The tourism sector has been presented as one of the most important sectors of diverse economies due to its
capacity to contribute to economic growth and job creation. Being an industry of people, it directly depends on the
performance of activities, skills, professionalism, quality and competitiveness, so it is essential to answer with precise
planning politics which should be the most approximated ones to the real needs of the sector. In Portugal, the tourism
sector continues to reinforce its importance in society and in the national economy since it remains the main exporting
economic sector. On the other hand, the main challenge of this sector is qualifying and increasing the level of qualification
of its workers due to their inadequate level of qualification, since 50% of the employed population in this sector has a
primary education level. Therefore, it has defined, in its public policies, the goal of duplicating, in the next decade, the
number of employees with high school education qualifications. In this sense, once skills are becoming the global currency
of the 21st century, this study aims to feature the main soft skills that touristic human resources should hold, based on the
importance given to them by the national entrepreneurs of the sector. This study is based on a sample of 555 answers and
used a qualitative methodology throughout a profound review of the literature as well as a quantitative methodology
where an online survey was implemented, expecting to develop the ideal profile of the tourism human resources. The
results of the study suggest that the profile of human resources in the tourism sector should include skills such as
teamwork, knowledge of market trends, ability to conduct efficient strategic processes and decisions, as well as language
skills, sales skills and digital communication.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
