Research on employment willingness of tourism management graduates based on AHP-DEMATEL model

High-quality tourism graduates who meet the needs of modern tourism development are a central resource in tourism development, critical to enhancing core competitiveness in tourism. However, the employment rate of tourism master’s graduates is low, restricting the rapid development of the tourism industry. This study aims to explain the influencing factors of the employment willingness of tourism management master’s graduates in China. A questionnaire was designed to investigate three influencing factors: personal work preferences and perception, tourism industry development characteristics, and school teaching and training. AHP-DEMATEL method was used to identify the influencing factors in tourism graduates’ employment willingness. The results show that employment willingness is not affected by gender but that it is affected by age, and that students choose stable careers due to insufficient confidence in the tourism development situation. The nature of the work, the social status, and the salary are not the main influencing factors. There are inconclusive findings on future development prospects, personal work preferences, recognition of the value of the work, and opportunities to acquire new knowledge and skills. Additionally, professional practice and employment information issued by the schools affect the employment willingness of tourism master’s graduates.