What is like to work in... the tourist sector

The Tourist Sector is of a great importance for the Italian economy. A proof of that is that In 2019 Italy was the most visited country in the world, with 65 million foreign arrivals (ISTAT). Emilia-Romagna itself has always offered a valid and varied touristic offer, which in the first nine months of 2023 attracted 9,536,972 tourists (Italian and foreign), a growing trend compared to the previous year (Regione Emilia-Romagna).
Emilia-Romagna offers a wide range of tourist attractions. Did you know, for example, that Ravenna preserves the greatest mosaic heritage dating back between the 5th and the 6th century AD? And that Ravenna has a Unesco site with no less than eight World Heritage monuments?
The city centre features a wide pedestrian area, and it’s easy to lose yourself strolling around all those monuments. Visiting Ravenna by bike means discovering both the city and its surroundings, combining sustainability and pleasure. Thanks to the network of cycle routes departing from the city centre, you can easily visit the historical centre or reach the nine beach towns of the Ravenna coastline. Along the various itineraries you will have the possibility to admire suggestive places, breathtaking views, landscapes of unblemished nature and historical remains.

But if tourism is so important, what is the employment situation in this sector?

Analyzing the data of Skills Intelligence Emilia-Romagna of the sector Tourism, it is interesting to observe that, from July 2023 to June 2024, 49.421 online job advertisements were published, i.e. 9,9% of the total online advertisements offered in the regional territory, with a decrease of 7,6% compared to the previous year.

It immediately catches the eye that the most sought after profiles, considering the ESCO level 1 categories, belong to Service and sales workers (47,0%), followed by Elementary occupations (19,6%) and Technicians and associate professionals (13,2%).

The five most sought after professional profiles (ESCO level 4) of the Professionals (ESCO level 1)

It is important to delve into the most sought-after skills and profiles at specialized levels.
 

Taking into consideration only the group of Professionals (ESCO level 1), the top five most sought after professional profiles (ESCO level 4) are:

• advertising and marketing professionals - 20,9% of the total ads in E-R
• personnel and careers professionals - 13,3%
• social work and counselling professionals - 11,0%
• pharmacists - 6,1%
• teaching professionals not elsewhere classified - 6,0%

None of these profiles is of HIGH difficulty of finding, instead, three of those are EASY to find.
This means that in Emilia-Romagna there is a strong need for Advertising and marketing professionals in the Tourist sector, but the profiles necessary to fill this gap are quite easy to find.

In the province of Ravenna, specifically, the most sought after higher skills professional (Manager, Professionals, Technicians and associate professionals) profiles (ESCO level 4) are:

• chefs - 159 in the last 12 months
• conference and event planners
• administrative and executive secretaries
• fitness and recreation instructors and program leaders
• pharmacists

So, if you have a professional profile that falls within those listed above, the province of Ravenna could offer great opportunities to you.

If, however, your profile is not yet among the most sought after, but you would like to delve deeper into the Tourism sector, you can find in Emilia-Romagna many training opportunities. These are the best in the region:

Economics of Tourism (University of Bologna) – first cycle degree/bachelor;

ITS Turismo e Benessere – 4 two-year post-diploma technical specialization courses;

Here can be found a list of all the IFTS programs approved by Regione Emilia-Romagna on “Tourism and Sport”.