Human resources and tourism : skills, culture and industry

The tourism industry provides employment for literally millions of individuals. Despite global recessions, terrorist attacks and other catastrophes this is likely to remain unchanged in the long-term. Resilience of this nature helps tourism remain a major global employer in both developed and emerging economies. The important role played by tourism workers cannot be overstated; some argue that they actually define the product on offer. Accordingly, mediocre or poor performance gives rise to an unremarkable service experience or one to which customers would not return willingly. The inextricable link between the calibre and performance of staff and service delivery is a key issue for human resources management. This challenge is further complicated by a number of structural characteristics including: dominance of unaffiliated small to medium-sized organizations; high levels of labour turnover; and a heterogeneous workforce with individuals having a wide variety of cultural differences and employment aspirations. This book accounts for the above factors using an approach which is part prescriptive and part enquiry or research-oriented. In doing so, espoused 'HRM convention' may be understood against 'HRM in practice'. Additionally, by using this method we hope to instil a sense of enquiry in the reader. This is a necessary intellectual asset for the future and will also allow the individual to make a positive contribution in the workplace.