A Management and Leadership Development Model for the Tourism Sector in Mauritius

Abstract

The tourism sector is a major sector in Mauritius and after the pandemic it is experiencing a substantial growth. Such growth has also led to an increase in the demand for management skills in the sector. These people play a key role in ensuring service quality and efficiency throughout the hotel sector. Effective Management and leadership Development programs and processes ensure that hotels have the right number and kinds of managers needed to compete and meet their goals, especially in a highly competitive and rapidly changing business environment. However, little research has been done to understand the actual process of management and leadership development in the Mauritian hotel sector from the perspective of participants in management development programs. The purpose of this research is to understand how the management development process works in the Mauritian hotel sector. A Grounded theoretical approach was used as a novel approach. 25 participants (Resort Managers, Reservation Managers, Finance Managers, Front Office Managers, Room Service Managers, F&B Managers) from Mauritian hotels were interviewed to obtain relevant information on the management development process. Data were analyzed with Nvivo software. This study allowed to develop a new conceptual framework for the management development process, based on the opinions of the participants. The conceptual framework helps to understand the actual process of management development as it occurs in the Mauritian context and helps to compare it with other models that exist in the hotel sector around the world.

Keywords: Grounded Theory Approach, Management Development, Mauritian Hotels, Perspectives of Participants

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