There are 225,000 available and unfilled jobs in the Canadian tourism sector today, but the growing number of executives who are leaving is the figure that should scare the industry.

Philip Mondor, president and chief executive of Tourism HR Canada, told the audience at the Canadian Hotel Investment Conference in Toronto this week he didn't want to be the "bearer of bad news" but the sector is still short about 400,000 people to get to where it was before the pandemic.

"Particularly in management executive roles, that's been the exodus and should keep you up at night at that operational level," said Mondor. "That has happened because the economy has grown during this pandemic, and the jobs and skills of those players have been in hot demand by other industries: healthcare, in particular, and public service."

Mondor said the industry lost 882,000 jobs in Canada during the pandemic's first 10 weeks, with a good portion of those in the hotel sector. Currently, the tourism industry is down 23% of its workforce overall, and businesses are operating only 60% of normal hours because of staffing issues.

"It was the hardest hit of the hardest hit," he said during the discussion, noting employment is down to where the sector was 15 years ago. "Unemployment is at nearly record levels at 5.5% across the economy, and tourism is twice that," said Mondor.

Labour recovery will be challenging, with 2025 the earliest target date and 2028 more likely for some sectors. Skills will continue to be a mismatch. He added that 40% of the workforce are 55 to 59 years old and closer to retirement.

Joe Baker, the publisher of Stay Magazine, moderated the panel and said the question is whether post-secondary students can fill the gap.

"It is often a lagging indicator of the health of our talent in the pipeline," said Baker.

Dario Guescini, director of work-integrated learning, experiential education and global mobility at George Brown College, didn't paint a positive picture.

"I'm sorry to follow the trend, but the news [is the same]. We have seen a decrease in enrollment since 2012," said Guescini, noting enrollment in hospitality and tourism was down almost 50% between 2016 and 2020 nationwide. "We have a huge talent gap."

He said students are looking for other options, including the finance industry. "We really have to be competitive now," said Guescini

Tracey Kalimeris, vice president of talent and culture for north and central America for hospitality with Accor, said the notion of labour shortages depends on the region.

"When I speak to my peers in the Middle East, they are not experiencing the same challenges as here," she said. "But here in Canada, I cannot remember a more challenging time."

She pointed to restaurants not filled because customers can't be served and room revenue at hotels not maximized because there is no staff.

"I just don't ever remember having those conversation before," she said. "I was talking to someone yesterday, and they were saying we are going to have to close floors."

William Loughran, president of evolution hospitality with Aimbridge Hospitality, said labour challenges are leading to massive burnout and the loss of enrollment at colleges is terrifying.

"The people who have survived the last two years have done the work of five people, and we are asking them to do more. That ripples from the leadership of the hotels all the way down and leads to shortcuts and injuries," said Loughran.

The federal government has loosened restrictions on temporary foreign workers, which will allow employers in the hospitality sector to have up to 30% of staff be part of the program.

But still, "it just can't catch up to demand [for labour]," said Mondor about the change. Only 1% of the industry has historically employed people from temporary foreign workers programs, so the change is good news. "It is a big deal. Those are unprecedented numbers" of potential workers.