The International Day of Tourism will take place today. The UN World Tourism Organisation has declared this year’s day an occasion to celebrate women’s achievements in the tourism sector and stimulate action in support of gender equality and empowerment of women.

Figures released by Eurostat indicate that in 2006, 44 per cent of all those employed in the EU27 were women. The share varied greatly between the member states, ranging from 32 per cent in Malta to 50 per cent in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. However, in the hotels and restaurants sector there were more women than men employed, with a share of women of 56 per cent in the EU27. The relative size of the female work force was higher in this sector than in the overall economy in all member states, except for Malta. In the tourist accommodation sector, which includes hotels and other short-stay accommodation, the share of women was even higher, at 62 per cent

In 22 member states, the share of women in the hotels and restaurants sector was 50 per cent or more. The highest shares were found in the Baltic states with 95 per cent in Latvia, 83 per cent in Lithuania and 76 per cent in Estonia. In four member states – Malta (28 per cent), Greece (44 per cent), Italy and France (both 49 per cent) – there were fewer women than men working in hotels and restaurants.

In all the member states for which data is available, annual average gross earnings for women were lower than for men. This was the case both in industry and market services and in the hotels and restaurants sector. However, the differences observed in average earnings do not necessarily reflect a gap in pay between women and men, since women and men do not occupy the same jobs.

The smallest difference between women and men in the hotels and restaurants sector in 2005 was found in Belgium, where women earned 93 per cent of their male colleagues’ annual average gross earnings, followed by Denmark, Malta (in 2003) and Finland (all 87 per cent), Bulgaria and Sweden (both 86 per cent). The largest difference was registered in Hungary (62 per cent), followed by Slovakia (70 per cent) and Cyprus (73 per cent in 2004).