Local Tourism Businesses in the Digital Era: Implications for Bridging the Critical Skills Gap in Indonesia

The travel and tourism industry (TTI) is considered one of the main drivers for achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) as a part of the United Nations (UN) 2030 agenda. This study focuses on the Indonesian TTI, including the accommodation and food services and the transport, postal, and warehousing sectors—considered one of the main drivers of economic growth in the digital era. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the associated innovation and digitisation technologies have emerged as crucial industry priorities in the post-pandemic digital era. However, although an inability to bridge the critical skills gaps can adversely impact local tourism businesses (LTBs), the unfolding implications of the 4IR related on the TTI remain underexplored. This chapter responds to this gap. It draws on the strategic human resource management (SHRM) perspective and utilises findings from an online survey (n = 147) and interviews (n = 11). The contributions of this chapter are twofold. First, it highlights workforce-related challenges associated with the uptake of digital technologies. Second, it demonstrates the need for TTI specific policy initiatives to bridge the critical skills gap in the digital era.