A new study shows tourism standing tall as Florida’s top industry. But it also found wages were not increasing at the same rate as other jobs, potentially exposing a weakness with long-term consequences.

The study, conducted by Florida State University’s Dedman School of Hospitality and published by Tourism Management, shows tourism delivering an $86 billion economic impact each year and supporting 1.5 million jobs.

But employees earn less than in any other Florida labor sector. For every $1 in measured increase in average Florida wages, pay in the hospitality center rose just 81 cents.

“The hospitality industry is not in an attractive position to offer entry-level employees career opportunities with such low salaries,” says Tarik Dogru, FSU assistant professor.

Still, Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota County, sees tourism as an industry offering a bright future to those working there.

“The role the tourism industry plays is that it provides a pathway to job careers,” she says. “You can enter as a busboy, as a hostess, as a lifeguard, and work your way up, not necessarily even getting a college degree, to being a highly compensated general manager or director of marketing for an attraction.”

But Dogru says the trick may be getting entry-level workers to see that potential in the first place. If wages can’t keep up in the marketplace, those GMs of tomorrow may not take that job bussing tables today.

His study shows the average weekly wage in leisure and hospitality around $311. Meanwhile, Florida’s average weekly wage comes in around $710. In Florida’s highest paying job category, professional and business services, the average weekly salary sits around $1,162.

“Nationally, wages are rising more in other industries than the hospitality industry,” he says. “These workers view the jobs as transitory, not long-term. They think, ‘I’ll do this job until I find a real job.’”

Haley says it may be a matter of educating incoming workers about the opportunities beyond the most visible jobs in the field.

“That’s one of the challenges I see when I speak to high school classes. They don't know how broad or how many jobs or careers are in the tourism industry,” she says. “When you think of the people in a hotel, you are not seeing the sales team or the revenue management and accounting teams. The high-wage jobs aren’t out in front.”