Dragos Anastasiu: Workforce shortage in tourism reaches 150,000 people

The workforce shortage in tourism is at 150,000 people at the moment, says Dragos Anastasiu, the vice president of the National Association of Tourism Agencies (ANAT). 

According to Anastasiu, importing workers from countries such as Nepal or Vietnam is only a short-term solution and does not solve the fundamental problem of the labor shortage Romania is facing.

However, labour shortages exist across the entire economy, and this problem can only be solved through a national strategy.

“Today, at 2 PM, we have a meeting with the Labor minister to discuss the national strategy on the labor force. There are all kinds of measures we can take. Non-EU workforce is a short-term solution,” Anastasiu said.

The businessman thinks that bringing back Romanians working abroad is a very difficult task as they are used with a quality of life that they can’t find in their home country.

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Eurolines Group’s owner also noted that trying to attract unemployed people in Romania to the labor market may be an illusion.

According to the businessman, bureaucracy is a major obstacle in importing foreign workers in Romania as there is fierce competition between European states in attracting workers from abroad.