Career perceptions of undergraduate tourism students : a case study in Turkey

Abstract

The characteristics of tourism employment and careers have been widely documented. Although the development of the tourism industry can create new employment opportunities, it is often criticised for providing primarily low-skilled and low-paying jobs. If today's students are to become the effective practitioners of tomorrow, it is fundamental to understand their perceptions of tourism employment. This paper focuses on a sample of 450 Turkish students studying tourism at university level in order to analyse their perceptions towards tourism careers. The results showed that, overall, the respondents' perceptions are neither favourable nor unfavourable. The findings also indicated that: willingness to study tourism; willingness to work in tourism after graduation; and work experience; are important factors in shaping their image of tourism careers.