Research purpose – The purpose of the study was to explore the students’ perceptions towards autonomous service robots, using interviews and, in a novel manner, also their drawings, to generate data. The paper contributes to current knowledge claims around the Techno-Economic Paradigm by providing a greater understanding of, and student response to, autonomous service robots. Additional insights were gained on transformational skills set for tourism practitioners. Design/Methodology/Approach – A qualitative approach followed a participatory research design which was set in a public higher education institution. Undergraduate tourism and hospitality students who had previous exposure and engagement with robots were the purposive sample. The paper draws on the Techno-Economic Paradigm to illuminate how, according to students’ experiences and perceptions, autonomous robots interact in, and disrupt, the tourism industry. Findings – Four main drawings essentially expressed tourism and hospitality students’ perceptions of autonomous service robots in the tourism industry. Centrally there are opportunities for the absorption of robots in certain sectors of the tourism industry. Despite greater use of robots in service-driven industries like tourism, it remains challenging to establish the right balance between humans and robots, and up- and re-skilling transformation would be required of those working in the tourism industry and those studying towards a tourism qualification. This study advances that additional research is still required, including longitudinal studies on the effects of autonomous services in the tourism industry, as well as students’ perception on the use of robots, re-skilling as well as ethical risks to customers, the greater value to the economy and those working in the tourism industry. Originality of the research – The article contributes to the use of visual methodology as part of data generation, specifically how students’ perceptions regarding autonomous robots in the tourism industry were graphically distilled using this methodology.

The tourism industry requires that increasing attention be paid not only to the quality of products and services but also to the quality of the human resources that constitute one of its major assets, since tourism is essentially a people-centered service industry. As such, a high-quality skilled workforce will ensure greater competitiveness and innovation, improved job prospects, repeat tourist visits, and economic growth in South Africa. This study aims to establish how tourism graduates perceived their abilities in terms of knowledge and skills and how the tourism industry evaluated tourism graduates' actual abilities in terms of knowledge and skills within the tourism industry. The researchers adopted a sequential, explanatory mixed-method that entails combining quantitative and qualitative methods. The researchers conducted a quantitative survey of a purposive sample of 561 managers, supervisors, and owners of tourism industry establishments, as well as tourism graduates exposed to the industry and those working in the tourism industry. Semistructured interviews were also conducted with 12 participants who were purposively selected. This study found that the tourism industry experiences graduates as being comfortable with technology, having a professional appearance, as well as outgoing—their three top actual abilities. However, graduates were perceived to lack entrepreneurial skills. In addition, work experience, negotiation skills, and career planning were among the lowest ranked actual abilities of tourism graduates. Actual knowledge and skills gaps indicate a lack of the educational expertise required, as it underpins the curriculum in a tourism qualification and adds extensive value to the tourism industry when recruiting, training, and developing staff.

The amount of millennial employees who are employed in the hospitality and tourism industry has increased significantly. The millennial generation does not endorse the same level of commitment and work ethic to their careers as previous generations. The millennial are more likely to develop mental health problems as they are often dissatisfied with the working conditions. The purpose of the study was to determine the optimal shift length for chefs between the ages of 25 and 39 to promote resilience. A quantitative research approach and a cross-sectional design was used. Two groups of chefs working various work shift lengths were identified. Shift length was dived into two categories: up to 8 hours and more than 8 hours. The Adult Resilience Measure (ARM-R) was used to measure resilience. There were 150 millennial chef participants who took part in this study. The study found that the millennial chefs who worked more than 8 hour shifts are less resilient than those who worked more than eight hour shifts. The results furthermore indicated that social skills play a significant role in a millennial chef’s levels of resilience. Social support and an eight hour or less work shift contributes to the resilience levels of millennial chefs and is therefore, and optimal shift length for resilience. This study serves as a guideline to provide advice to both restaurant managers and chefs on coping with stressors in the kitchen environment specifically post COVID-19 where longer working hours would be required.

The tourism sector is currently one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, with impacts on both travel supply and demand. The transport system forms a key part of tourism, including the tourist experience at a destination. This research sought to understand how the taxi industry operates within the City of Johannesburg under the government restrictions imposed during COVID-19. The study adopted a qualitative research approach, based on interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to explore the topic. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with participants who were purposively selected from the Johannesburg CBD taxi rank. Insufficient sanitisation and the breaching of curfews were observed. Limited guidance was provided during the initial stages of the pandemic, with no formal training. Financial support was made available, but drivers did not receive funds, as they did not comply with the requirements for membership of the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) (Melzer, 2020). Illegal full-capacity loading and price increases were also evident. All participants seem to have expressed some form of anxiety, loneliness and uncertainty. Few suggestions were proposed towards sustainable practices and innovative technological means to support the industry during the lockdown and going forward.

Aim. Employability has gained increased interest after the respective global shocks of 2008 and 2020. The study deepens the theory of employability in relation to a globally significant tourism industry. The aim of the study is to identify the core dimensions of the employability of tour-guides. Method. The study adopted a qualitatively intrinsic case study at a world heritage site (WHS), namely the Maropeng Visitor Centre. The researcher focused on the notion of employability for tour-guides, based on existing research gaps regarding those two central concepts. Results. The study determines the roles and responsibilities of tour-guides so as to align these to the notion of employability capital of tour-guides. Secondly, the study probed how higher education institutions (HEIs) should contribute to tour-guides’ employability particularly, and their employability capital, generally. Moreover, misconceptions emerged about HEIs’ offerings concerning employability and tour-guides’ education. Conclusions. Employability capital has become a factor influencing success in the work environment. This study revealed the importance of practical courses in tourism education (tour guiding, first aid, and additional languages) and highlighted the imperative to understand students’ skills and capabilities within the scope of practical training courses. Originality. The study advances knowledge on employability capital in relation to tour guiding at WHS. This would help to develop a better system that would increase employability capital in the tour-guiding sector.