DUGiDocsPerceptions and career goals of undergraduate tourism students
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ENG- The first article explored the perceptions and career goals of undergraduate tourism students, before and during the pandemic COVID-19, at the Universidad Estatal de Milagro, in Milagro, Ecuador. The study is based on a quantitative approach. The sample is made up of 207 students in 2018 (before the COVID-19 pandemic) and 161 students in 2020 (during COVID-19). The questionnaire included questions about professional perceptions and professional goals that students have in the short and long term. Finally, perceptions exclusively related to COVID-19 were measured. The results showed that the vast majority of the students are highly motivated and committed to pursue a career in the tourism industry. A high percentage of the participants expressed their desire to achieve a Tourism master’s degree and undertake their tourism businesses, despite the uncertainty generated by COVID-19.
Employing a quantitative approach, the second article aims to examine and compare the perceptions of tourism degree studies, and their goals to pursue further education and a career in the tourism sector. Two universities in two different countries were analyzed: The University of Girona (Spain) and the Universidad Estatal de Milagro (Ecuador). The questionnaire design included questions related to professional perceptions and students' short- and long-term career goals. An Exploratory Factor Analysis of the career perceptions was carried out in both universities to determine the underlying factors determining the students’ professional perceptions. Findings show differences in perceptions of tourism studies between the countries. In Ecuador, the studies are perceived as a single factor: “General perception about the career”, while in Spain they are perceived as two factors: “Perception of social pressure”, based on what society expects, and “Personal perception”, based on individual achievements or goals related to a tourism degree and the profession.
With the third article, it was necessary to study from the perspective of the tourism labour market what competencies tourism businessmen consider necessary to perform efficiently in this industry. This study is based on a qualitative analysis and it was carried out at the Ecuadorian national level with businessmen from different areas of the tourism industry. Data used for the research were collected from semi-structured interviews, using a question guide. The method used for analysing the semi-structured interviews was thematic analysis. The results show that the “Professional and methodological competencies” and also “Social and communicative competencies” are the most relevant for the tourism businessmen interviewed. These clusters include aspects such as language competencies, fundamentals in management, fundamentals in economics and law, fundamentals in finance, fundamentals in information and communication technologies, Tourism-related knowledge, problem-solving skills, social networking skills, ability and willingness to change, adaptability skills, proactive communication skills, active listening, persuasion skills, overall communication abilities, and customer service/awareness
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