Employee Engagement and Commitment, Communication Skills and Talent Management Competencies of Tourism Professionals

Abstract

In this research undertaking, results of the research findings about the Employee Engagement and Commitment, Communication Skills and Talent Management Competencies of Tourism Professionals in Cairo, Egypt are presented regarding its extent, how commendable are their communication skills, and the extent of their Talent Management Competencies (TMC), and further looked into whether or not there are significant correlations between and among the independent variables. The tourism professionals who were the respondents of the study comprised of the Travel Agents, Academic Professionals, Hotel Managers, Tour Operators, Event & Conference Organizers, Tour Guides, Executive Chefs, and PR Managers in Cairo, Egypt. The research method used in this research undertaking is descriptive correlational; a questionnaire was used as a data collection method which was distributed to tourism professionals, and utilizing the SPSS statistical software with the Mean to determine the extent, to determine the significance of correlation between and among the paired variables, Pearson r was used, to determine the significance of difference between the dependent and independent variables, Mann Whitney U Test and Kruskal-Wallis Test were used. The conduct of this research investigation is an important issue, and was considered by the researchers as very meaningful and important to explore internationally and specifically in Cairo, Egypt in particular, since the findings of this research study may lead to the introduction of new programs and curriculum for Tourism and hospitality industry, the encouragement of professional staff to enhance the purposes of work in tourism, the human resources potential management into companies, enabling continuous professional training and employees to advance in their careers and to create careers in the field of tourism and hospitality industry. Moreover, the results of this research endeavor will be very essential for tourism professionals considering Tourism’s contribution to global trade and economic growth, its contribution in promoting socioeconomic growth and development, sustainable tourism development, advancing tourism’s contribution to poverty reduction and development, promoting employment through fostering knowledge, education and capacity-building, and in creating synergies and partnership across tourism sectors. The result showed a great extent on the identified indicators, except on Talent management competencies; the independent variables, when correlated, showed that they do not influence each one’s extent, except between Engagement and Commitment and their Communication Skills; which may imply that the tourism professionals maybe more engaged and committed if they have commendable communication skills as they work in the tourism industry to accommodate their clients. On the other hand, no significant differences exist in the Tourism Professionals’ Engagement and Commitment (EC), Communication Skills and Talent Management Competencies (TMC) when categorized in terms of their educational qualification, marital status and sector where they are employed. Conclusively, results of this research undertaking will provide information and research data for leaders and managers, human resource managers and/or human resource specialists working in the human resources department of selected tourism industries, agencies, and organizations concerned to design programs and activities to increase interest in Tourism Labor and cope with the challenge of overcoming the uncertainties towards tourism employment, most specifically on socio-cultural issues, create a strong coordination with curriculum specialists to embed in their tourism curriculum an emphasis of the possibilities of employment in the industry for young school-leavers, the working conditions, career opportunities, diversity, international exposure, remuneration, and other factors. For future research directions, the researchers recommend future researchers to look into the evaluation of professional management techniques that are used in the hospitality sectors with focus on Hospitality and Customer Satisfaction, Tourism and Hospitality Marketing, Hospitality Management, Marketing and Service Quality Management, Foodservice Consumer Choice and Services Strategies, Strategic Management in the Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Marketing and Service Experience and Human Resource Management. Keywords: Tourism Professionals, Engagement, Commitment, Communication Skills, Talent Management Competencies DOI : 10.7176/JTHS/40-05