Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Fundamentals
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TYPE
Original Research
PAGE NO.
44-50
DOI
OPEN ACCESS
SUBMITED
16 December 2024
ACCEPTED
18 January 2025
PUBLISHED
23 February 2025
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue02 2025
COPYRIGHT
© 2025 Original content from this work may be used under the terms
of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License.
Contribution of
Developing the Tourism
Sector to Reducing
Unemployment
Asst. Lect. Rasool Taher Rasool
Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, Karbala Technical Institute, Iraq
Abstract:
The Study addressed developing the tourism
sector and its contribution to reducing unemployment.
The researcher relied on description and analysis based
on describing and analyzing the phenomenon to extract
results.
In light of this, several hypotheses were identified as
follows:
1.
The contribution of millions of visits to
increasing the tourism sector's need for workers
2.
Developing the tourism sector leads to
graduates working in it
3.
The contribution of tourism institutes and
colleges in graduating a tourism cadre capable of
working efficiently in the tourism sector
4.
The contribution of historical and religious
places in Iraq that attract tourists to increasing the size
of the workforce
The Study reached a set of conclusions, the most
important of which was the absence of a strategic plan
to advance the tourism reality in Iraq and thus increase
the size of unemployment. The Study concluded with a
set of necessary proposals, the most important of which
are:
1.
Prepare a comprehensive national plan
prepared by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities by
appointing several graduates in coordination with other
ministries and government departments to work in
those departments in their specialization.
2.
Encouraging investment in the tourism sector,
especially in building large hotels and resorts, to
increase the number of workers in the tourism sector.
Keywords: Development of the tourism sector,
unemployment.
Keywords:
Developing, Tourism Sector, unemployment,
analyzing the phenomenon.
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Introduction:
Tourism is a permanent resource if it is
well exploited. The tourism sector is very important,
which has prompted developed countries to pay great
attention to tourism education for its major role in
building and forming human capital that acquires basic
skills, knowledge and experiences, which leads to
increasing
job
opportunities
and
reducing
unemployment. The unemployment problem is one of
the most important and dangerous economic, social
and political problems facing the economies and
societies of developed and developing countries alike
for many reasons, and its severity varies from one
country to another and from one society to another, as
those concerned with studying and analyzing it have
addressed it.
The spread of unemployment, especially among young
people, has become a global phenomenon and the
most severe and painful form of unemployment
among those with degrees. The data available now
about the unemployment problem in Iraq indicate that
the problem has been growing and expanding year
after year, and previous policies of ignoring and
overlooking have not worked.
The study attempts to shed light on the tourism sector
and its benefits and effects on unemployment among
graduates, as well as the most important trends that
led to the reality of tourism in Iraq, solving many of the
problems and obstacles facing graduates.
Study Methodology
First: Problem of the Study
The lack of interest in tourism and the increase in the
number of graduates in Iraq led to a rise in the number
of unemployed graduates.
Second: The importance of the Study
The importance of the research comes from the fact
that the tourism sector is a tributary that contributes
to the gross domestic product and the entire Iraqi
economy and that unemployment among graduates is
one of the biggest challenges facing the economy as it
affects its stability and cohesion and its negative
economic, social and political effects. Unemployment
increases poverty rates and leads to crime, terrorism
and other social repercussions, including helping to
create an unstable and unsafe environment that limits
local and foreign investment.
Third: Objective of the Study
The research attempts to shed light on the most
important and dangerous issue that tourism graduates
suffer from, which is unemployment, as an attempt to
analyze the reality of this problem and know its causes
and serious effects, considering that it has become a
serious threat to Iraqi society, with the proposal of
some solutions that we see as appropriate to limit this
dangerous phenomenon (unemployment) or alleviate it
to some extent.
Fourth: Research Hypothesis
1.
The contribution of millions of visits to
increasing the tourism sector's need for workers
2.
Developing the tourism sector leads to
graduates working in it
3.
The contribution of tourism institutes and
colleges in graduating a tourism cadre with the ability to
work in the tourism sector efficiently
4.
The contribution of historical and religious
places in Iraq that attract tourists to increase the size of
the workforce
Fifth: Methodology of the Study
The researcher relied on description and analysis based
on describing and analysing the phenomenon to extract
results.
Theoretical aspect
First: Tourism and its types
Tourism is generally classified into three types (Jalili and
Abdel Moneim, 2007: 3), which are:-
A- Local or internal tourism: It includes the activity of
residents in a specific area and those who travel within
that area (outside their living environment).
B- Inbound tourism: It includes the activity of people
(non-residents) who travel to another area (outside
their usual environment).
C- Departure tourism: It includes the activity of people
(designated) in a specific area and travel (reside) in
places outside that area.
With historical and cultural development, tourism has
diversified from what it was in the past. Its branches
have branched out, and it has become involved in most
areas of life, including (the Internet, Wikipedia: 2009)
-
Medical tourism means travelling for treatment and
bathing in health resorts in various countries, such
as Hammam Al-Alil.
-
Ecotourism: It means travelling to visit natural
reserves such as the forests in Mosul forests.
-
Marine tourism: It is one of the widespread types in
the Arab world, and it is concerned with countries
whose borders overlook the seas, such as Lebanon,
Egypt and Tunisia.
-
Shopping tourism: It is travelling for shopping in
countries characterized by an abundance of
shopping communities and an appropriate level of
prices, such as (Dubai), a shopping destination.
-
Sports tourism: It is one of the most famous types
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of tourism, attending sports games, the most
important of which are the World Cup
Championships
and
the
Gulf
Cup
Championships...etc.
-
Conference tourism is the activities accompanying
attendance
at
international and
regional
conferences.
-
Religious tourism: which will be discussed later
Second: The concept of unemployment
Unemployment is an economic phenomenon found in
most societies. It is one of the most difficult and
complex problems that have been and continue to be
faced in the economies of human culture. No country
has been free from this problem or phenomenon
throughout the ages; the economic dimension is
represented by the commitment to employ the largest
number of workers to increase production. The social
dimension provides the largest number of workers to
maintain the stability of society and social ties, and
countries always try to link these two dimensions (Al-
Artoushi and Al-Brifkani, 2013: 219). Unemployment is
defined as ((the state of having people who are willing
and able to work and are looking for it but cannot find
it)) (Al-Quraishi, 2007: 183). It was also defined as ((the
situation in which individuals are unable to practice
economic activity during a certain period as a result of
factors beyond their control, despite being of working
age and able to do so, willing to do so and searching for
it (Al-Sudani, 2010: 90).
Third: The role of the tourism sector in providing job
opportunities
The tourism industry absorbs many workers because
most services can only be performed through the
human element. Therefore, these services suffer from a
shortage of skilled workers. The impact of tourism on
employment varies according to the relative importance
given to tourism in the national income. It is very
important that the tourism sector contributes to
employing a large percentage of the workforce, and the
training agencies in the country can contribute a large
share in preparing several workers in the tourism field
for various foreign tourism markets to work in its
different fields, especially in the field of hotels. The
tourism industry also eliminates the problem of
unemployment among educated youth due to its ability
to absorb huge numbers of them in work in the tourism
sector, especially in hotels and tourist villages. (Alam,
2008: 350), According to estimates from the World
Tourism Organization (WTO UN) related work,
completing two beds creates one direct job opportunity
and three indirect job opportunities related to other
activities (Saad, 2007: 207). Table (1) Number of hotels
and beds for the Iraqi governorates for the year 2022.
Source: Ministry of Planning - Central Bureau of Statistics and Information Technology, Directorate of Trade
Statistics, Survey of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation Complexes for the year 2021, 2023, p. 5.
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We note from the previous table the following:
1- The number of hotels in Iraq is 2457, where this
number represents excellent, first, second, third and
fourth class hotels.
2- The number of workers in hotels is 7709 workers.
Where we note that the tourism and hotel sector and
providing job opportunities come first and last from
developing the tourism sector in all its fields (hotels
and other tourist facilities).
Fourth: The experience of the Kurdistan Region in the
process of reducing the level of unemployment in the
tourism sector
The availability of human resources with the
accumulation of cultural heritage and the growth of
economic and cultural exchange relations contributed
to enriching and accumulating services, especially in the
field of dealing with others, and this gained tourism in
Kurdistan and a solid foundation on which to rely.
To support this aspect, professional and scientific
centers for tourism and hotel training and specialized
schools were established to prepare human cadres to
work in tourism investment projects.
The following table shows the total number of tourist
arrivals, the number of hotels and the number of
workers in the tourism sector in the Kurdistan Region for
the period (2004-2011).
Table No. (2) represents the numbers of arrivals, hotels and workers in the Kurdistan Region
Year
2004
2006
2008
2010
2011
Number of
arrivals
105800
1192610
312844
4149463
4460170
Number of
hotels
70
140
280
384
495
Number of
employees
355
654
1754
1977
2043
Table from the data of the Tourism Authority / Kurdistan Regional Government
From Table No. (2) it is clear that the increase in the
number of visitors to the region from 2004 to 2011
from (105800) to (4460170) in 2011 and the increase
in the number of hotels from 70 to 495 in the same
previous years and also the increase in the number of
workers from 355 to 2043 workers.
This indicates the increased importance of the tourism
sector in reducing unemployment rates in the region
and raising individual income levels and raising the
level of economic development.
In addition to the degree of employment, the level of
employment and efficiency in the Kurdistan Region of
Iraq in various fields, some of which require large
numbers of unskilled and untrained workers in the
fields of transportation services, while the fields of
tourist guides and reception staff in excellent hotels
accommodate trained and skilled workers with
experience in using many languages, technique, skill,
tact and the ability to speak foreign and Arabic, and
employment in the tourism fields increases in the
summer season, and statistics indicate that job
opportunities in the year (2002) were weak and did not
exceed (2000) thousand job opportunities, while
employment opportunities rose to (110) thousand job
opportunities in the year (2011) and these
opportunities varied between workers, tourist guides,
investors and employees in the public and private
tourism sector, which leads to raising the purchasing
power of the people of the region and raising the
average income per capita in addition to increasing the
average annual income per capita for working people
from citizens and non-citizens, and this means reducing
unemployment rates in the region as a result of the
increase in tourist arrivals in addition to the impact of
tourism in increasing Job opportunities in productive
and economic establishments that are located within
tourist areas represented in the fields of food and
clothing production and sale, in addition to consumer
goods and other goods such as souvenirs and heritage
that tourists seek to obtain as a memory of the areas
they visited (Kafi, 2006: 7).
Practical Aspect
First: The contribution of strategies to develop the
tourism sector leads to reducing the level of
unemployment
The need to find strategies to advance the tourism
sector is represented by the need to develop this
important sector to reduce the phenomenon of
unemployment for graduates from tourism institutes
and colleges spread across the governorates of Iraq,
which provide the tourism sector with skilled workers.
The strategy for developing the tourism sector will yield
results for graduates of tourism institutes and colleges
through a set of developmental and subsidiary goals and
setting policies aimed at achieving those goals in order
to achieve the goal of the developmental strategy for
the tourism sector to reduce unemployment among
tourism graduates. A number of strategic directions
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have been set to develop the tourism sector in Iraq.
Through the above, we can summarize some points
through which we can put some solutions to reduce
the phenomenon of graduate unemployment as
follows:
1- The development of the tourism sector in Iraq
comes through increasing tourism revenues through
good promotion of religious and archaeological sites.
This is reflected positively on graduates and provides
them with job opportunities in hotels and tourist
facilities.
2- Tourism development must have a solid base of
important data for the number of hotels and tourist
facilities, and there must be a real vision for the
number of those accepted into tourism institutes so
that there is no army of unemployed graduates.
3- The private sector has an important role in creating
job opportunities for graduates through investing in
the tourism sector.
4- The public sector must have the largest role in
creating job opportunities for graduates through.
A- There must be a market for tourism labor in the
Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and an agreement
with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to find job
opportunities for them within the framework of their
specialization.
B- Opening development courses for graduates not only
in their field of specialization but also in the field of
tourist guidance, tourist data analysis and tourist spatial
analysis to inform tourists about the tourism sector in
Iraq.
Second: Hypotheses
1- The contribution of millions of visits to increasing the
tourism sector's need for manpower
The human element in hotels is one of the elements that
help sustain hotel activity and its presence is from the
presence of the hotel organization (Al-Saeedi, 2008:
115). Therefore, the need for manpower in tourist
hotels has increased as a result of the demand from
tourists or visitors to hotels, which puts great pressure
on hotel owners to request manpower to meet the
hotel's need for workers. The need for tourist owners to
manage these hotel projects increases, which leads to
the creation of great job opportunities for them,
especially tourism graduates. This demand occurs
during specific seasons and not permanently.
Table No. (3): Number of tourists arriving in the holy city of Karbala during the Arbaeen pilgrimage of Imam
Hussein, peace be upon him
Year
Number of tourists during
the Arbaeen pilgrimage
2017
15385000
2020
14553308
2023
22019146
2024
21480525
Source: Prepared by the researcher
The table shows the number of tourists arriving in the
city of Karbala during the Arbaeen pilgrimage of Imam
Hussein, peace be upon him, according to the
chronological order. In 2017, it was 15,385,000 million,
and in 2024 the number reached 21,480,525 million,
and in 2023 the number was higher, reaching
22,019,146 million tourists.
The lack of development of the tourism sector leads to
a failure to reduce the level of unemployment in
tourism institutions during the million visits, which
made some graduates work in other sectors or travel
outside Iraq to get suitable work. When the deduction
and employment of workers in the tourism sector is
non-existent, there is an increase in the level of
unemployment, which makes us accept the study
hypothesis that states:
There is a contribution of million visits to increasing the
need of the tourism sector for workers. We reject the
null hypothesis, which states: There is no contribution
of million visits to increasing the need of the tourism
sector for workers.
1- Developing the tourism sector leads to graduates
working in it
The most important threats facing graduates is the lack
of job opportunities after graduation, which pushes
them to work in places other than their place of work.
Not all of these graduates work in the tourism sector,
but a small percentage work in this sector.
From this, we conclude that the lack of development in
the tourism sector and the state's lack of interest in this
important sector pushed many graduates to work
outside the scope of tourism work, as graduates of
tourism institutes hold a certificate equivalent to
vocational secondary schools, which prompted many to
join the ranks of the army or police because there are
great job opportunities in these two sectors. Or to
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complete their studies in institutes and colleges.
The lack of development of the tourism sector leads to
a failure to reduce the level of unemployment in
tourism institutions, which made some graduates work
in other sectors or travel outside Iraq to get suitable
work. When the deduction and employment of
workers in the tourism sector is non-existent, there is
an increase in the level of unemployment, which
makes us accept the study hypothesis that states:
There is a contribution to developing the tourism
sector in increasing the work of graduates in the
tourism sector. We reject the null hypothesis, which
states: There is no contribution to the development of
the tourism sector in increasing the work of graduates
in the tourism sector.
2- The contribution of tourism institutes and colleges
in graduating a tourism cadre capable of working in the
tourism sector efficiently
The tourism sector is a service and industrial sector at
the same time, i.e. it is an industry without smoke, and
students in tourism institutes and colleges studied and
trained to work in the tourism sector, not to sit behind
desks and work as administrative employees. Rather,
to work, each according to his practical specialization
in which he studied for three years, as the number of
graduates has increased in recent years due to the
increase in the number of applicants to tourism
institutes and colleges.
We have recently noticed an increase in the number of
graduates due to the improvement of the security
situation, especially in the southern governorates, and
the great development in the field of urban
development witnessed by the Iraqi governorates and
the extent of great interest in tourism aspects and the
preparation of young and young cadres to work in the
hotels spread across those governorates.
The failure to attract graduates from institutes and
colleges to work in the tourism sector leads to a failure
to reduce the unemployment rate in tourism
institutions, which has led some graduates to work in
other sectors or to travel outside Iraq to get suitable
work. When the deduction and employment of
workers in the tourism sector is non-existent, there is
an increase in the unemployment rate, which makes us
accept the study hypothesis that states:
There is a contribution from tourism institutes and
colleges in graduating a tourism cadre capable of
working in the tourism sector efficiently. We reject the
null hypothesis, which states: There is no contribution
from tourism institutes and colleges in graduating a
tourism cadre capable of working in the tourism sector
efficiently.
3- The contribution of historical and religious places in
Iraq that attract tourists to increase the size of the
workforce
Millions of tourists from all countries of the world arrive
in Iraq, especially religious tourism, and the number
reaches millions of tourists during the visiting season,
and this number needs great services and needs (Al-
Ansari: 2008: 14).
Iraq suffers from a severe shortage in infrastructure and
superstructure, not only in the field of tourism but in all
fields. Providing and building large hotels and tourist
restaurants to provide them with food, drink and a place
to stay will contribute greatly to providing job
opportunities for many graduates from tourism
institutes and colleges.
Also, the presence of historical places helps to increase
the number of large tourists, which leads to an increase
in the provision of wide job opportunities. Let's not
forget that these desert places encourage hunting
tourism, which generates many job opportunities there.
The failure to attract graduates from institutes and
colleges to work in various tourist, archaeological and
religious destinations in Iraq leads to a failure to reduce
the level of unemployment in tourism institutions,
which made some graduates work in other sectors or
travel outside Iraq to get suitable work. When the
deduction and employment of workers in the tourism
sector is non-existent, there is an increase in the level of
unemployment, which makes us accept the study
hypothesis that states:
There is a contribution of historical and religious places
in Iraq that attract tourists to increase the size of the
workforce. We reject the null hypothesis, which states:
There is no contribution of historical and religious places
in Iraq that attract tourists to increase the size of the
workforce.
CONCLUSIONS
1- The absence of a strategic plan to advance the
tourism reality in Iraq.
2- Lack of coordination between government
institutions and the tourism sector, which affected the
tourism reality in Iraq.
3- Lack of coordination between the public and private
sectors, which affected the weakness of the public
sector in leading tourism activity.
4- Accept all hypotheses. They are:
1) The contribution of millions of visits to increasing the
tourism sector's need for workers
2) Developing the tourism sector leads to graduates
working in it
3) The contribution of tourism institutes and colleges in
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graduating a tourism cadre capable of working in the
tourism sector efficiently
4) The contribution of historical and religious places in
Iraq that attract tourists to increase the size of the
workforce
RECOMMENDATIONS
1- Preparing a comprehensive national plan prepared
by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, by
appointing a number of graduates in coordination with
other ministries and government departments to work
in those departments in their field of specialization.
2- Encouraging investment in the tourism sector,
especially in building major hotels and tourist resorts
to increase the number of workers in the tourism
sector.
3- Legislating laws to limit unskilled foreign labor
coming to Iraq who work in hotels and tourism
establishments in the private sector.
4- Focus on training workers in the tourism and hotel
sector theoretically and practically locally and abroad
to keep up with the latest developments in the field of
hotels, travel companies and tourist guidance.
5- Focus on educating tourism police officers in terms
of knowledge of foreign languages, good appearance
and morals, and providing them with the opportunity
to meet in training courses in the form of seminars or
working groups with tourism police officers in different
foreign countries to exchange experiences.
6- Selecting people to work in the tourism and hotel
sector with qualities and characteristics such as having
the qualities of patience and sympathy with others and
the ability to deal with the situation and for the
individual to be self-confident and able to adapt to face
the difficulties of work.
7- Focus on on-the-job training, which is achieved by
participation in management between locals (private
sector and public sector) on the one hand and
benefiting from foreign experience on the other hand
and by cohesion between senior management and
middle
management
(supervisory)
in
hotel
establishments and tourism and hotel companies.
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1.
Al-Saeedi: Issam Hassan, Hotel Organizations
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Al-Quraishi: Madhat, Labor Economics, Dar Wael
for Publishing and Distribution, Amman/Jordan
2007.
3.
Al-Ansari, Raouf Muhammad Ali, Tourism in Iraq
and its Role in Development and Reconstruction,
Hadi Press, Beirut - Lebanon 2008.
4.
Allam, Ahmed Abdul Samee, Tourism Economics,
Dar Al-Wafa Al-Dunya for Printing and Publishing,
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5.
Kafi: Mustafa Youssef, Tourism Industry as One of
the Strategic Options for Economic Development,
Amman/Jordan 2006.
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1.
Al-Sudani, Aseel Hussein, The role of Zakat in
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Al-Brifkani, Hamad Muhammad, Jassim Muhammad
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of
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