No abstract

No abstract

KEYWORDS: tourism industry, occupational decision making, work valuesTourism development in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) is a strategic economic priority in the new millennium. The tourism industry in T& T is still in its embryonic stage, and one of the fundamental challenges facing the itldustry is the attraction and retention of the necessary number and quality of young people in hi,~hly competitive employment markets. Agains; this backgroutld, this paper seeks to examine the attitudes of potential recruits towards working in the tourism industry in T& T.Following a review of the occupational decision-making process, the concept of work values and attitudes towards tourism employment, 120 questionnaires were distributed to high school students in T&T to determine their attitudes towards careers in tourism. The main .finding is that secondary school students in both Trinidad and Tobago have a favourable attitude towards tourism employment, which is stron,~ly influenced by their work values and their sources of information about the industry. Students who are interested in 'self-development' and 'working with friendly people' see tourism as providing good career opportunities,' a lack of knowledge tends to be associated with positive, perhaps unrealistically glamorous views of tourism employment. These .fitldin,!!s present a challenge to stakeholders in the industry to nurture this favourable attitude and to provide these young leaders with adequate and accurate information and training, without dampening their enthusiasm, to take the industry into the [uture,

No abstract

Trinidad and Tobago lies within one of the world's most tourism-intensive regions, the Caribbean. Yet, unlike its neighbours, it has not relied heavily on income from travel and tourism since its economy is dominated by the energy sector. ver the last three decades, tourism has emerged as a major force in the global economy, with most countries, whether developed or developing, having increasing opportunities to participate, as both host and guest, in this socio-economic phenomenon. Rapid tourism developments have been undertaken by various countries in an attempt to reap those economic benefi ts from one of the world's leading industries. For several countries, the tourism industry is highlighted as an income earner on the balance of payments. The following statement made by Mather and Todd (1993, p. 11) 13 years ago is still true today:there is probably no other region in the world in which tourism as a source of income, employment, hard currency earnings and economic growth has greater importance than in the Caribbean.To a large extent, tourism is more important in an economic sense to these island