Mechanisms for Sustaining the Local Labor Markets in International Mountain Resorts: A Case Study of Whistler, Canada

Abstract

This study aims to elucidate the mechanisms for sustaining local labor markets in international mountain resorts according to their regional characteristics, focusing on foreign labor. It remains unclear how international mountain resorts, which have recently struggled to secure labor to accommodate a growing number of visiting tourists, have successfully attracted outside labor to sustain local labor markets. In this case study, Whistler is an example of a resort with an imbalance between the supply and demand of labor due to an increase in demand. When analyzing labor market results in this region, a mechanism emerges that includes two processes for supplying external labor. First, the process involving those who are willing to improve their language or professional skills and obtain permanent residence rights through work promotion, changing work, or starting businesses to establish themselves in a community. Second, the process of seasonal workers going abroad with working holiday visas and for recreational purposes. A specific social regulation effect overcomes three mismatches (space, temporal, and skills) and sustains these local labor markets. In other words, the international labor force travels abroad from one market to another when the spatial divergence is resolved. The process of permanent settlement or seasonal stay of workers is enabled by addressing the divergence between temporal elements and skills in these local labor markets.