This research was carried out with tourism operators from throughout New Zealand and as such included a variety of activities and size of operators. It does however identify that in general terms softs skills are very important and in many cases rate as more important than hard skills.

Considerations for the redevelopment of travel and tourism qualifications should, on the findings of this research, emphasise:
• More soft skills as a part of the teaching rather than hard skills
• Is it our role to teach soft skills or do we leave that to another school, programme or provider?
• Do we have soft skills modules at the start of the programme?
• Should students be tested on their soft skills at enrolment as part of the entry criteria?
• Can we grade students on their soft skills?