Career Development in Tourism and Leisure: An Exploratory Study of the Influence of Mobility and Mentoring

Careers in the tourism industry are relatively new phenomena and have not been the subject of extensive research. Yet, it is clear from the little research that is available that high levels of mobility and unclear career paths stigmatise tourism careers. These issues focus highly in the new ‘boundaryless’ career that has received much attention in human resources research recently. Mentoring has been portrayed as a useful tool to help employees cope with this new career environment. To test this premise, 23 managers in the industry were interviewed and told their own ‘career story’. Respondents reported frequent intra-company, inter-company, and inter-industry career moves and rated mentoring programs as a powerful career management tool. These findings have implications for policy development within the industry and for those seeking a career in tourism. Those involved with other new and emerging professions with find this article of interest.