Human capital and business performance in the European tourism and hospitality sector

This paper examines the business performance of the European tourism sector, focusing on the three segments of Hotels and Restaurants (HR), Recreational and Cultural Activities (RCA) and Transport and Logistics (TL). This exploratory study is based on a sample of 6.000 companies operating in 17 EU countries during 2021, selected by the random sampling method and distributed equally among each sub-segment, providing crucial information on the financial performance and human capital of the tourism sector. Financial and human capital information was collected from the Orbis Europe database. The methodology uses a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to examine differences in financial performance indicators by group, specifically between the three segments of economic activity, size, and country where the enterprises are based. The results reveal significant differences between some enterprises' competitiveness indicators. The tourism sector is mainly made up of small and medium-sized companies.TL presents a higher volume of operating revenue. HR employs and has higher employee costs, followed by TL and RCA. However, TL has a higher average cost per employee, reflecting higher salaries, followed by RCA and finally HR. Profit per employer is highest in the RCA segment, followed by TL and RH. The EU countries with the highest profit per employee are the Netherlands, Sweden, Hungary, and Ireland.