THE PEDAGOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF DEVELOPING STRATEGIC COMPETENCE IN TOURISM EDUCATION
Vol. 5 No. 17 (2026) 154-159
Abstract
The present study examines the pedagogical significance of developing strategic competence among tourism students. The ability to communicate effectively in tourism-related contexts requires not only linguistic knowledge but also the capacity to overcome communication difficulties, negotiate meaning, adapt messages to interlocutors and maintain interaction in unpredictable professional situations. The study employs qualitative content analysis and comparative synthesis of theoretical models of communicative competence and research related to communication in tourism education. The findings identify compensatory, interactional, regulatory and goal-oriented functions of strategic competence. The study argues that professionally oriented role plays, situational tasks, case studies, simulations and reflective activities create appropriate pedagogical conditions for developing students’ strategic behaviour. A five-stage instructional sequence consisting of awareness raising, modelling, guided practice, professional simulation and reflection is proposed. Developing strategic competence can prepare tourism students to manage communication breakdowns, respond flexibly to tourists’ needs and participate more confidently in intercultural professional interaction.
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