What would Dutch society lose if the Tourism and Recreation sector does not survive and what is needed to preserve its societal value and, preferably even, enhance this value? In this report a combination of methods is used to answer the research question: a literature study, case studies, and a survey among entrepreneurs. A substantial number of scientific articles, advisory reports and conference contributions were analysed in various contexts and for different forms of T&R. In the literature study societal contributions were brought together in a structured manner. The cases reflect the breadth of the sector and serve as good examples of how the sector achieves its societal value, but they also illustrate the challenges. The survey produced several insights. Respondents were asked, for instance, to indicate for each societal value whether they saw a positive, negative or no contribution of the sector. By means of a points system a top 25 was composed and put into a table., this table was used to structure the findings from the study.
Using survey data gathered among Dutch public sector management accountants, this contribution shows that appreciative skills and personal skills are considered the most important competencies of these professionals. The authors found gaps between the assigned importance and the actual level of competencies in the fields of interpersonal skills and technical skills. As well, there were differences between age groups.
