Travel & Tourism Employment in Vermont – 2005
prepared by Economic and Policy Resources, Inc.

The question is a familiar one- “Tourism jobs don't pay very well, so why should the state be promoting the travel-tourism sector as economic development?” In order to better understand the nature of tourism jobs and workers’ attitudes about working in the industry, a comprehensive survey was completed during the Summer of 2005.

The survey found that tourism jobs were: (1) good jobs, (2) met both the economic and lifestyle needs of industry workers, and (3) were rated highly by those working in the industry.

Tourism Jobs are Good Jobs.

Although most industry workers report they are not the primary earner in their household, the average industry worker works a full-time, year round job, and earns more than $34,000 [in 2008 dollars]. Workers who have selected the industry as their career earn nearly $40,000 [in 2008 dollars]. They earn even more [$48,000 in 2008 dollars] at their tourism job if they are the primary wage earner in the household. Roughly 2/3 of all workers report receiving many basic employment benefits from their tourism employers.

Tourism Jobs Meet the Needs of Industry Workers.

The tourism industry is a multi-dimensional industry which meets a broad range of employment needs for its workers in both full-time and part-time employment. The survey showed the majority of industry workers hold full-time year-round jobs, with nearly 2/3 (65.8%) working 12 months per year.

The survey also showed that only 29.1% of industry workers work part-time. The overwhelming majority of part-time industry workers (74.4%) indicate they work in tourism because it “fits their lifestyle" or they work to supplement the household's income (58.1%).

Just over 10% of industry workers own part or all of the business where they work, and of that owner/worker group 62.5% cite “good pay” as a motivating factor for working/owning in the industry. However, the overwhelming majority of worker-owners (91.7%) say they work in the tourism industry because it meets their “lifestyle” goals. Nearly half (41.7%) say that having “extended periods of time off” is important for working/owning in the industry.

Industry Workers Have a High Level of Job Satisfaction.

Given these results, it is not at all surprising that tourism workers report a high level of job satisfaction. A total of 80.6% of all tourism workers report they are at least “satisfied” with their tourism job, and nearly  2/3 (62.8%) would recommend the industry as a good way to make a living to a friend or relative. A total of 85.6% of career industry workers are “satisfied” with their job, with nearly half (49.0%) being “very satisfied” with their tourism job.

Industry workers practice what they say, with roughly 2/3 of industry workers having worked in tourism for more than 5 years. The average job tenure of career workers was more than a decade. Workers whose primary job is in the industry exhibit similar degree of job loyalty, with 57.7% having spent more than 5 years in the industry. These workers indicated they spent an average 8.8 years working for the same industry employer.