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India tourism could face 11 million-worker shortfall by 2035: CBRE
Our read
Workforce availability is likely to become a competitive advantage for Indian hotel chains, making smaller-market growth costlier and less evenly distributed.
For operators
Build local training and retention programmes into tier-II and tier-III hotel expansion plans to reduce staffing risk as capacity grows.
Watch
Announcements of hotel-linked training centres in tier-II and tier-III markets
The report,
CBRE projects a potential shortfall of around 11 million tourism workers in India by 2035. Hotel expansion into tier-II and tier-III locations is creating training gaps, prompting calls for better retention, decentralised training and specialised skills.
- Projected tourism workforce shortfall by 2035
- around 11 million workers
- Tourism direct and indirect employment
- 84.6 million
Reported figures
From the report. Source details below
| Tourism direct and indirect employment: | 84.6 million |
|---|---|
| FY2024 domestic visitor spending: | USD 162.9 billion |
| FY2024 international visitor spending: | USD 32.5 billion |
| FY2024 tourism GDP contribution: | 5.2 per cent |
What to watch next
- Hotel disclosures showing rising vacancies, attrition or employee costs
- Hotel opening delays explicitly attributed to staffing shortages
- Training-provider disclosures showing higher completion and hotel-placement rates
The counter-case
The case against this reading — not reported by the source.
The 11 million-worker gap is a long-range scenario, not an observed shortage. Slower tourism growth, delayed hotel openings, higher wages, worker mobility and productivity gains could materially reduce it. The signal also lacks a clear link to listed retailers’ earnings or near-term operating costs.
The source
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