The Digital Skills Gap – Is it Time to Rethink the Needs of Tourism and Hospitality Organizations in the UK?

Abstract

<p dir="ltr"><i>This research investigates digital skill gaps </i><i>and digital training provision </i><i>amongst tourism and hospitality </i><i>organizations</i><i> in the four nations of the United Kingdom.</i><i> The results derived from an online survey show that </i><i>organizations</i><i> mostly lack skills in emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and robotics and highlight that key skills gaps relate to social media, online </i><i>marketing,</i><i> and communication skills. The skills gaps are considered in the context of specific policies of the four nations together with education barriers and other</i><i> </i><i>societal</i><i> constraints. This is supplemented by a discussion of industry training provision, compounded by issues of time </i><i>within the management of the business</i><i>, budget controls and lack of </i><i>knowledge and </i><i>resources. These findings add to the growing body of literature on the complexity of skills provision in the tourism and hospitality sector. From a practical perspective, this study helps to </i><i>identify</i><i> the key areas for skills development and barriers</i></p>