Diversity is defined as the differences among people. The primary dimensions of diversity include issues such as gender, race, and age (Lim & Noriega, 2007). The workforce diversity that people always talk about is mainly related to these core issues. However Inadequate attention has been paid to the secondary dimensions of diversity, which include issues such as communication style, religious beliefs, ethnic customs, relationship status, and general appearance. These differences can generally be described as cultural diversity.
The increasingly competitive world economy, gradual globalization of international companies, and rapid changes in demographic trends and labor structure are posing great challenges to management in the hospitality industry. Understanding and managing diversity has thus become important to the contemporary hospitality industry. Cultural diversity brings great opportunities and benefits to the companies in the hospitality industry. But at the same time, these companies are still facing a big challenge as how to effectively managing the multicultural workplaces. Many cultural barriers such as communication obstacle, discrimination and stereotypes still need to be overcome. To increase the awareness and sensitivities of cultural diversity management, related training program should be designed and conducted in the industry. The hospitality and tourism industries are service-based; their job is to satisfy their guests. It’s not as simple as that, however. To grow the business, the industry must attract more people, and with that increase come a greater exposure to differing cultures. For example, high turnover and low production have been attributed, in part, to a lack of managing cultural diversity in the workplace. Many businesses must recognize the advantages of developing a deeper understanding and appreciation for differing cultures at work to create a successful employee.
Diversity in the hospitality and tourism industry is enhanced through visions that promote equal employment opportunity to cater for the different nationalities in the market. The industry gets to appreciate the world's socio-cultural and economic differences through the recruitment of people of diverse backgrounds. As such, businesses in this industry need to establish organizational policies that not only discourage discrimination but also encourage intercultural activities such as cultural educational programs and forums. Businesses also should employ organizational structure that comprise of people from different regions and races and spread key appointments to qualified staff.