Topical Issues of Staffing in the Hospitality Industry of the Republic of Crimea

Abstract

The paper deals with the current state of staffing the hospitality industry enterprises with qualified personnel. The dynamics of staff flows, as well as their remuneration rate are described. In addition, the paper highlights main activities undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism and Resorts of the Republic of Crimea and the Ministry of Education, Science and Youth of the Republic of Crimea connected with personnel availability in collective accommodation facilities. It is proved that these measures solve the issue of staffing during the holiday season partially. At the same time, the existing policy does not contribute to the human resource capacity building and development, as it leaves unsettled challenges associated with employee turnover and their full employment. The relevant factors with a negative influence on the staffing in the hospitality industry enterprises are considered. Certain activities carried out to neutralize the negative impact of these factors are described. Some possible solutions for the problem under consideration are proposed. It is stated that solving staffing issues must be addressed comprehensively with resolution of common challenges in the hospitality industry. Considering an uneven distribution of resources in the Republic of Crimea, including collective accommodation facilities, the paper explains practicability of creating a tourism cluster in the region. To cope with challenges noted in the paper, a concentric diversification scenario of creating a tourism cluster is proposed. Some dominant factors of creating the tourism cluster, such as establishing boundaries of the state’s partnership with representatives of the business environment and other institutions in education, health, catering, leisure and other related areas, are noted. When establishing partnerships between the government and potential participants in the cluster, it is necessary for the government to provide support for defining the collaborative mechanism, beneficiaries and each cluster member’s responsibilities.