Development of competences in tourism higher education through Erasmus+ program

Abstract

This paper analyses the competences acquired by 188 students of the Degree in Tourism of the University of Las Palmas of Gran Canaria who participated in the Erasmus+ program, and their relation with employability expectation. To that end, an empirical analysis was carried out with data from the responses to the questionnaire of the European Commission during the academic years 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17. The results achieved confirm the existence of a positive and significant relationship between the acquisition of competences through the Erasmus+ mobility, such as curiosity and tolerance to ambiguity, civic and intercultural behaviour, decisiveness, serenity and confidence, interpersonal skills, and vigour with students’ expectations of employability. Therefore, the Erasmus+ program can become a valuable tool to improve the level of students’ skills, thus helping to reduce the gap between the academic and the professional world, especially in the tourism industry, due to the international character of this activity.