Sustainability in the Minds of Polish Tourism Students

Economic, social, and environmental aspects shape the arrangement of current challenges to ensure the responsible direction of the evolution of societies and economies. The above solidifies the importance of the competence of cadres in the process of realization of the expected responsible functioning and development of the various fields of the economy, hence the sustainable competence of future cadres operating in the tourism sector assumes key importance for the effective functioning of tourism in Poland, as well as for the development of the sector in question in a sustainable direction. This is an extremely important issue, as aspects of sustainability are increasingly influencing consumer choices, including in the tourism services sector. The scientific literature addresses the issue of assessing the knowledge of sustainability among tourism students, particularly in Poland, in a rather limited spectrum. In response to such a defined gap in the literature, the topic in question was considered important and worthy of scientific recognition, taking as the aim of the research the evaluation of sustainable awareness among tourism students in Poland, in light of the ongoing sustainable development of this field of services. The results presented in the article are based on the author’s own research, the in-depth analysis of which was carried out using statistical techniques supported by software PQStat. The research sample was shaped by a convenient sample of 214 students, a population of students pursuing tourism studies at three universities in Poland. The findings of the presented research indicate a generally good level of knowledge about sustainability among the surveyed tourism students in Poland, shaping their sustainable awareness. Importantly, strongly articulated by this group of respondents and confirmed in the findings is the need to strengthen sustainable competencies. The results of the research can be useful in improving human resources training programs for the tourism services sector at the surveyed, but also other universities in Poland. In addition, they can serve decision-makers in designing educational programs on sustainability issues, taking into account the educational needs of this social group in this area.