Tourism Literacy Among Sector Employees: Scale Validation, Measurement Invariance and Demographic Predictors
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63556/jotags.2026.1925Anahtar Kelimeler:
Tourism literacy- Scale validation- Measurement invariance- Tourism sector employees- TürkiyeÖz
This study validates the Tourism Literacy Scale within an independent sample of 321 tourism sector employees in Türkiye and examines associations between tourism literacy and demographic variables. Data were collected through face to face and online surveys between May and December 2025. Construct validity was assessed via confirmatory factor analysis with the robust maximum likelihood estimator and measurement invariance across gender was tested through multi group confirmatory factor analysis. The six factor structure was confirmed with acceptable fit indices and full scalar invariance was achieved. Hierarchical regression analysis identified the number of foreign languages spoken and international experience as the strongest predictors of tourism literacy whereas age, gender, industry experience, and formal tourism education were not significant. Accommodation department employees scored higher than those in food and beverage and recreation departments. This study provides the first independent cross validation of the scale in a sector employee sample with implications for human resource policies and training frameworks.
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