TOURISM SPECIALISTS’ MULTICULTURAL COMPETENCE FORMATION BY MEANS OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

Abstract

Objective. The article is devoted to the study of multicultural competence of tourism professionals in the modern paradigm of higher education, which is based on the importance of multicultural values. The authors study the conditions for the formation of multicultural competence in the context of changes in the training of tourism professionals. The necessity of a systematic approach to the problem is substantiated through the development of a structural-functional model of tourism specialists’ multicultural competence formation by means of digital technologies on the basis of creating effective ways of interaction with the audience by digital means. To achieve this goal, a set of theoretical and empirical methods was used, which determined the structure of multicultural competence, the conditions of its formation. Methods. The main methods of studying the process of tourism specialists’ multicultural competence formation were: abstract-logical method for determining the main issues of multicultural competence through the implementation of professional tasks of constructive interaction with representatives of other cultural groups; modeling method for the development of structural and functional model of the tourism specialists’ multicultural competence formation, which determining its multifaceted and multidimensional. Results. In the context of the study, the content of tourism specialists’ multicultural competence as the ability of individuals to effectively operate and interact in a multicultural society is identified, the need to improve the training of future professionals in tourism, which is an integral part of multicultural component. The authors clarify the meaning of «multicultural competence», give the author’s definition of tourism specialists’ multicultural competence as an integrated personal education, which reflects the willingness to master modern digital technologies that form a special segment of web space with high social and cultural significance. Emphasis is placed on the sphere of cultural heritage, integration changes related to the development of the global information and digital society. The authors define multicultural competence as the ability of an individual tourism specialist to carry out intercultural interaction in the process of mastering digital technologies, take into account the multicultural composition of professional activities and use its characteristics and features to solve professional problems. It is determined that the process of multicultural competence of tourism professionals formation involves the assimilation of diverse multicultural information, mastering ways to replenish and update in continuing education through independent action, gaining experience in professional activities in modern society, which requires systematic organization of multicultural educational process based on modern digital technologies. The authors have developed a structural and functional model for the tourism specialists’ multicultural competence formation by means of digital technologies. The structural components of the model and their content are determined.