The state of tourism in Slovakia has faced many challenges in recent years. Has the hotel and catering industry overcome the pandemic? What do the heads of the Slovak Associations of hotels and restaurants and the travel agencies expect from the current summer season?
What has changed in the tourism industry three years after the pandemic?
Which sectors have suffered the most from inflation?
What jobs are most in demand? And does the Slovak market offer positions for foreigners?
Is there interest in travelling to Slovakia? And which countries have considered Slovakia a dangerous region?
tourism in Slovakia before summer Máte problém s prehrávaním? Nahláste nám chybu v prehrávači.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the gastro sector in Slovakia has experienced particularly difficult times. It is still considered one of the most affected and threatened sectors. Marek Harbulak, head of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants of Slovakia, confirms that the situation in this business has improved in the three years since the pandemic began.
This is much better than during the pandemic. At that time, we saw a reduction of up to 30% in this area. However, this is nothing compared to the numbers before the pandemic. It has to be said that some of the facilities have changed their focus or their operating system. If we look at the comparison before 2020, the reduction in staff is between 15% and 20%. However, we have enough staff to provide a quality level of service.
Marek Harbulak adds that the demands on staff are higher in the summer, as this is the main tourist season. During this period, employers also look for more temporary workers, mostly students or senior citizens. However, according to the latest data, salaries in Slovakia have not kept pace with inflation. So can employers offer attractive working conditions for temporary workers?
We have enough students, even more than the labour market needs. But we need more commitment from schools and employers to work together to keep those students in the sector. Figures from previous years showed that graduates were not going into the hospitality sector.
In addition, a survey by Edenred shows that lunch prices in restaurants have risen by more than 40 per cent in some regions. Restaurants feel that people are cutting back. Is it true that inflation has had a significant impact on the labour market in this sector? Marek Harbulak continues.
We were worried at the beginning because, according to the data at the time, people were starting to cut back, especially when it came to shopping. However, I have to say that the winter season has shown the exact opposite. People have already built up a standard to which they are accustomed, and they do not want to lower their expectations for leisure and holidays. Despite the higher cost of living, they want to relax and go on holiday. Perhaps we will see a slight drop in interest in the off-season.
In our interview, however, he revealed to me that the labour market has a problem elsewhere. According to Marek Harbuľak, Slovakia is very closed to foreign applicants, especially from so-called third countries.
The politicians are convinced that there is enough free work capacity in Slovakia. But we continue to say that this is not true. We have also been trying to facilitate the employment of people from Ukraine since the war broke out. Figures show that of the people who have refugee status and have found work in Slovakia, about 10 per cent work in the hotel and catering industry.
According to Marek Harbulak the disadvantages in this sector also include few opportunities for home offices and working during the holiday season. What other challenges does the industry face?
What we need most are cooks and waiters. Unfortunately, the standards are high and we sometimes have problems finding qualified people. We also face the prejudice that this kind of work is poorly paid. Sadly, this is true in several EU countries. We also struggle with the way the labour law is set up, sometimes we feel that it is to the detriment of low-paid people. If the tax burden were reduced, wages would also be higher.
Concludes Marek Harbulak.
Travel agencies and the travel sector have also been affected by price increases. This market is also still recovering from the pandemic. Roman Berkes, head of the Slovak Association of Travel Agencies and Travel Agents, says that on average, trips have become 10 to 15 percent more expensive. He believes this is sustainable.
Destinations also try to keep high prices at a level that is competitive. If they were to pass on the costs in the prices, the interest in travelling to that place would drop. Countries that depend on tourism cannot afford to do that. Travel agencies design contracts well in advance. Sometimes a year in front. So the prices of current tours should not go up any more.
The war in Ukraine has had a significant impact on tourism in Slovakia. Roman Berkes says that foreign travel agencies have even cancelled trips to Slovakia. He says the situation was even worse than during the pandemic. Countries such as Israel, the US and Scandinavia consider our region a high risk.
The situation is still complicated, there is not much interest in travelling to Slovakia. That is why it is important to inform foreigners that Slovakia is a safe country. However, the market situation is gradually improving. We believe that this season will be better.
Roman Berkes recalled that the pandemic affected jobs in the tourism industry. A lot of people left the industry during that time.
We suffered huge losses and damage. People did not see the sector as secure and were understandably worried about their future. Long-serving workers also left. Unfortunately, they are coming back sporadically.
Although the tourism market is returning to normal, Katarína Bruncková, state secretary at the Ministry of Transport, also speaks of a shortage of employees in this market. There is currently a shortage of more than ten thousand employees in the tourism sector. According to her, the main reason for this is the departure of permanent employees to other sectors. The head of the Slovak Association of Travel Agencies and Tour Operators says that it is very difficult to find an employee with experience and knowledge of the destinations offered by a travel agency. Therefore, after years of pandemics, it is even more necessary for new employees to travel through the countries offered.
It is a wonderful job, but you have to love to travel. You have to get to know the services offered to customers, and that is not easy. However, the biggest interest is in tour sales and then destination managers. They take care of bookings, air tickets, hotel arrangements, rooms and communication.
Concludes Roman Berkes.
