Tourism Career Research Articles

Perfeccionamiento de la enseñanza de la estadística en la carrera de turismo

Uno de los retos fundamentales que enfrenta hoy en día la educación superior cubana es el diseño e implementación de una nueva generación de planes de estudio de las carreras universitarias, denominados Planes de Estudio E. En este trabajo se exponen consideraciones acerca de los retos que implica el perfeccionamiento del proceso de enseñanza – aprendizaje de la estadística en la carrera de Turismo en este nuevo contexto, y a partir de ello se realizan propuestas para el perfeccionamiento de la enseñanza de la asignatura, tanto para el curso diurno como para el curso por encuentros.

Dream career in tourism and hospitality industry: myth or reality

Dream career in tourism and hospitality industry: myth or reality

Future Career in Hospitality Industry Based on Internship Experience: A Principal Component Analysis

The purpose of this research is to investigate the factors associated with internship programs and the relationships between internship experiences in tourism and hospitality industry and aspect of future career in the same industry. A principal component analysis was used to determine the degree of impact of internship program planning, industry’s involvement and students’ self commitment. Effective planning of the internship program played a positive and influential role in deciding future career in tourism and hospitality industry. The extent of industry involvement during the internship period mediated internship students’ confidence in tourism industry. However, students’ self-commitment have found rather low to join the industry. Keywords: Internship program, Tourism and Hospitality industry, Factor Analysis DOI : 10.7176/EJBM/12-3-22 Publication date: January 31 st 2020

Dream career in tourism and hospitality industry: myth or reality

This study intends to explore the undergraduate tourism and hospitality student's perceptions of the industry as a career choice in Bangladesh. Two hundred and twenty tourism and hospitality students have participated in completing a set of questionnaires. The students were asked to rate 20 factors that might influence their career choice and to rate the extent to which they think that tourism and hospitality as a potential career offer these factors. The results indicate that, overall, the perceptions of students toward careers in the hospitality and tourism industry are unfavourable. It is observed that: pleasing working environment, a safe job, excellent promotion prospects, attractive starting salary, a position which brings respect are important factors students consider in choosing a career, but they do not believe the hospitality and tourism industry offers these factors. The study also shows that undergraduates having relatives in the tourism industry are more enthusiastic about pursuing a career in the respective industry.

Rutas inmersivas de Realidad Virtual como alternativa tecnológica en el proceso educativo

Education is changing drastically, you can not pretend to continue teaching in the XXI century with twentieth century methodologies, so we are looking for emerging technologies to improve this process. One of these technologies is Virtual Reality, whose field of action is increasingly varied and wide. In the present investigation, a study has been made of the different platforms and programs that allow the application of Virtual Reality in education, in this case through 360º immersive tourist routes, which, in this first stage, were prepared jointly with students of the tourism career of the Universidad Metropolitana Machala, to achieve a change in the learning process of the same managing to arouse their interest, participation and collaboration and also allow them to develop skills not inherent in the career, but if necessary as they are the TICs, ceasing to be simple consumers and becoming producers of content..

Полифункциональная компетентность как условие эффективной подготовки будущих магистров к деятельности в сфере гостиничного сервиса и туризма

Полифункциональная компетентность как условие эффективной подготовки будущих магистров к деятельности в сфере гостиничного сервиса и туризма

Tourism research and career: opening the black box

ABSTRACTThe academia competitive landscape has made research increasingly important. Extant literature has studied specific dimensions of research performance and conducting good research. This exploratory study examines the habits and routine behaviour in conducting good research, guided by a constructivist grounded theory approach. Thirty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted with academics of different seniorities from six tourism schools, followed by content analyses and drawing relevant theories from calling, grit and self-determination, leading to a theory-based emerging framework. Five habits and twenty-seven routine behaviours were identified with implications on academic career management, institutional planning, and recruitment.

The Sense of Belonging Amongst Tourism Students in Brazil: An assessment comparing perceptions of bachelor and associate degree students.

Abstract: This work analyzes the profiles of undergraduate students of tourism at two public universities in the south of Brazil, aiming to understand the motivations that led them to choose a career in tourism, and how they integrate themselves into the social fabric and appropriate the university as their own. It is a descriptive and predominantly quantitative study, focusing on undergraduate students enrolled in different types of career paths: a bachelor’s degree and a technologist degree (similar to an associate degree) in tourism. Primary data on the students were collected through a structured questionnaire, with questions related to the students’ personal profiles, their route of entry to the universities, their motivations for studying tourism at those universities, and their sense of belonging to the university and to the city in general. The data were analyzed using Exploratory/Confirmatory Factor Analysis (E-CFA) to test factors brought from the literature, a Structural Equation Model Analysis to assess the relationships between the factors, and mean comparisons to identify significant differences between universities and groups. The results confirmed that the motivations for choosing to major in tourism are influenced by the opinions of others and by the convenience at the university; they also confirmed that the motivations for choosing tourism as a career influence social integration and the sense of academic belongingness.

The promise of a park, recreation, and tourism education in a participatory democracy

We believe the education of future park, recreation, and tourism professionals is incomplete if it does not prepare them for moral leadership in a participatory democracy. We anchor our thinking in Pieper’s Leisure: The Basis of Culture and build our case by revisiting Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind, in which he admonished higher education for not preparing students, regardless of major, for assuming responsibility for their country’s moral character based upon conscientious consideration of civilization’s major philosophical ideas. We then apply Bloom’s criticism to the education of park, recreation, and tourism students. Based on our analysis, we implore educators in our field to live up to their educational promise by embracing service learning and community-engaged learning as critical components of our students’ professional preparation to ready them for civic engagement as well as a career in parks, recreation, and tourism.

Hospitality and tourism career fairs: how important are they and how well do they work?

ABSTRACTHospitality and tourism career fairs help recruiters identify prospective hires through face-to-face interactions with students. Moreover, students can learn more about different employment opportunities and career paths within the industry. While research has explored the perceptions of recruiters toward career fairs, student perspectives remain under-researched. This study explores the student perceptions of importance and performance of hospitality and tourism career fairs. A total of 305 usable responses were collected from students who participated in a hospitality and tourism career fair within the last 12 months. The collected data were analyzed using the importance-performance analysis (IPA). Results showed a gap between the perceived importance of the event among students and the performance of the event. Discussion of how to address this gap is included, so students can reap the full benefits of career fair.

Agencias de viajes de la teoría a la práctica con el modelo de Kolb

Esta investigación relaciona a las variables estilo de aprendizaje y modelo de Kolb aplicado en la asignatura de Agencia de Viajes en los estudiantes de sexto semestre de la carrera de Turismo Histórico Cultural de la Universidad Central del Ecuador, periodo 2017-2018. Agencia de Viajes es una asignatura que permite al estudiante adquirir una base conceptual y practicar por medio de: la intermediación de servicios turísticos, operacionalización de viajes y la creación de emprendimientos turísticos; con el modelo de Kolb y su círculo que declara que el estudiante pasa por cuatro fases: conceptualización, observación, experimentación y la experiencia; se evidencia la transferencia del conocimiento pragmático al reflexivo. Es un estudio correlacional, se trabajó en forma paralela, por cada concepto adquirido se diseñó la estructura de emprendimientos propios de cada estudiante (estudiante teórico – pragmático), es una investigación acción ya que el alumno realizó su ejercicio práctico y pudo experimentar las habilidades y destrezas adquiridas en el aula (estudiante reflexivo – activo). Los resultados obtenidos de la práctica comprueban que el estudiante se siente satisfecho al momento de tener una experiencia concreta; considera que el modelo es dinámico y podría aplicarse en otras asignaturas a fin de que el proceso de inter aprendizaje sea de calidad y calidez; como se evidencia en el cuadro de resultados y archivos fotográfico.

Female students view the knowledge of foreign languages as more important for careers in tourism than male students?

The proficiency in multiple foreign languages is a basic assumption for successful communication in tourism. Tourism and mobility have a significant and important role, where intercultural contacts contribute to the development of intercultural dialogue. This paper attempts to explore gender differences in the perceptions of students from the Rochester Institute of Technology, RIT Croatia regarding the importance of knowing various foreign languages in tourism. The results obtained could help in raising the awareness of the importance of the role of learning and teaching foreign languages, with potential effects in developing and promoting tourism in Croatia. The key research finding is that the female students generally consider knowing foreign languages as more important than male students. This finding could indicate that women are potentially more demanding tourists. However, in most variables the study failed to find any statistically significant differences.

Professional Training of Hospitality Specialists in Turkish and Ukrainian Vocational Schools

Abstract The article analyzes the organization of practical training for hospitality specialists in vocational schools in Turkey and presents the specificity of collaboration between vocational education institutions and tourism enterprises, which are based on the principles of responsibility, expediency of using available resources at the appropriate level, support of youth and society, expanding of opportunities for education, etc. It also outlines the main objectives of collaboration between vocational education institutions and tourism enterprises, which are aimed at integrating theory and practice, adjusting learning to real-life conditions, developing professional skills, expedient using opportunities and resources of industrial sectors, etc. In addition, it proves that vocational education and institutions and tourism enterprises have certain common and distinct views on the goals of industrial training for pupils. Based on the analysis of researches by Turkish scholars, the model of practical training for hospitality specialists in Turkey is characterized. The key problems in the organization of practical training for students at enterprises are specified. They include some differences between graduates’ expectations of career in tourism and real working conditions at tourism enterprises; lack of theoretical and practical knowledge required for effective professional performance; trainees’ dissatisfaction with inflexible working hours; discrepancy between types of activity and a chosen specialization; violations of social rights to meals and accommodation, etc. Some relevant recommendations for improving practical training of future hospitality specialists in Turkey and Ukraine are outlined.

관광분야에 있어 학습과 진로를 연계한 진로준비행동 융합모델 개발 연구 : 목표지향적행동모델의 적용과 확장

관광분야에 있어 학습과 진로를 연계한 진로준비행동 융합모델 개발 연구 : 목표지향적행동모델의 적용과 확장

Employers and Tourism Students Perception of Employability in Cruise Industry

Despite challenges on the employability of tourism graduates, cruise industry emerged as potential labor market for aspiring tourism graduates in the field. This study aimed to understand the perception of employers and tourism students on employability and explore possible career opportunities. The mixed method research design was utilized such as survey and interview to gather data. The respondents were the 285 graduating tourism students in selected higher education institutions in Metro Manila and five recruitment officers of the three manning agencies, such as United Philippine Lines, Philippine Transmarine Carrier, and Magsaysay Shipping. The Phase I of the study focused on conducting the survey to know respondents perception on employment while Phase II concentrate on interview with the recruitment officers from the various manning agency to explore cruise tourism career opportunities. Results showed that tourism students perceived highly competent on cruise tourism jobs such as front office, food and beverages, housekeeping and cruise staffing expect for ship star reservation system and bar mixology. Also, they perceived high on graduate attributes such as customer expectation, innovative spirit, communication skills, organizational skills, self-management skills, self-awareness, self-reliant, leadership and assertiveness. Interestingly, employers perceived employability with outstanding skills on the front office, food and beverages, housekeeping and cruise staffing section.

Agency, structures and women managers' views of their careers in tourism

Tourism is an important employer for women in many countries. However, despite this seeming ‘women-friendliness’, women are still underrepresented at the top of tourism businesses. Previous research on women managers' careers in tourism has neglected the analysis of their careers in the light of new career concepts, such as the boundaryless career. Hence, in-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out with twenty-four female senior managers in Portuguese hotels and travel businesses, including entrepreneurs across a wide range of business sizes. The aim was to analyse these women's perspectives on how they have reached the top.It is concluded that women regard their careers as an outcome of their inherent characteristics, agency and a desire to seize challenges that lead to intrinsic satisfaction. They downplay the role of both structural enablers and structural barriers. This article analyses these issues from a boundaryless career model perspective and with a gender lens.

Desarrollo de competencias investigativas en estudiantes de la carrera de Turismo

The article describes a strategy for the development of the research competence of the students of the Tourism career, of the Technical University of Babahoyo. To investigate the current state of this competition, theoretical and empirical methods were used. The results showed that although the faculty is sensitized with the problem and the study plan favors its development, most students have difficulties in the functional and structural domain of the investigative skills and, in general, in the investigative behavior, so a coordinated work is required to solve this, because research is one of the fundamental components of the academy in higher education.

Hospitality and tourism as a subject in secondary schools: A worthwhile choice or a ‘dumping ground’?

The tourism sector is now New Zealand’s number one export earner, contributing 17.4 percent to New Zealand’s total exports of goods and services [1]. In addition, the sector directly employs 8.4 percent of New Zealand’s workforce and a further 6.1 percent are indirectly employed [2]. Given the obvious importance of hospitality and tourism to both the national economy and local communities, one would expect that a potential career in the industry would be something for a young person to aspire to. Sadly, this is not the case, and recent research has found that much of the poor perception of a career in hospitality and tourism stems from the delivery of hospitality and tourism education in New Zealand secondary schools [3].
 In the New Zealand secondary school curriculum, secondary students gain New Zealand’s Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) by working towards a combination of achievement or unit standards. The Ministry of Education is the only developer of achievement standards, which are derived from the achievement objectives of the New Zealand Curriculum. Unit standards are developed by industry training organisations [4]. Both hospitality and tourism are deemed to be ‘vocational’ rather than ‘academic’ subjects in the NCEA structure and are delivered as unit standards. In a review of the list of approved subjects for University Entrance (UE) in 2011, only subjects delivered as achievement standards were eligible, hence the removal of hospitality and tourism after the revisions came into effect in 2014 [5].
 Students are often introduced to the study of hospitality and tourism at secondary school and therefore their early perceptions of a potential career are formed at this stage. These perceptions can be influenced by several factors, including the position that studying hospitality and tourism does not prepare students for further or higher education as effectively as other subjects might. Criticisms of hospitality and tourism as secondary school subjects include that the curriculum lacks both serious and relevant content and academic rigour. The idea that hospitality and tourism classes are used as a ‘dumping ground’ for the less academically able students is damning. The attitudes of teachers, career advisors, school management and parents also play a significant role in the development of a positive or negative perception of the industry, with some actively discouraging students’ interest. The removal of hospitality and tourism as UE approved subjects has only contributed to this poor perception both by students and the larger community, including parents [3]. There is an evident disparity between the importance of hospitality and tourism to the economy and local communities, and the perception of a career in the industry. Tourism Industry Aotearoa’s People and Skills 2025 report [6] identifies that an extra 36,000 full-time equivalent workers (approx. 47,000 jobs) could be required to service the visitor economy by 2025. The current delivery of hospitality and tourism education in secondary schools does nothing to enhance the perception of the industry, but instead contributes to its struggle for recognition and credibility. To address this disparity, there is an urgent need for discussion and strategic planning by all stakeholders. The government’s current review of the education system, including NCEA, provides this opportunity.
 Corresponding author
 Helen Andreassen can be contacted at helen.andeassen@aut.ac.nz
 References
 (1) Tourism New Zealand. About the Industry, 2018. https://www.tourismnewzealand.com/about/about-the-industry/ (accessed Mar 8, 2018).
 (2) Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE). New Zealand Tourism Dashboard, 2018. https://mbienz.shinyapps.io/tourism_dashboard_prod/ (accessed Mar 8, 2018).
 (3) Roberts, M. D.; Andreassen, H.; O’Donnell, D.; O’Neill, S.; Neill, L. (2018). Tourism Education in New Zealand’s Secondary Schools: The Teachers’ Perspective. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education 2018. https://doi.org/10.1080/10963758.2017.1413380
 (4) New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). Standards, 2018. http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/understanding-ncea/how-ncea-works/standards/ (accessed Apr 26, 2018).
 (5) New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). Processes for Maintaining the Approved Subjects List for University Entrance. http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/qualifications-standards/awards/university-entrance/processes-for-maintaining-the-approved-subjects-list-for-university-entrance/ (accessed Jun 12, 2018).
 (6) Tourism Industry Aotearoa. People & Skills 2025, 2015. http://www.tourism2025.org.nz/assets/Uploads/People-Skills-2025.pdf (accessed Mar 8, 2018).

The impact of successful cross-competencies on a career in tourism in Italy: the meeting point between the students’ perceptions and the requirements for professionals

ABSTRACTThe paper aims to understand how the changes occurring in the tourism sector are affecting the labor market in Italy, with a special focus on the relevance of successful cross competences (SCC). It focuses on comparing the relevance of these competencies in the perception of both students preparing to enter the tourism field and tour operators. The two-step study combined qualitative analysis that put forth specific characteristics of the tourism labor market in Italy through interviews with experts, and quantitative analysis that correlated the requirements of the tour operators to the ideas students have of what competencies tour operators entering the field should have. The results evinced differing perceptions of SCC and their relative importance in professional fields. Students manifest to miss awareness of the importance of SCC for their future careers. Furthermore, organizational ability, self-control and self-esteem were perceived by tour operators as the most important competencies to be acquired.

Development of a sustainable tourist destination based on the creative economy: A case study of Klong Kone Mangrove Community, Thailand

Klong Kone Mangrove Community in Central Thailand is a famous destination for eco-tourism. The sustainability of tourist destinations is of vital concern to the creative economy concept. Thus, participatory action research was applied to investigate the local tourist attractions, to identify this destination's problems, and to discuss potential solutions among the participants in the community. The results demonstrated that the main issue at this destination is the unequal distribution of income generated by tourism, which has caused severe conflicts among the local people. The solutions sourced from the panel discussion and questionnaires indicated that the majority of local people should be involved in the tourism industry and that tourism careers can attract younger people to return and work at home after graduation. Moreover, in order to enhance this destination's sustainability based on the creative economy concept, the results from the study were summarized and four significant identities of Klong Kone were suggested: mangrove planting, opossum shrimp paste, water sports activities, and seafood restaurants. All of these should be promoted based on four keys: 1) careful design and planning in line with creative ideas, 2) prudence in the design and planning of tourism development that corresponds to the market, 3) community involvement that is capable of thinking, planning, using resources, and sharing consequences, and 4) designing tourism that adheres to the concepts of sustainable tourism.