Competency Skills of Travel Agency Employees in Mandaue City, Cebu

ABSTRACT Background/Purpose. Travel agency employees perform frontline functions that require communication, interpersonal relations, time management, organizing, product knowledge, and decision-making. This study assessed the competency skills of travel agency employees in Mandaue City, Cebu, and examined tourists’ satisfaction with tour-guide competencies and the relationship between respondent profiles and perceived competencies. Methods. A quantitative descriptive-correlational design was used. Fifty tourists, comprising 25 local and 25 foreign tourists who had availed of travel agency services in Mandaue City, participated through a survey. A researcher-made four-point Likert questionnaire was used. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, weighted mean, ranking, and chi-square tests. The instrument obtained a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.941 during pilot testing. Results. Based on the reported summary tables, employee competency obtained an overall mean of 3.16, interpreted as Agree. Human relations, organizing, and decision-making/follow-up were rated Strongly Agree, while communication and time management were rated Agree. Tour-guide competency obtained an overall mean of 3.47, interpreted as Highly Effective. Delayed services and poor communication were the most frequently reported challenges. Significant associations were reported for selected demographic–competency pairs involving gender, civil status, educational attainment, and nationality. Conclusion. Travel agency personnel demonstrate generally favorable competencies, particularly in interpersonal relations, organization, and decision-making. Continued attention to communication, time management, information accuracy, service coordination, and professional development is warranted. Keywords: Travel agency; employee competency; tour guide; tourist satisfaction; service quality; Mandaue City