ABSTRACT
Estimating the economic impacts of tourism using traditional methodologies typically yields highly aggregated indicators for sales, employment, income, and taxation, thereby supporting neoclassical economic growth theories. However, negative implications and justice-related issues affecting the tourism workforce are rarely addressed in this context. Drawing on Amartya Sen’s concept of justice, this chapter shifts the prevailing growth-oriented perspective towards a transformative approach to tourism employment, emphasizing workforce capabilities, well-being, and creative workplaces. In our mixed-methods study, we integrate findings from traditional tourism economic impact models with insights at the institutional meso-level to identify key issues related to (in)justice in tourism employment within the Swedish region of Jämtland Härjedalen. Our results reveal that injustice persists even in so-called advanced economies. For instance, over a ten-year period, an increasing proportion of tourism occupations require little or no formal education and offer low-income levels – a trend that tourism institutions are actively working to address. Moreover, declining labour union membership rates are strongly correlated with growing income inequalities. To effectively tackle these injustices, decision-makers should not rely solely on growth indicators. Instead, they must incorporate perspectives from the most vulnerable group of tourism workers – those in precarious occupations – to ensure a more equitable and sustainable approach to tourism employment.
