replaced by the homogeneous AI itinerary - pointing everyone to the same places at the same time. Overtourism on steroids, AI-powered. From the invisible workforce to the vanishing.
Disintermediation has its place. But not at the expense of authenticity, integrity and trust.
Next time you consider a free tour, ask yourself who gains and who loses. Rather than make those employed in tourism and hospitality an afterthought, be mindful of them in the moment. In this old game it's fair play at a fair price.