Cynnwys
- Main points
- Introduction
- Who works in the tourism sector?
- Which tourism workers are more likely to have private pension savings?
- The private pension savings of workers in tourism industries
- The private pension savings of workers in the tourism sector versus other sectors
- Annex A: Standard Industrial Classification definitions for the tourism industries
- Annex B: Standard Industrial Classification definitions by sector
- Survey methodology
1. Main points
69% of tourism workers in Great Britain do not have any private pension savings.
There are proportionally fewer workers in the tourism sector with private pension savings compared with 10 other main industries (31% and an average of 51% respectively).
Workers in the accommodation or food and drink services industries were less likely to have a private pension than those working in passenger transport or leisure-based industries (25% and 24% to 38% and 41% respectively).
45% of males who work in “Culture, sport and recreation activities” have private pension savings, which is the largest proportion out of all the industries within the tourism sector.
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys2. Introduction
This article is part of a series of short stories on employment in the tourism sector. It aims to explore the trends in the private pension savings of tourism workers in Great Britain and includes a comparison with other sectors of the economy.
The following points are important to bear in mind when reading and drawing conclusions from this analysis:
“pension wealth not yet in payment” (referred to as “pension savings” throughout this article) is the amount of wealth that someone has saved in a private pension that they have not yet used for an income in retirement
pension wealth not yet in payment also includes retained pension savings from a former employer, meaning that a worker in the tourism sector could have retained pension savings from previous job(s) in different sectors and that would be included in this analysis
this article analyses private pension savings and does not include state pension wealth
the analysis has only been performed on tourism workers aged 22 years and over
the tourism sector is primarily made up of 4 groups of industries: accommodation services, food and drink services, passenger transport (including vehicle hire and travel agents) and leisure activities (including cultural, sport and recreational); the “tourism sector” refers to these 4 groups
please see Annex A for the Standard Industrial Classifications (SIC) that make up the tourism sector definition and Annex B for the SIC definition of the other sectors used
3. Who works in the tourism sector?
There were approximately 2.3 million workers who are over 221 and employed in the tourism sector in Great Britain in 2013. Of which:
54% are male and 46% are female (compared with 53% males and 47% females in non-tourism industries)1
66% are full-time and 34% are part-time (in comparison with 74% of workers being full-time in non-tourism industries and consequently 26% part-time)1
26% are aged 22 to 29, compared with 17% of workers in non-tourism industries1
Table 1 shows the percentage of these workers employed in the 4 main industry groups of the tourism sector. The largest proportion of tourism workers are in the food and beverage serving activities industry.
Table 1: Percentage of workers in the tourism sector by industry, Great Britain, 2012 to 2014
Tourism industry | % |
Accommodation services for visitors | 13 |
Food and beverage serving activities | 39 |
Passenger transport, vehicle hire, travel agencies etc | 21 |
Cultural, sports, recreational and conference etc activities | 27 |
Source: Annual Population Survey, Office for National Statistics | |
Note: | |
1. These estimates are produced using 2016 population weights. |
Download this table Table 1: Percentage of workers in the tourism sector by industry, Great Britain, 2012 to 2014
.xls (26.1 kB)Various factors can impact the pension savings of tourism workers including: age, sex, typical working hours and the tourism industry an individual’s job is classified into. Each factor can impact the pension savings of tourism workers in different ways and, therefore, should be taken into account when interpreting the results. For example, in general part-time workers will accumulate fewer private pension savings in comparison with full-time workers.
Notes for: Who works in the tourism sector?
- Annual Population Survey 2013.
4. Which tourism workers are more likely to have private pension savings?
The purpose of this section is to explore the “type” of tourism workers who hold a private pension.
Overall, approximately 31% of tourism workers have a private pension, which is less than 710,000 out of a total 2.3 million tourism workers. Figure 1 shows how different demographics of tourism workers affect whether or not they have private pension savings. It shows that:
males are more likely to have a pension than females (37% compared with 26%)
full-time workers are more likely to have a pension than part-time workers (37% compared with 21%)
those who work in the accommodation or food and drink services industries are less likely to have a pension than those who work in passenger transport or leisure-based industries (25% and 24% compared with 38% and 41% respectively)
Figure 1: Percentage of tourism workers who have private pension savings overall, by sex, typical working hours and tourism industry
Great Britain, 2012 to 2014
Source: Wealth and Assets Survey, Office for National Statistics
Download this chart Figure 1: Percentage of tourism workers who have private pension savings overall, by sex, typical working hours and tourism industry
Image .csv .xls5. The private pension savings of workers in tourism industries
The median private pension savings of tourism workers, regardless of sex or the sector in which they work, is £0. Of all tourism workers, 31% have private pension savings, which means that 69% of workers in the tourism sector will have £0 of private pension savings when they retire (unless they begin to contribute).
Table 2 shows that a quarter of females in the tourism sector hold private pension savings compared with 37% of males. It should be noted that in the “Food and beverage serving activities” sector, over 40% of employees are part-time1. Therefore, it is not surprising to see that only 21% and 28% of female and male workers respectively hold any form of private pension savings. Within the accommodation industry, there is a large difference between the proportion of females and males who have pension savings: 20% and 36% respectively. Table 2 shows that 45% of males and 37% of females who work in “Culture, sport and recreation activities” have private pension savings, which is the largest percentage out of all the industries within the tourism sector.
Table 2: Percentage of workers with private pension savings by tourism industry and sex, Great Britain, 2012 to 2014
Tourism industry | Male | Female |
Accommodation services for visitors | 36 | 20 |
Food and beverage serving activities | 28 | 21 |
Passenger transport, vehicle hire, travel agencies etc | 39 | 36 |
Cultural, sports, recreational and conference etc activities | 45 | 37 |
Tourism sector | 37 | 25 |
Source: Wealth and Assets Survey, Office for National Statistics |
Download this table Table 2: Percentage of workers with private pension savings by tourism industry and sex, Great Britain, 2012 to 2014
.xls (26.1 kB)However, focusing solely on the median hides the trends for workers who hold a low or high amount of private pension savings. Of the 31% of tourism workers that do have pension savings, the amount they have varies greatly across the 4 main sectors and is also dependent on their sex.
Figure 2 shows the distribution of the private pension savings of tourism workers by the industry they work in and by their sex. The most stark sector is “Passenger transport (including vehicle hire and travel agents)”, where the top 10% of males who hold pension savings have more than £264,000 stored for retirement. The industry in which females hold the most pension savings is “Culture, sport and recreation activities”; females with the highest 10% of pension savings hold more than £84,000. It should be noted that these are fewer pension savings than a male would hold in the same industry, but significantly more than females hold in other industries.
Across all the sectors considered, Figure 2 shows that within the same tourism sectors, of the males and females who have pension savings, males have a higher amount of pension savings than females. An individual's contributions into a private pension is linked to their income, therefore income inequalities between demographic characteristics are likely to be reflected in pensions savings, for example differences between sexes.
Figure 2: Distribution of the amount of private pension savings by tourism industry and sex
Great Britain, 2012 to 2014
Source: Wealth and Assets Survey, Office for National Statistics
Download this chart Figure 2: Distribution of the amount of private pension savings by tourism industry and sex
Image .csv .xlsNotes for: The private pension savings of workers in tourism industries
- Annual Population Survey 2013.
6. The private pension savings of workers in the tourism sector versus other sectors
The sectors defined here are based on Standard Industrial Classification definitions and more information on their definitions is contained in Annex B.
Figure 3 shows the percentage of workers with private pension savings in 11 different sectors, including the tourism sector. As shown, the proportion of tourism workers with any pension savings is the lowest of the 11 industries (31%), followed by "Agriculture, forestry and fishing" workers (of which, 34% have pension savings) and "Wholesale and retail trade" (39% of workers have pension savings). At the other end of the scale, more than 70% of workers in “Financial and insurance activities” have pension savings and in “Public and administrative defence” and “Information and communication”, the percentage of workers who have pension savings is 69% and 65% respectively.
Figure 3: Percentage of workers with private pension savings by sector
Great Britain, 2012 to 2014
Source: Wealth and Assets Survey, Office for National Statistics
Download this chart Figure 3: Percentage of workers with private pension savings by sector
Image .csv .xlsAs in the previous section, the distribution of private pension savings has been examined to try and establish a fuller picture of the distribution of pension savings within the sectors. It should also be noted that only the pension savings held by full-time workers in these sectors have been looked at.
Figure 4 shows the distribution of the private pension savings of full-time workers in the same 11 sectors. The chart shows that workers in the tourism sector have a lower amount of pension savings in comparison with most other sectors. Exploring this in more detail, the amount of pension savings that 90% of workers in the tourism sectors hold is the lowest out of all the sectors.
Figure 4: Distribution of the amount private pension savings a full-time worker holds by sector
Great Britain, 2012 to 2014
Source: Wealth and Assets Survey, Office for National Statistics
Download this chart Figure 4: Distribution of the amount private pension savings a full-time worker holds by sector
Image .csv .xls7. Annex A: Standard Industrial Classification definitions for the tourism industries
Tourism industry group | Tourism industry | SIC2007 code | Description |
Accommodation for visitors | Accommodation for visitors | 55100 | Hotels and similar accommodation |
55202 | Youth hostels | ||
55300 | Recreational vehicle parks, trailer parks and camping grounds | ||
55201 | Holiday centres and villages | ||
55209 | Other holiday and other collective accommodation | ||
55900 | Other accommodation | ||
Food and beverage serving activities | Food and beverage serving activities | 56101 | Licensed restaurants |
56102 | Unlicensed restaurants and cafes | ||
56103 | Take-away food shops and mobile food stands | ||
56290 | Other food services | ||
56210 | Event Catering Activities | ||
56301 | Licensed clubs | ||
56302 | Public houses and bars | ||
Passenger transport, vehicle hire, travel agencies etc. | Railway passenger transport | 49100 | Passenger rail transport, interurban |
Road passenger transport | 49320 | Taxi Operation | |
49390 | Other passenger land transport | ||
Water passenger transport | 50100 | Sea and coastal passenger water transport | |
50300 | Inland passenger water transport | ||
Air passenger transport | 51101 | Scheduled passenger air transport | |
51102 | Non-scheduled passenger air transport | ||
Transport equipment rental | 77110 | Renting and leasing of cars and light motor vehicles | |
77341 | Renting and leasing of passenger water transport equipment | ||
77351 | Renting and leasing of passenger air transport equipment | ||
Travel agencies and other reservation services activities | 79110 | Travel agency activities | |
79120 | Tour operator activities | ||
79901 | Activities of tour guides | ||
79909 | Other reservation service activities n.e.c. | ||
Cultural, sports, recreational and conference etc. activities | Cultural activities | 90010 | Performing arts |
90020 | Support Activities for the performing arts | ||
90030 | Artistic creation | ||
90040 | Operation of arts facilities | ||
91020 | Museums activities | ||
91030 | Operation of historical sites and buildings and similar attractions | ||
91040 | Botanical and zoological gardens and nature reserves activities | ||
Sporting and recreational activities | 92000 | Gambling and betting activities | |
93110 | Operation of sports facilities | ||
93199 | Other sports activities | ||
93210 | Activities of amusement parks and theme parks | ||
93290 | Other amusement and recreation activities nec | ||
77210 | Renting and leasing of recreational and sports goods | ||
Exhibitions and Conferences etc | 82301 | Activities of exhibition and fair organisers | |
82302 | Activities of conference organisers | ||
68202 | Letting and operating of conference and exhibition centres | ||
Source: Office for National Statistics |
Download this table
.xls (31.2 kB)8. Annex B: Standard Industrial Classification definitions by sector
Sector | SIC2007 code | Description |
Wholesale and retail trade | 45 | Wholesale retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles |
46 | Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | |
47 | Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | |
Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 01 | Crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities |
02 | Forestry and logging | |
03 | Fishing and aquaculture | |
Manufacturing | 10 | Manufacture of food products |
11 | Manufacture of beverages | |
12 | Manufacture of tobacco products | |
13 | Manufacture of textiles | |
14 | Manufacture of wearing apparel | |
15 | Manufacture of leather and related products | |
16 | Manufacture wood and of products of wood and cork, except furniture; manufacture of articles of straw and plaiting materials | |
17 | Manufacture of paper and paper products | |
18 | Printing and reproduction of recorded media | |
19 | Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products | |
20 | Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products | |
21 | Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations | |
22 | Manufacture rubber and plastic products | |
23 | Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products | |
24 | Manufacture of basic metals | |
25 | Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment | |
26 | Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products | |
27 | Manufacture of electrical equipment | |
28 | Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. | |
29 | Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi trailers | |
30 | Manufacture of other transport equipment | |
31 | Manufacture of furniture | |
32 | Other manufacturing | |
33 | Repair and installation of machinery and equipment | |
Construction | 41 | Construction of buildings |
42 | Civil engineering | |
43 | Specialised construction activities | |
Information and communication | 58 | Publishing activities |
59 | Motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music publishing activities | |
60 | Programming and broadcasting activities | |
61 | Telecommunications | |
62 | Computer programming, consultancy and related activities | |
63 | Information service activities | |
Financial and insurance activities | 64 | Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding |
65 | Insurance, reinsurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security | |
66 | Activities auxiliary to financial services and insurance activities | |
Real estate activities | 68 | Real estate activities |
Public and administrative defence | 84 | Public administration and defence; compulsory social security |
Education | 85 | Education |
86 | Human health activities | |
87 | Residential care activities | |
88 | Social work activities without accommodation | |
Tourism | N/A | See Annex A for full definition |
Source: Office for National Statistics |
Download this table
.xls (31.2 kB)9. Survey methodology
Further information about the Annual Population Survey is available from the Annual Population Survey Quality and Methodology Information.
This contains important information on:
the strengths and limitations of the data and how it compares with related data
users and uses of the data
how the output was created
the quality of the output including the accuracy of the data
Further information about the Wealth and Assets Survey is available from Wealth and Assets Methodology.
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys