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Though it received dozens of applications at a tourism-related job fair last weekend, the Regal International East Asia Hotel is still looking for qualified personnel for the posts of administration manager and dining hall manager. This de-spite the fact the positions have been vacant for more than half a year.
"There are many college graduates with tourism majors, but people we urgently need are managers with abundant experience and fluent English. It's really hard to find competent locals for high-level management posts," moaned Zhang Yilan, vice director, human resources department of Regal International.
Hotels are not alone. Shanghai's tourism trade is in urgent need of various professionals, the job fair organizer, Shanghai Tourism Professionals' Exchange Center, said yesterday.
At the fair, some 60 operators, including 20 four- or five-star hotels, six big restaurants and 10 travel agencies, offered a combined 2,000 vacancies, most of them for experienced staff, the organizer said.
The desperate demand list included: hotel managers, senior chefs, expo organizers, tour guides, swimming and tennis coaches.
Industry insiders attributed the increasing demand to the booming and highly competitive tourism trade in the city.
"More luxury hotels have rushed in to the local market in recent years, taking away our well-trained managers," said Zhang.
The number of local star-rated hotels has risen to 300 from 116 in 1996, according to the Shanghai Tourism Administrative Commission.
Travel agencies are seeing a similar, if more intense, rivalry. Earlier this year, the number of local travel agencies allowed to deal in overseas trips was expanded to 32 from 5.
"We are terribly short of experienced tour guides good at foreign languages," said Zhang Kangmei of Shanghai Bashi International Travel Service, a new entrant in the overseas tourism business. Realizing the talent gap, Bashi has launched language training for its staff.
The tourism sector brought in 95 billion yuan (US$11.45 billion) in revenue last year, 28 billion yuan more than in 1996. It is estimated that the number of overseas tourists will exceed 2.5 million this year, according to the commission, which is working on favorable policies to help the industry's development.
For instance, it plans to develop 10 international expo organizers within three years during which time training programs will also be offered to 100 expo professionals.
(Eastday.com November 30, 2002)
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