Jobs In The Middle East: Tourism

The Middle East economy is a fast-moving beast, ensuring that there are always plenty of opportunities for jobs in the Middle East. This is especially true in wealthy countries such as the United Arab Emirates. What is the most recent sector of the Middle East economy to experience a rapid surge of growth? Tourism.

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As of the summer of 2008, it was estimated that the entire Middle East region would require the creation of at least 1.5 million more jobs in the tourism and hospitality industry for the upcoming decade. Another estimate suggested that the region would require 200,000 more pilots for its planes--a phenomenon that is related to the rapid growth of the tourism sector.

However: enough of future projections. As of right now, the tourism and travel industry in the Middle East risks being slowed from its potential growth by the lack of qualified employees. For many economic leaders, especially in the United Arab Emirates, slowing down is simply not permissible.

Hotel and resort builders in the Arab Emirates feel an obligation to increase the rate of employment in their home country, and to push its economy to go even faster. The people working at the highest levels of the tourism sector here are full of initiative. They are not the kind who just "let things happen." They are used to building businesses from the ground up, and putting in 80 and 90-hour workweeks to make sure that their businesses grow. They see the current situation as just another challenge to overcome.

What is the current situation? There are lots of Middle East job openings in the tourism sector, but not enough qualified employees. Not just anyone can work in the tourism industry. Almost every position high- and mid-level position in the industry requires education. Foreign languages, business, and international economics, are all required subjects for any high-level employee who seeks to take advantage of the best Middle East careers in this industry.

Unfortunately, educated young people are not always attracted to tourism, regardless of how many jobs in the Middle East are available in this sector. Youth who possess the management education that would be perfect for managing a hotel or spa are attracted by computer and IT giants, such as Google or Microsoft. Or, they go into trades such as investment banking. These are considered more "respectable" careers than tourism, a reputation that industry leaders are seeking to change.

The way they plan to implement this change is by promoting careers in tourism and hospitality among young graduates, and actively recruiting qualified individuals. Many of the biggest entrepreneurs in the UAE have pledged to make the tourism industry more appealing to ambitious young people, and thus ensure the growth of the community.