Skip to main content
Rebordering Britain & Britons after Brexit

Return labour migration: an exploratory study of Polish migrant workers from the UK hospitality industry

Abstract

Incoming labour migration represents an important research field, especially in the context of East-Central Europe, a key source region of labour migrants to the tourism and hospitality sectors of many Western economies, including the UK. Surprisingly, return labour migration from the UK to this region has not been systematically examined and yet there is increasing evidence of its significance, especially in light of Brexit. The labour migrant motivations to return and their re-integration experiences back home remain poorly understood. This study adopts a qualitative method of data collection and analysis to explore return migration of the Polish workforce from the UK hospitality sector. Homesickness and educational pursuits are identified as the key drivers. The UK employment experience enhances career prospects of former migrants and yet it largely benefits non-hospitality related sectors of the domestic economy. While the re-integration experiences of former migrants are generally positive and the majority are content with the decision to return, some consider an opportunity to re-migrate.

You might also be interested in :

Exiting supranational unions and the corresponding impact on tourism: Some insights from a rejoinder to Brexit
The consequences of countries withdrawing from supranational unions have received growing attention. Most recently, the majority of British citizens have voted to exit the European Union (Brexit), which has resulted in the mushrooming of reports on its potential impact in myriad respects.

Journal

Current Issues in Tourism

Authors

Viachaslau Filimonau (United Kingdom)
Miroslaw Mika (Poland)

Article meta

Country / region covered

Population studied

Year of Publication

Source type

Keywords