Evaluation of the Qualities and Characteristics of Entrepreneurs Among Students at Egyptian Public Universities' Faculties of Tourism and Hotels

This study aimed at evaluating the availability of the qualities and characteristics of entrepreneurs among students of faculties of tourism and hotels in Egyptian public universities, which would enable them to establish successful entrepreneurial projects after graduation. To achieve this goal, the mixed research method was adopted, based on combining the quantitative and descriptive approaches, with the aim of maximizing the benefits of both methods. To answer the study's questions, a questionnaire was applied as a data collection tool. 600 questionnaires were distributed to a stratified random sample of students from faculties of tourism and hotels in Egyptian public universities. The SPSS V.25 program was used to analyze the collected data through the methods of means, standard deviations, Mann-Whitney test, and Kruskal-Wales test. The study concluded that the students of the faculties of tourism and hotels in the Egyptian public universities possess all the qualities and characteristics of the entrepreneurs that were subjected to the study. The results of the study also highlighted the existence of statistically significant differences in the students' responses to the level of their possession of all the qualities and characteristics of entrepreneurs due to the department. The results of the study also showed that there were statistically significant differences in the students' responses to all the qualities and characteristics of entrepreneurs, except for the tendency to create wealth, independence in work and decisions, and planning according to the grade. The study also highlighted the absence of statistically significant differences in the students' responses in all the qualities and characteristics of entrepreneurs, except for the trait of general readiness for entrepreneurial business due to the university. As a result, tourism curriculum developers are encouraged to use these findings when redrawing policies to improve students' entrepreneurial characteristics in tourism and hotel faculties, particularly their "readiness for entrepreneurship" characteristic, by expanding the development of entrepreneurial educational skills and experiences adopted by hotels studies departments that enhance this characteristic.  Then disseminate it to students in the rest of the tourism faculties' departments at Egyptian universities.