Correlates of Work Responses in Tourist Industry

Abstract

634 college students from an Australian tourist region responded to three tourist industry work requests focusing on employment preference, retraining, and ascribed job attainment criteria. Also included were measures of the Protestant Work Ethic, Locus of Control, and a number of sociodemographic variables. Women were more likely to evince an interest in tourist industry work and also in retraining. Subjects with a greater experience of the tourist industry had a more realistic grasp of selection criteria. Higher scorers on the Protestant Work Ethic and internal Locus of Control were also more likely to show greater knowledge of job selection. Implications of these findings for the tourist industry and potential employees are examined.