Tourism and hospitality workforce survey to drive change

The 2024 Workforce Survey builds on a 2022 survey that reflected the post-pandemic employment climate. The data released today provides updated insights to understand the ongoing changes in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Overall, the 2024 survey shows a raft of improvements on the 2022 results.

Most respondents reported good training opportunities at work, a significant improvement from previous results. The proportion of respondents that indicated they intend to leave the hospitality and tourism sector has also dramatically reduced from around a third to less than one fifth in 2024.

However, job satisfaction remains low at 67.5%, despite increasing more than 5%, and remuneration satisfaction continues to be a challenge. Additionally, levels of bullying and harassment in the workforce have not improved, with almost a quarter of respondents reporting having experienced it, and around one third witnessing it.

The survey included 1,032 valid responses from both managers and non-managers across all sub-sectors of hospitality and tourism and captured a broad range of respondents, varying by demographics, roles, job levels and organisational types.

The results of the survey will be discussed by hospitality leaders and sector representatives nest week at a hospitality summit organised by the Restaurant Association New Zealand and Hospitality New Zealand.

As well as information about the contractual and relational nature of employment relationships in the hospitality and tourism sector, including wages, conditions and employment experiences, the survey included new questions related to thriving at work, employee wellbeing, and environmental sustainability to reflect the ever-changing New Zealand workforce.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment commissioned AUT to conduct both the 2022 and 2024 surveys. The report authors sought feedback from several key industry groups including Tourism Industry Aotearoa, Hospitality New Zealand, and the Restaurant Association of New Zealand. This resulted in a methodology that reflected the overarching goal of better understanding working conditions for workers in the sector. 

Read the full report in our tourism data insights section.

Tourism and hospitality workforce report