Content, structure and components of the professional competence of a specialist in the field of tourism

Introduction. Provision of conditions and formation of professional competence of specialists in the field of tourism is an urgent key task of the implementation of specialized educational programs at universities. The purpose of the study is to identify the specifics, determine the content, structure and key factors of the formation of professional competence of a specialist in the field of tourism at the university. Materials and methods: publications on the subject of research in scientific journals and professional forums, regulatory documents regulating activities in the field of tourism, federal state educational and professional standards, personal practical experience in teaching and tourism activities; general scientific and logical methods, analysis, synthesis, comparison, integration, generalization, which allowed a comprehensive and complete investigation of the problem. Hypothesis: orientation to the current and future needs and requests of employers in the field of tourism; the ability of future specialists to effectively perform labor functions, quickly adapt to changing conditions and use advanced technologies of tourism activities should become determining factors in the process of their studies at the university. Results. It is substantiated that the core of the formation of professional competence of future tourism specialists is practical training, which should be given special attention. The novelty of the research: the author's version of the definition is proposed, clarifying the content of the concept of professional competence of a specialist in the field of tourism and the model of its structure; professional-personal, professional-meaningful, professionalactivity, practical-reflective components are characterized. Conclusion: the substantiated structure of professional competence of a specialist of tourism sphere can be used as a basis for its formation in the process of implementation of their training programs at the university.