Human resources management in small tourism enterprises: the case of the hospitality sector

Abstract

Human resources management in the tourism sector plays a strategic role for enterprises, due the need to attract, develop and keep qualified people to answer client's needs. This study has the objective to analyse management practices, professional demand and challenges in people management in small hospitality enterprises. Personal interviews were conducted with 30 business owners/managers of small enterprises located in Aracaju and in tourism towns in Sergipe State. Employees' low leve! of formal education was perceived as the major challenge that these companies have to face in relation to human resources management because this limitation is reflected in many other aspects, as for instance the difficulty to acquire new knowledge and of improving servi ces quality.