The profile of the tourism

manager of the County of Istra

Prof. dr. sc. Desimir Bošković

Ana Težak, dipl. oec.
David Poropat, dipl. oec.
Introduction
 Managers are the most important resource and
base for competitive and strategic advantages on
the tourism market
 Tourism managers differ from those in other sectors
due to specific range of activities
 Changes in ownership and management structure
of catering and tourism enterprises had influence
on changes in the profile of tourism manager of
Istria County
 The main purpose of this paper is to explore and
analyze characteristics of tourism enterprises and
tourism managers in order to determine their
profile
Defining tourism manager
 Characteristics of tourism manager
 Loyalty to the firm
 Self-confidence
 Visionary
 Rationality in decision making process
 Excellent communication traits
 Working ethics
 Successful manager = maximum
number of satisfied guests
Managerial traits
 Knowledge obtained through formal
education
 Lifelong Education
 Participation in courses and seminars
 Consulting literature and examining good
practices study cases
 Postgraduate study
 Working experience and practical
work
Methodology
 Instrument:  Responders:
questionnaire  Hotel managers
 Timeframe: 2008  Restaurant managers
 Travel agency
 Characteristics of
managers
hotels  DMO managers
 2 to 4 star hotels  Development
 Large enterprises Managers
 Privatized  Procurement
managers
 Top managers
Age structure
Age group Frequency Percentage

25-35 6 10,1

36-45 15 25,0

46-55 23 98,3

Over 55 16 26,6
Gender structure
Gender Frequency Percentage

Women 15 25

Man 45 75
Education structure
Education level Frequency Percentage
High school 12 20,0

College 20 33,3

University 26 43,3

Masters 1 1,7

Ph.D. 1 1,7
Managerial experience
Length in Frequency Percentage
years
Up to 5 12 20,0

5-10 18 30,0

10-15 10 16,7

15-20 13 21,7

More than 20 7 11,6

Opinion about employees’
motivation
Level of Frequency Percentage
motivation

High 10 16,6

Moderate 35 58,4

Low 15 25,0
Opinion about investment in human
resources
Evaluation Frequency Percentage

Unsatisfactory 12 20,0

Satisfactory 18 30,0

Good 12 20,0

Excellent 18 30,0
Opinion about unsatisfactory offer
of organic food products
Reason Frequency Percentage

Poor offer 12 20,0

High prices 19 30,0

Unsatisfactory 10 16,6
price-quality
relation
Not better than 20 33,4
conventional
Profile of tourism managers and
tourism hotels
 Most of the hotels have 350-600 beds and are opened
during high season
 9% of responders were owners as well as managers
 41% of responders were hotel managers
 Every third women is a DMO manager
 Most of the responders were between 46 and 55 years
of age
 Most of the managers have high level of education,
70% of them are female
 Most of the managers think that their employees are
moderately motivated, while the least of them think
that they are highly motivated
 30% of managers think that investment in human
resources is satisfactory or excellent
Profile of average manager
 High level of education
 Man
 Married
 Between 36 and 55 years of age
 Working in three star hotel
 Has more than 18 years of working
experience, more than 15 years on that
position
 Is interested in long life education and is
rational in decision making process
Managers in Europe and worldwide
 Younger
 Have less working experience
 Speak more foreign languages
 Are familiar with psychology in tourism
 Are more efficient and creative
 Are familiar with trends occurring on
tourism market
 Invest more in personal education and
training
Conclusion
 Profile of tourism managers from Istria
County will be adapted according to
 Profile of managers in Europe and worldwide and
 Profile of managers in other tourism destination
 Desirable traits will be
 Creativity
 Responsibility
 Communication
 Formal education and lifelong education
 Ability to work in a team
 Leadership skills