The UAE has targeted the tourism and hospitality sector as part of its economic diversification away from hydrocarbons, yet at present only 1% of this sector’s employees are nationals and the tour guide profession is one vocation where the UAE government wants to recruit more nationals. The purpose of this research is to assess the factors that will influence the likelihood of national tourism students considering the tour guide role as a career. A model that incorporated the Career Decision-Making Profile alongside context-relevant factors was developed. Survey results (n=186) show that various CDMP traits such as one’s willingness to compromise and independent decision making, make this job a more likely prospect. The nature of this job is considered attractive by tourism students, but entrenched public sector preferences and societal sentiment on the ‘appropriacy’ of nonconventional career paths, reduces the likelihood of this vocation being considered.