Around one thousand companies from the hospitality industry and tourism sector are in search of temporary workers through the EURES European job mobility portal. Companies are looking for more than 20,000 chefs and waiters, and almost 3,000 receptionists and room maids. And as in the case of most tourist destinations, caterers and tourist workers in the Soča Valley are also faced with a lack of staff.

In its latest survey the Employment Service placed room maids, waiters and chefs on the list of 20 most wanted professions, which are also the most difficult to find and most frequently demanded by employers. In the Soča Valley two-thirds of the overnight stays happen in July and August, which is when the demand for workers is higher and employers are left to solve their staff problems on their own.

The agonizing search for catering staff is nothing new, warns Aleš Hvala from the Hvala Hotel in Kobarid. Last year they added workers from the Philippines to their kitchen staff. "The costs are of course higher, but we have to find help. It’s going well at the moment, but we’ll see how things will be in two, three years. We try to find help through all of Slovenia’s agencies specialized in searching for special staff."

Mojca Nikolaš Orel from the Labrca sports and recreation centre in Tolmin, says that staff for the next year has to be secured at the end of the summer season: "We search for kitchen staff in the countries of former Yugoslavia. But at the same time, you need to go through a month and a half of bureaucratic issues to get e foreigner into Slovenia." Companies offering sports activities are also searching for staff abroad.