Domestic and international tourism in New Zealand has grown significantly in the past decade and shows every sign of continuing to do so. A vital component of the tourism industry is the accommodation sector. Over 3000 accommodation enterprises employ more than 20,000 New Zealanders on a full time equivalent (FTE) basis and bring important economic benefits to both rural and urban settings. The accommodation sector is characterised by considerable uptake of new information and communication technologies (ICT) in areas such as bookings, property management and back-office functions. This report aims to create a better understanding of how ICT adoption is influencing the demand for, and use of, labour in this important sector, and how enterprise owners and managers feel about the training issues that stem from influences. Our research is based on: (i) a review of global and local research in tourism, ICT and labour use; (ii) in-depth interviews with 160 small accommodation providers conducted between 1998-2004; (iii) in-depth interviews with 6 large hotels in the Auckland region; and (iv) a nation-wide survey of accommodation providers (468 responses). Our findings reveal that ICT adoption is having important impacts on labour use and demand in both small and large enterprises, but that we need to view these as part of a broader evolution in the competitive context within which the sector operates. We conclude with the presentation of our major findings and some thoughts on approaches that may enhance the ability of the accommodation sector to cope with the complex interactions between ICT adoption and labour use.
Purpose
• Review and synthesize both global and local research dealing with the nexus between accommodation, ICT and labour use. Our aim is to identify key trends and themes that are emerging in the developed world (primarily Europe, North America and Australia) and to contrast these, wherever possible, with existing research in New Zealand.
• Develop a clearer picture of the current competitive context facing the accommodation sector in New Zealand, in order to provide a backdrop to the ICT and labour use dimensions that form the focus of the research.
• Gain an understanding of how ICT is being adopted and used in the New Zealand accommodation sector and to review wherever possible the differences that exist between small and large operations and between those operating in rural and urban settings.
• Ascertain current industry perspectives on labour demand/availability and the ability of the existing labour market to meet evolving demand. To review how enterprise size and location may influence these perspectives.
• Provide a clear sense of how ICT adoption is influencing the demand for labour and the workplace organisation and use of workers. In particular we focus on themes of hiring, internal communication, productivity, turnover and retention, and processes of labour out-sourcing.
• Gather information from the industry on how they perceive training requirements and provision, to examine satisfaction with external training programs and the role of internal training approaches.
• Synthesize and discuss findings and present some tentative ideas that can assist the accommodation sector, and the regions that depend on it, to better anticipate and respond to the sometimes complex links between ICT adoption and labour demand and use.
The objectives are addressed through the use of a triangulated research approach which involves a mixture of literature reviews, in-depth interviews with small and large enterprises, and the use of a nation-wide survey.