Resilience of Human Resources in the Tourism Industry: Case Studies of a Major Travel Agency in Japan

The tourism industry has been facing a severe labour shortage since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A primary contributing factor to this situation is the widespread layoffs that occurred during the pandemic. Additionally, the voluntary resignation of personnel from the tourism sector has emerged as a notable reason for this labour deficit. Historically, the tourism industry has grappled with high employee turnover rates, even before the pandemic, which has adversely affected its efficiency in Japan. Consequently, the resilience of human resources is a critical issue for the sustainable development of the tourism sector in Japan. Given that the tourism industry primarily deals with intangible products, the quality of the customer experience is heavily reliant on the performance of frontline staff. Therefore, human capital is one of the most essential factors for success within this industry.The objective of this paper is to investigate the critical factors contributing to human resource resilience within the tourism industry, focusing on both management practices and the characteristics of individual employees. This study examines the factors that contribute to early personnel turnover, considering not only the managerial aspects of the industry but also the individual attributes of employees, with a particular emphasis on case studies from travel agencies in Japan.