The essential competencies in hospitality and tourism management: Perceptions of industry leaders and university faculty

The current study obtained the perceptions that hospitality and tourism industry leaders have about the management competencies deemed essential for hospitality and tourism graduates from baccalaureate degree programs. Hospitality and tourism university faculty were surveyed to obtain their perceptions of the emphasis these management competencies receive in the baccalaureate coursework. The perceptions of the industry leaders and university faculty were compared to explore whether there are matches in the competencies deemed essential and emphasized in coursework.;Hospitality and tourism graduates need to be “industry ready” upon graduation. If too many gaps exist in the essential competencies, tourism businesses must invest substantial time and money training recent hires for effective management roles.;Online questionnaires were developed for four groups, the Board of Directors of the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA), the National Restaurant Association (NRA), the National Council of State Travel Directors (NCSTD), and hospitality and tourism faculty who are members of the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Educators (I-CHRIE).;The study found that although there is much congruence in the rating of most of the management competencies taught as compared to the competencies desired by industry leaders, differences exist.;Results of the study showed that hospitality and tourism industry leaders and faculty rated most of the 25 management competencies as very important. Of the 12 cultural competencies analyzed, hospitality and tourism industry leaders and faculty rated these competencies very important with the exception of “multi-lingual skills” and “knowledge of a global business environment.” “Multi-lingual skills” had a mean of 3.00 by industry leaders and mean of 2.88 by faculty. “Knowledge of a global business environment” had a mean of 3.77 by faculty and 3.10 by industry leaders.;Implications for the current study include encouraging hospitality and tourism faculty in baccalaureate degree programs in universities to cultivate strong relationships with industry and solicit their input into improving curriculum in order to keep it fresh and relevant. Another implication of the study is to fill in the gaps that were identified where industry leaders expect focus on particular management competencies that may be receiving less emphasis in coursework.