Tourism Careers in Trinidad and Tobago: Perceptions of Secondary School Students

Abstract

Tourism development in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) is a strategic economic priority in the new millennium. The tourism industry in T&T is still in its embryonic stage, and one of the fundamental challenges facing the industry is the attraction and retention of the necessary number and quality of young people in highly competitive employment markets. Against this background, this paper seeks to examine the attitudes of potential recruits towards working in the tourism industry in T&T. Following a review of the occupational decision-making process, the concept of work values and attitudes towards tourism employment, 120 questionnaires were distributed to high school students in T&T to determine their attitudes towards careers in tourism. The main finding is that secondary school students in both Trinidad and Tobago have a favourable attitude towards tourism employment, which is strongly influenced by their work values and their sources of information about the industry. Students who are interested in ‘self-development’ and ‘working with friendly people’ see tourism as providing good career opportunities; a lack of knowledge tends to be associated with positive, perhaps unrealistically glamorous views of tourism employment. These findings present a challenge to stakeholders in the industry to nurture this favourable attitude and to provide these young leaders with adequate and accurate information and training, without dampening their enthusiasm, to take the industry into the future.