The role of training in changing an economy specialising in tourism

Abstract

This paper compares the training requirements of alternative tourism development strategies which are differentiated by the quality of service offered. The paper focuses on the Balearic Islands and use an original database that consists of a representative sample of Balearic hotels. This database includes data on both employers and employees and allows us to identify differences in job characteristics, as well as differences in human capital, with respect to both education and on‐the‐job training, depending on the category of the hotel. The article uses a discrete choice model to identify the characteristics of both employer and employee that determine the provision of training. It concludes that educational level is not a strong constraint on the mobility of workers between categories, and we show that on‐the‐job training has a role to play in the transition to alternative tourism development strategies.