The professional profile of a leisure time animator in tourism and recreation services

Background Leisure time animation services are a common feature of packages provided by tour operators and hotels. In Poland this type of service is still treated as novelty. The purpose of this study is to identify the important elements of the professional profile of a leisure time animator in order to support the introduction of these services in Poland. Material/Methods Research based on a diagnostic survey method was used. 100 tourists and 100 animators participated in the survey. Two separate on-line questionnaires were prepared for each group of respondents. Results The results of the survey show that the expectations of tourists towards animators are higher than the predispositions declared by animators; they also indicate which attitudes and skills of a leisure time animator are the most important for each surveyed group. Conclusions The study shows that there are several differences between tourists and animators concerning their abilities and personal traits. In addition, the study points out that leisure time animation services are still not very popular among Polish tourists. A model of a professional leisure time animator is presented to help Polish hoteliers in introducing animation services in their offer.