Abstract
The article discusses the importance of human resources in the field of tourism. In the Republic of Kazakhstan, the tourism sector is characterized by a shortage of highly qualified specialists. In tourism enterprises, mainly in the field of tourism and hospitality, there is a low level of specialists with the appropriate education and the necessary level of professionalism. These conditions consequently lead to poor quality of service. An important aspect is the availability of practical skills and theoretical base in this area. The article reflects the place of Kazakhstan in the Global Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum, identifies a list of factors that increase and decrease the rating of Kazakhstan in the field of tourism. On the basis of statistical indicators, the dynamics of changes in employment indicators and nominal wages of workers in the tourism industry, namely, travel companies, hotel enterprises and health resort organizations, for the period from 2016 to 2020 are considered and analyzed. In addition, the article focuses on the activities of domestic higher and secondary vocational educational institutions that train specialists for the tourism sector. Foreign experience is considered and directions are given that should be priority in training personnel for the tourism industry.