THE EFFECT OF HOTELS' TRAINING ON OVERNIGHTS, REGIONAL GROWTH AND EMPLOYMENT

The role of human capital and, more specifically, the role of on the job training, has been widely analysed in the economic literature. Moreover, in the field of hospitality and tourism some studies focus on the relationship between training and hotel performance. This paper goes beyond this goal. It analyses the role of training on the hotel occupancy but, furthermore, it measures the impact of this human capital investment on the growth of a region, measured in terms of production, added value and employment. It combines both, microeconomic data from a database of two hundred hotels and the macro perspective of the Balearic Input-Output table, allowing measurement of the positive externalities that human capital investment in the hotel sector generates through the rest of the economy. Results show a positive and significant impact on potential growth and employment that goes beyond the strictly tourism-related sectors. In terms of policy recommendations, this work gives meaning to the promotion of public policies encouraging training practices at hotel level.