IMPORTANCE OF SOFT SKILLS AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN TOURISM: VIEWPOINT FROM TOURISTS AND FUTURE TOURISM EMPLOYEES

Abstract

Purpose – Besides possessing professional knowledge, tourism service providers need to have expressed communication skills and soft skills in order to offer a better tourism service. In this paper, the tourism employees' set of soft and communication skills is analysed and compared from two different points of view: tourists on the one hand and future tourism professionals, i.e., tourism students, on the other. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to analyse the importance and differences in the perception of soft skills and communication skills in the tourism and hospitality sector from these two standpoints. Methodology – Two structured questionnaires were used to collect primary data: the first questionnaire aimed at examining the tourists' attitudes regarding the importance of soft and communication skills (N=431), and the second one, at analysing the importance of soft and communication skills from the perspective of future tourism professionals (N=404). The research results are presented using descriptive statistics, the t-test, and the Mann-Whitney U test. Findings – The results indicate that both groups are aware of the importance of communication and soft skills. The statistically significant differences between the tourist sample and the future tourism professional sample were found for all items of the Soft skills factor, with the exception of the items Demonstrating respect, Integrity, and Responsibility. Both samples show similarities with regard to all kinds of Communication skills. Statistically significant differences in the perception of all five Communication skills items from tourists' and future tourism professionals' perspectives were found. Contribution – The paper contributes to the theory by systematizing and analysing the literature and conceptualizing the soft skills and communication skills up to date. Its empirical contribution derives from the examination of data related to the tourist sample and the future tourism employee sample. This different point of view contributes to filling the research gap and opens new future research directions. By examining the most important soft skills and communication skills from these two perspectives, this study provides a practical implication for tourism educators and hospitality managers, revealing the communication skills and soft skills that require further development.