Creating opportunities in the tourism industry for those mothers who wish to return to the workforce

Abstract

As the title suggests the objective of this study is how the tourism industry can create opportunities for those mothers who wish to return in the workforce. Malta has the lowest female activity and employment rates in EU-25 countries. Unfortunately, the only available statistics shows the relationship between women and employment, but there is no statistics which shows the connection between mothers and labour. To achieve this, qualitative and quantitative methodology was used. Two methods which were employed were a questionnaire survey of 198 participants who were either unemployed or inactive and these were chosen from different areas. The thought behind this questionnaire was to get an idea of the willingness these people have to return to work and if they intend to join the tourism industry, while also showing the concerns they face if they ever return back to work. The qualitative part was analysed by the gathering of eleven interviews with hotels and two travel agencies HR representatives, and also by two interviews with mothers who returned to work in the tourism industry.