ABSTRACT
This article brings empirical evidence to the conceptual framework of tourism values developed by the Tourism Education Future Initiative by exploring the content of the mission statements of 85 graduate programs in tourism around the world as well as the content of 156 posts in international job search engines advertising for positions in tourism related industries. Finally a survey conducted in several international universities, with an in-depth case study applied at the University of Lugano, Switzerland revealed interesting results concerning the values students in tourism programs believe are important for themselves, their universities and the industry.
