Job Perceptions of Hotel and Tourism Employees: A Comparative Study

This study explores the job perceptions of hotel staff and tour guides. It aims to discover more about their skills, attitudes and career plans, and gain comparative insights that will help to develop human resources within these areas of work. The findings reveal that both hospitality and tourism sector in China are faced with a shortage of human resources with an appropriate level of education and of suitably high quality. Oral communication is identified as the most important skill, followed by professional and ethical standards as well as team work and leadership qualities. Ideas vary considerably with respect to the relative importance of skills within the two work areas. Compared with hotel staff, tour guides in China show lower job loyalty, in part because of low social status and poor opportunities for career progress. This paper concludes that it is essential for Chinese government agencies at a national and provincial level to practice effective and sector-sensitive measures to attract, train, retain and develop appropriate talent in order to meet the needs and challenge of the international tourism industry.