Factors Influencing Tertiary Students’ Decisions to Work in the New Zealand Hospitality Industry in the Post-COVID-19 Era

Abstract

The hospitality industry plays an essential role in the global economy and society. However, the global hospitality industry currently faces substantial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic, before which the industry had been thriving for more than a decade. COVID-19 caused a major shock to the industry, leading to economic losses, business closures, and job losses across all sectors. The restaurants and recreation industries were impacted by social distancing limits and temporary closures, and the travel and tourism sector was hit especially hard due to border closures and restrictions. Consequently, the hotel industry suffered the loss of both local and international travellers. Beyond these financial impacts, however, the hospitality industry is also facing critical labour shortages. Hospitality work perhaps appears less appealing than before, due to health risks, job insecurity, and work-life balance challenges, all of which have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Although COVID-19 restrictions are gradually lifting and business is resuming, staffing shortages remain a key challenge for the industry.

This study explores the factors that influence hospitality career choices for New Zealand tertiary students in a post–Covid landscape. Understanding student perceptions of the hospitality industry and initiatives that may boost its appeal as a career option can help the industry to address the labour shortage problem through evidence–based recruiting and retention strategies. The key findings of this study were as follows. Firstly, two factors, customer factors (CUS) and the influence of class material (CM), have a strong association with students' decisions to pursue a hospitality career. However, the three factors of leadership development (LED), job autonomy (JA), and social status (SS), were found to have no relevance to students' hospitality career choices. The study also identified that factors such as the working environment (WE), financial gains (FG), and service to society (SS) do not have a direct influence on overall hospitality career choice.