Percepção dos representantes do setor turístico acerca da imagem do bacharelado em hotelaria da Universidade Federal da Paraíba

Abstract

The image refers to an intangible value for organizations, through which consumers associate feelings of identification and create expectations about the product or service being offered. The Federal University of Paraíba is one of the examples of how the power of the image can be associated with quality, prestige and reliability in the education provided to the whole society. One of the courses offered by UFPB is a bachelor's degree in hospitality, which aims to train qualified managers to work in the labor market, in view of the growing demand for tourists to the city of João Pessoa and the need by companies for qualified labor. Based on these aspects, the objective of this work was to analyze the image of the bachelor's degree in hospitality at UFPB through the perception of representatives of the tourism sector of João Pessoa. The interest of this study was to discuss information pertinent to the image of that course, in relation to the teaching staff and students, considering employability, as well as the opportunities and challenges to adapt to the requirements of the sector in relation to future professionals. For this, a semi-structured interview script was applied, applied to a total of 3 representatives, being active in the PBTur, Convention Bureau and ABIH-PB. The results of the research indicated that the course is well regarded by the interviewees, however, they have little or no knowledge about the objectives of the course, curriculum, and projects developed to train the graduate student in hospitality. The need for more partnerships between these institutions with the Department of Tourism and Hospitality was also evidenced, being essential the search for a dialogue between the academy with the representatives of the tourist trade, as well as with companies of the branch and with the government so that the course has a closer approach to the market and is in line with its needs. It was also possible to prove the need for fluency in another language on the part of the graduate student in hospitality, since the market presents a shortage of bilingual professionals. In general, from the study it was possible to make analyzes and reflections to take actions that bring improvements and benefits to the course, making it valued and recognized by society and the labor market.