According to recent local media reports, a shortage of workers in the hospitality industry—one of the key sectors of the economies of some of Europe's most popular tourist destinations—is posing a challenge.

Among the EU nations that most require wait staff in addition to other hospitality professionals are Spain, Italy, and Croatia.

There is a growing need for people in this industry as a result of the post-pandemic growth in tourism figures.

According to La Tribuna de Ciudad Real, bars and restaurants in Spain are dealing with a lack of staff every summer, with half of the positions expected to remain unfilled in 2024.

In addition to Spain, many restaurants in Abruzzo started the summer season “unprepared”, as this Italian region is also grappling with a shortage of waiters.

The waiter role emerged as one of the most in-demand jobs in Croatia during 2023, according to the country’s Employment Service (CES). The latter, as cited by Total Croatia News, said that salesperson, cleaner and waiter occupations constituted up 17 percent of the total number of workers in demand.

On the Adriatic coast, during the summer season, there is a shortage of occupations related to tourism, such as cooks, waiters, bartenders, valets, cleaners, sellers, pastry chefs, butchers, bakers, etc.
-Croatian Employment Service

Tourism Representatives says Hiring Foreign Workers is the Only Option

To address the increasing demands of tourism, many businesses are looking to recruit foreign workers. Moreover, the general secretary of Hostelería de España, Emilio Gallego, said that for several industries, hiring foreign workers is the only choice to tackle the demand.

For many sectors, the arrival of foreign workers is the only option to fill positions.
-Emilio Gallego, General secretary of Hostelería de España

However, the initiative to bring workers from abroad was rejected by the head of the Catering Department of the Workers’ Commissions (CCOO), Gonzalo Fuentes. The latter criticised the lack of improvement in employee conditions, noting that more workers are looking for a better balance between their work and personal life.

The Italian region Abruzzo is also relying in foreign workforce to fulfil the demands in its hospitality industry. As reported by InfoMigrants, tourism representatives have organised a project to train migrants wishing to work in the restaurant business.

These 18 EU Countries Need Waiters

In addition to the above-mentioned, other European countries are grappling with a shortage of workers in the hospitality industry, particularly waiters.

Moreover, the waiter role emerged among the most common and severe occupations as revealed in the 2023 EURES report on shortages and surpluses.

This implies that foreigners working in this occupation may have a higher chance of securing employment along with a work visa in these countries.

According to this report, the following countries are facing a shortage of waiters:

• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Cyprus
• Germany
• Denmark
• Greece
• Finland
• France
• Croatia
• Italy
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• The Netherlands
• Norway
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovenia
• Slovakia

In addition to the waiter position, many of the above-mentioned countries have reported shortages in other hospitality related occupations.