The Essential Managerial Competencies for Tourism and Hospitality Graduates: From the Perspective of Tourism and Hospitality Experts in Egypt

Abstract

When identifying and knowing the managerial competencies needed by the industry from fresh graduates and employees, it will be easy for educational institutions to prepare graduates for future entry-level managerial roles by adapting the curriculum according to industry expectations and through training programs. Therefore, this research aims to identify the essential managerial competencies needed from the tourism and hospitality industry graduates for the tourism labor market in Egypt. A Delphi technique was utilized in this research for collecting data from a group of sixty (60) experts and professionals from different tourism and hospitality sectors. Fifty- three (53) of the sixty (60) participants successfully completed the Delphi study. Three rounds of Delphi were conducted in almost thirteen weeks. For processing and analyzing collected data, the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 has been utilized. Results identified four managerial competencies (problem-solving, decision making, client focus, and teamwork) as the most essential competencies with a consensus above 80%. Depending on the findings, it suggests that the tourism and hospitality curriculum can be modified to add these competencies.