Tourism myths and the Dunning Kruger effect

There are many erroneous but pervasive ‘truths’ about tourism. This study assesses individuals' capacity to question these myths alongside their self-perceptions of their critical thinking skills. The research used a survey with 1493 respondents from 22 universities across 16 countries/territories to test the Dunning Kruger effect, which suggests an inverse relationship between self-belief and competence. The data provides strong evidence of the Dunning Kruger effect insofar as those more likely to believe in tourism myths also had a greater tendency to overestimate their capabilities, and vice versa. We discuss the possible causes and the implications for tourism education, identifying potential interventions at different points along learners' developmental journeys to help ensure a more sustainable future for tourism scholarship and practice. [Display omitted] •Many commonly-held truths about tourism are actually myths.•We test the extent to which tourism students believe these myths.•1493 tourism students were interviewed across 16 countries.•Overconfident students are less sceptical about tourism myths and vice versa.•Therefore, the Dunning Kruger Effect is confirmed.