Tourism Professional Competencies: An Analysis of Their Alignment with Labor Market Demands

Abstract

The evolution of tourism at a global level demands that its professionals respond to current needs, making it desirable for this attention to begin during professional training, requiring the acquisition of professional, transversal, and soft skills. The aim of this article is to identify the priority professional competencies for the training of tourism students according to the regional employer sector. The study was conducted in Valladolid, Yucatán, Mexico, a tourist area that offers academic programs related to tourism. It follows a qualitative approach and involved structured interviews with employers from the region, where the University of Oriente is located. The findings indicate that, in addition to professional knowledge, students are expected to speak another language—preferably English—and to develop digital skills, empathy, proactivity, and other soft skills.