The article identifies the specifics of the process of development of professional competence of future tourism specialists. The structure of the professional competence is presented. It is pointed out, that the structure of the competence of the specialist involves experience (knowledge, skills), orientation (needs, values, motives, ideals), quality (ability to synergetic manifestations, adaptation, interpretation, self-development, integration). The professional competence includes, personality, activity, reflexive components. The personal component is a system of professionally determined qualities of the personality, abilities, motives, interests that determine the position of the tourism specialists, his professional orientation (the leading motive of which is of self-actualization of his personality, self-directedness acting as the need for professional self-improvement), professional reflection. The activity component it includes accumulated professional knowledge and skills, reflects the manifestation of the initiative and creativity, professional qualities of personality; correlates with the skills associated with the psychological aspect of the personality: communicative, perceptual, reflexive. The reflexive component of the structure of professional competence of tourism specialists includes the readiness of the specialists industry of tourism to evaluate and self-assess professional activity, to make timely adjustments to professional activities, to carry out analysis and forecasts. The functions of professional competence are determined: gnostic, prognostic, organizational, communicative, reflexive