MBIE has released the latest hospitality and tourism workforce survey, offering new findings into the strengths and opportunities for people working in the sector.
The Hospitality and tourism employment: Strengthening futures 2025 report provides a snapshot of workforce perspectives on career development, pay, working conditions and the broader drivers shaping employment in the sector.
The 2025 survey was conducted by the Auckland University of Technology from 14 October to 23 November 2025 and gathered 957 responses from across all sub-sectors of hospitality and tourism.
This new research, completed by AUT, builds on two earlier national surveys in 2022 and 2024. As the third survey in the series, the 2025 report creates a longitudinal data set to strengthen the evidence base needed to support sustainable, high-quality hospitality and tourism employment across New Zealand.
Opportunities for training and advancement have improved markedly in 2025. The proportion of respondents rating training opportunities as good rose to 62 percent, up from 57 percent in 2024 and 41 percent in 2022. Demand for further training remains strong, with 70 percent wanting more, compared with 60 percent last year. Perceptions of promotion prospects also increased, reaching 53 percent in 2025 (up from 48 percent in 2024 and 42 percent in 2022).
Training access and promotion opportunities are shaped primarily by structural and organisational factors, such as sector, managerial responsibility, workplace size, tenure, and remuneration, rather than by individual characteristics alone, suggesting that organisational context plays a decisive role in determining who receives development opportunities and who progresses within the workforce.
Commitment to a career in hospitality and tourism remains moderate, with an average positive response of 57 percent. Most employees express a strong attachment to the industry, with 63 percent stating they would choose the same career again and 62 percent definitely want a future in the sector. Key drivers of career commitment (and inhibitors of turnover) include access to training, promotion opportunities, fair pay, and perceived dignity in the workplace.
Between 39 percent and 44 percent of respondents agreed with statements about leaving the hospitality and tourism sector entirely. When combined into a yes/no measure, 42 percent were classified as intending to leave the sector.
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