Tourism is an economic sector that supports world economy; in Europe it is considered as the second most important sector after commerce and distribution. For countries such as Mexico, tourism has turned into the main economic business, it has become one of the most preferred touristic destinations worldwide. In Colombia, tourism is considered as a world class sector, with great perspectives for development and its contribution to domestic economy. In response to such dynamics of touristic sector education institutions have made a great progress in their offer of academic programs with particular characteristics. This article provides an analytical comparison of higher education in matters of tourism involving Mexico, Spain, Cuba and Colombia, taking as variables those competences to be developed in students, formation levels, preparation and structure of academic plans of programs in this area of education. A documental research was performed based on collecting information from various sources, systematically reflecting on realities of tourism education, in order to establish some references which serve to design new academic programs in the area of tourism. It is proved that, for the case of the analyzed countries, formation is aimed at a convergence of four basic dimensions: being, thinking, doing, and knowledge, which combine with knowledge based on experience and practice, with a clear orientation toward development of competences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]