Abstract

Purpose – to investigate the assumptions of human resources development for tourism with a focus on the role of inter-institutional cooperation.

Design/methodology/approach – Theoretical analysis, synthesis and generalisation will be used as the scientific methodsin order to achieve the stated purpose. The mentioned methods helped to summarize relevant studies seeking to provide a contextualized model of human resources development for tourism.

Findings – By uniting tourism organizations for common goals and interests, the sector would receive more political confidence, and there would be more preconditions for achieving positive changes, among them their development of tourism HR. Interinstitutional cooperation in the context of tourism human resources development, involving different stakeholders, is seen as a prerequisite for addressing common challenges.

Research limitations/implications – Paper represents the theoretical analysis and on any concerns can be treated as final.

Practical implications – In order to achieve the long-awaited changes in the area of HR development in tourism and HR management in general, cooperation between different stakeholders is perhaps the most important condition. It should be noted that coordinated action can have a positive impact on the development of human resources at organizational and national levels.

Originality/Value – The development of tourism human resources in the tourism sector is often referred to as a guarantee of competitive advantage. Tourism, as an international social phenomenon, faces similar challenges in the context of tourism human resources development. The necessity for a broader analysis of the issue of human resources development in the tourism sector became more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic period, when a significant number of tourism professionals were forced to leave the sector, while the future of human resources competences in the tourism sector seemed unclear. As the tourism sector is characterized by fragmentation and continuous transformation, the issue of human resources development is becoming particularly important. It has been noted that the attitude of tourism organizations toward the development of human resources varies significantly; actions are often chaotic and episodic, which negatively affect not only the quality of services of tourism organizations, but also the overall direction of tourism. The need for a more coordinated development of human resources in the tourism sector, including different stakeholders, should be emphasized. It is hoped that the model of human resources development proposed in the article, with an emphasis on interinstitutional cooperation, could have a positive impact on the situation of human resources competences in the tourism sector.

Keywords: human resources development, interinstitutional cooperation, tourism.

Research type: literature review.

JEL classification: O15, M53