GAP IN THE STUDENTS' AND TRAVEL AGENCIES' OPINION ON THE NECESSARY KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS TO WORK IN TRAVEL AGENCIES

Travel agencies are important stakeholders in the development of tourism in the destination. They create integrated tourism products with high value added. Therefore, in addition to formal knowledge, they expect specific skills from their employees. However, the study programmes of educational institutions in the field of tourism often focus more on specific knowledge and skills in the hotel industry, at the same time neglecting the business of travel agencies. In addition, it is necessary to consider whether the existing formal education provide knowledge and develop skills that are crucial for the business of travel agencies. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate if there is a gap in the opinions of students (future employees) and travel agencies on the knowledge and skills necessary for working in travel agencies. For this purpose, research was conducted on students of the University of Split, University Department of Professional Studies and the travel agencies in Croatia measuring the probable difference in their opinions. The results indicated that the opinions of both groups of respondents were agreed to the most important knowledge and skills for work (sales skills, foreign languages and digital business). The considerable significance of international work or educational experience was also confirmed by both groups of respondents. Still, there is a difference relating to recommendations that employers give more emphasis than the future employees who haven’t yet recognized their importance. Consequently, it is necessary to encourage continuous cooperation between the educational institution and the employers in order to obtain detailed information about the necessary knowledge and skills in the field of travel agency business, and on the other hand, to stimulate students to make more effort preparing and presenting themselves as much as possible to a future employer.