Exploring the [un]likelihood of successful integration of skilled and unskilled immigrants into the hospitality industry

Abstract

When viewed from a global perspective, in terms of the number of workers in a particular sector, the hospitality industry is perhaps the most populated. Not only is it the most populated, it is also one where you find perhaps the highest concentration of immigrants. It is also the one with the highest record of staff turnover and employment relations issues. Lately, issues regarding immigrant integration and engagement within the South African hospitality industry have begun gaining traction in South Africa’s social science research ecosystem. Remarkably, even though several studies pertaining to immigration integration in the hospitality industry have looked at aspects such as legal/employment, economic impact, gender, economic geography side of the engagement and or integration, there is a lacuna in terms of the nature and extent and associated uncertainties with regard to the integration of immigrants in the hospitality industry in South Africa. This is what the researchers set out to achieve in this paper through the use of a suitable theoretical review method so as to enable a critical and rigorous appraisal of previously conducted research. The researchers found that no matter how challenging it is to recruit immigrants in the hospitality industry, they remain an attractive option for their hospitable attitudes, cheapness, and overt eagerness to remain in what they consider to be greener pastures. They drew from several works in order to advance the notion that the hospitality industry needs more immigrant workers to survive.