Phu Quoc faces serious staff shortage in tourism industry

The robust growth of hotels and resorts on Phu Quoc Island in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang has resulted in a shortage of workers in the tourism industry.
Phu Quoc faces serious staff shortage in tourism industry ảnh 1A corner of Phu Quoc island (Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNS/VNA) - The robust growth of hotels andresorts on Phu Quoc Island in the Mekong Delta province of KienGiang has resulted in a shortage of workers in the tourism industry.

Pham Cong Son, CEO of The Shells resort, said that businesses for many yearshave been seriously concerned about the shortage.

The severe shortage of senior managers at five-star hotels is partly due to theless-than-ideal living conditions on the island, Son said at a recent round-tablemeeting held by Tuoi Tre newspaper on Phu Quoc Island.

To retain workers, businesses have to offer competitive salaries and benefitsas well as good accommodations. However, a high turnover rate remains aheadache for hotels and resorts.  

Nguyen Huu Tuynh, a representative of Premier Residences Phu Quoc Emerald Bay,said his company had recently visited Can Tho city to recruit employees becauseof the staff shortage.

The company plans to hold a job fair in Kien Giang province to seek morecandidates.

“The local tourism industry is beset by shortages of manual and skilledlabourers. It is in dire need of senior managers,” he said.

Tang Chi Quyen, representative of Kien Giang province’s Department of Tourism,said that Phu Quoc contributed nearly 90 percent of the province’s tourismturnover.

The island is home to 12 five-star hotels and seven four-star hotels. As manyas 13,000 employees work in the tourism industry in the province, including11,500 employees at hotels and resorts, Quyen said.

Most of them hold elementary-level certificates at vocational schools or takepart in on-the-job training courses offered by businesses, he said.

Truong Sy Vinh, Deputy Director of the Institute for Tourism DevelopmentResearch, said Phu Quoc needs around 36,000 workers to fulfill tasks at 23,000rooms at four to five-star hotels.

Career orientation and job consultancy in the tourism industry for high schoolstudents play a vital role in attracting local employees to work in theirhometown instead of seeking jobs in major cities, according to Tran Viet Hung, Chairman of the HCM City Tourism Association.

Around 300 students graduate from high schools on Phu Quoc every year, Hungsaid.

The island has 300 projects with a combined registered capital of 17billion USD.

In the first six months of the year, Kien Giang province issued licences to 11projects with a combined investment of 12.2 trillion VND (526.6 million USD).

A total of 8,779 firms operate in the province, with most of them in theservice, tourism and hospitality sectors./.
VNA

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