Bridging the gap in skills, competencies, and knowledge: Identifying businesses' perception of Slovak and Czech tourism graduates

Recognising the needs of the tourism business in terms of graduate students' skills, competencies, and knowledge is a prerequisite for high employability. This study examines these needs and identifies the gap in soft, hard, and sustainability skills of tourism graduates. This empirical research addresses the following research question: What skills, knowledge, and competencies should be considered essential by higher education institutions? This subject is yet to be thoroughly explored in the Central European context. This study delves into the business perspective and analyses their expectations of tourism graduates. To offer meaningful insights, this study employs an innovative methodology, namely an importance-performance analysis, to gain insights into these skills gaps and businesses’ expected hard and soft competencies. The implications of these results extend beyond the immediate region as they may apply to the broader European Union by equipping graduates with the skills to thrive in its open market.