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Human resources in the tourism sector: An overview on general and digital education in Italy

  • Micaela Arcaio
  • Mauro Ferrante
  • Anna Maria Parroco

The tourism sector in Italy plays a pivotal role in the national economy, both in terms of economic output and employment. Nevertheless, the composition of the workforce employed in this sector reveals significant heterogeneity, particularly with regard to educational backgrounds and professional qualifications. Despite the strategic relevance of tourism, only limited information is available concerning the characterization of its workforce, including the alignment between educational paths and actual occupational roles. This study aims to analyze the educational and professional profiles of workers currently employed in the tourism industry, assessing their level of specialization, the relevance of their academic background to the activities performed, and the presence of transversal and digital skills. A key objective is to investigate the extent to which the sector is served by professionals with specific training or whether enterprises often rely on staff with unrelated educational trajectories, indicating either a mismatch between supply and demand or a shortage of adequately trained personnel. The analysis will be conducted using data from the Labour Force Survey. First, we will examine the correspondence between workers’ qualifications and the positions they hold in tourism enterprises. Variables such as company size, geographic location, and type of service offered (e.g., accommodation, food service, experiential services) will also be considered. Second, the study will explore issues related to human resources and the adoption of digital technologies. Drawing on available data, we will map the level of digital competencies within tourism enterprises across Italy. The findings will contribute to understanding the current educational gaps in the tourism workforce and may inform future training policies aimed at aligning education systems with labor market needs.

  • Keywords:
  • Human resources,
  • Tourism,
  • Education,
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Micaela Arcaio

University of Palermo, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0001-6149-7784

Mauro Ferrante

University of Palermo, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0003-1287-5851

Anna Maria Parroco

University of Palermo, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0003-3213-7805

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  • Anno di pubblicazione: 2026
  • Pagine: 21-25

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  • Anno di pubblicazione: 2026

Informazioni sul capitolo

Titolo del capitolo

Human resources in the tourism sector: An overview on general and digital education in Italy

Autori

Micaela Arcaio, Mauro Ferrante, Anna Maria Parroco

Lingua

Inglese

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-1062-1.6

Opera sottoposta a peer review

Anno di pubblicazione

2026

Copyright

© 2026 Author(s)

Licenza d'uso

CC BY 4.0

Licenza dei metadati

CC0 1.0

Informazioni bibliografiche

Titolo del libro

Data, Statistics and AI for Well-Being of People and Organisations

Curatori

Luigi Fabbris, Alberto Franci, Pietro Renzi

Opera sottoposta a peer review

Numero di pagine

420

Anno di pubblicazione

2026

Copyright

© 2026 Author(s)

Licenza d'uso

CC BY 4.0

Licenza dei metadati

CC0 1.0

Editore

Firenze University Press

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-1062-1

ISBN Print

979-12-215-1061-4

eISBN (pdf)

979-12-215-1062-1

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979-12-215-1063-8

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Applied Statistics Series

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