Tourism Education in Canada

SUMMARY

This paper explores the past, present, and future directions of tourism education in Canada, from its origins in the late 1960s until today. The study reviews the development of tourism education over four decades, with a particular focus on developments in Ontario. The influence of tourism organizations, and the impact of legislation on tourism and hospitality education in developing future industry leaders capable of sustaining and growing Canada's tourism industry are discussed. The paper also reflects on the current status of tourism education in Canada, the lack of government support for tourism research initiatives, and the loss of research talent to overseas universities. The research discovered a paucity of past historical documentation of tourism education in Canada and this paper is perhaps the first concerted effort to chronicle the 40-year cumulative history of formal tourism education in Canada.     

A Shift-Share Analysis Approach to Understanding the Dynamic of the Portuguese Tourism Market

Abstract

The growth in the global tourism market place presents many countries with great opportunities to capitalize on their natural competitive advantages. However, achieving the economic potential of global tourism remains elusive for many countries despite their natural advantages. In this context, Portugal is a case in point. The Portuguese tourism industry is facing some serious challenges that are limiting its potential. This study utilizes the shift-share technique in order to offer Portuguese policy-makers systematic and practical insights into the characteristics of the Portuguese tourism industry in the context of the challenges and opportunities of the global tourism market place. Understanding the dynamics and characteristics of the Portuguese tourism industry in a comparative context is a crucial first step toward formulating a strategy aimed at improving Portuguese competitive standing in the growing tourism market.     

Developing a new Multi‐Nation tourism region: Thai perspectives on the Mekong initiatives

This article examines Thailand's recent tourism policy and its attitudes towards international tourism development collaboration in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Thailand is the major tourist destination country and gateway for international tourists visiting the region, and is a leader of Mekong tourism developments. This paper considers the Thai perspective on its tourism development, and examines current co‐operative activities in the Mekong region in the context of its own tourism industry. A number of research needs are sketched out as a proposed framework for future studies.     

The Sixth Asia Pacific Tourism Association Annual Conference

ABSTRACT

Developed over the last two decades, higher tourism education in China has made a great contribution to the growth of the tourism industry, but is now faced with a variety of challenges in its further development. The article discusses the current situations and problems of higher tourism education in China, analyzes the causes of the problems and then puts forward suggestions to solve them.     

Total Quality Management and Tourism and Hospitality Education

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the application of quality management concepts in relation to the provision of tourism and hospitality education, with a specific focus on Thailand. The key quality concepts, namely quality control, quality assurance, quality audit and “Total Quality Management” (TQM) are identified, and the applications of these concepts in the provision of tourism and hospitality education are discussed. The paper explores three main themes. The first is to examine how quality issues have been applied to tourism and hospitality education. Second, the paper outlines the concepts of quality management, which represent the key element of a TQM strategy to implement conformance to standards and quality improvement. The third theme discusses the specific case of Thailand, drawing on research in its early stages which examines quality management in tourism and hospitality education in Thailand. An outline of the nature of tourism and hospitality education in Thailand is provided, followed by a synopsis of the significant challenges facing Thai tourism and hospitality education. A procedure for examining quality in tourism and hospitality education in Thailand is proposed.     

The Past,Present, and Future of Hospitality and Tourism Higher Education in Hong Kong

SUMMARY

Hospitality and tourism management programmes are widely available in Hong Kong. At present, there is no official publication on the history and development of higher education in hospitality and tourism management in Hong Kong. This paper aims to review the history and current status of hospitality and tourism higher education in Hong Kong, focusing on the programmes offered at sub-degree, degree, and post-graduate degree levels, and to explore future directions for its development.     

Past,Present, and Future of Tourism Education

SUMMARY

Tourism education in Korea, mandated by the Higher Education Act, has evolved rapidly in response to the tourism industry's growth and labor demands for the last four decades. As tourism education has matured and become increasingly recognized as a legitimate academic field of study, the Korean tourism education has attempted to generate future quality workforce and to establish the status of tourism as a prominent research oriented discipline. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the Korean tourism industry and tourism education over the past four decades and to suggest future directions for Korean education in the 21st century. By improving current curricula according to today's fast changing tourism business environment and cooperating with the tourism industry with the aid of the government on policies and regulations, Korean tourism education will continue to contribute to the Korean tourism industry as a legitimate partner.     

Tourism Degree Education in Australia and Its Relevance to China

ABSTRACT

This paper overviews the evolution and development of tourism degree education in Australia from its beginnings in the early 1970s to the present time (2005). From this analysis a number of key issues are raised which are then compared with issues arising from tourism degree education in China. Whilst there are many differences between the situation in Australia and that of China the differences are outweighed by a remarkable number of similarities.     

Information Technology and Service Standards in MICE Tourism

Abstract

The meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) sector of tourism is growing rapidly worldwide and particularly in the Asia Pacific region. One of the important challenges posed by rapid growth of this sector is to maintain service standards in a context of intense competition for this form of tourism. In particular, the development of skills in information technology is regarded as essential to the provision of quality service to tourists. After providing a brief outline of the MICE sector and its major stakeholders, the paper proceeds to highlight the importance of information technology in tourism generally and MICE tourism specifically. It then addresses issues of concern and identifies areas for further research to help the nation's MICE sector achieve competitive advantage.     

Curriculum Planning for Tourism Education

ABSTRACT

Tourism education has grown rapidly in the last quarter of the twentieth century. However, the relative youth of the subject area renders the educator's task of developing a curriculum difficult in comparison to more established fields. Educational theory provides a range of approaches to assist in this task, not only in terms of models of the curriculum, but also in terms of the relationship between the curriculum and its social and economic context. This paper draws together the main threads of educational theory and applies them to tourism with additional insights from the development of a university-level curriculum for Jordan.     

Tourism Higher Education in China

SUMMARY

This paper first reviews the origins and development of tourism higher education in China, then elaborates on its present hierarchy of programs, regional distribution and mechanisms for operating schools. Based on an investigation, the paper also discusses the educational objectives, program setup, curriculum design, textbooks and reference materials. It summarizes the problems and challenges China's higher education studies in tourism are facing, and in conclusion, it explores development trends and offers suggestions for its future.     

A Framework for Human Resources Development Strategy at the Macro-Level

Summary

This article focuses on human resources development (HRD) strategy for the tourism sector. It describes a framework based on the strategic planning process comprising a series of steps to examine the conditions of tourism employment and the labour market at a destination and to identify barriers to HRD. Experience shows that the success of a strategic plan relies on the involvement of all players in the tourism industry in its elaboration and implementation, and it is argued that an advisory body must be created to develop HRD strategy.

A case study is presented illustrating one of the stages of the process-a situational analysis of tourism human resources and education provision in the northeastern Brazilian State of Bahia.     

Tourism and Hospitality Higher Education in Israel

SUMMARY

This paper presents the past and present of higher education in tourism and hospitality management in Israel.

The paper discusses the growth of higher education in hospitality and tourism through local initiatives and by franchising and extensions from foreign institutions. The nature of the higher education system in Israel and the accreditation processes of local academic programs is discussed. The case of Ben-Gurion University is introduced to illustrate the development of an academic programinhospitality and tourism management.

The paper also compares the current state of the available academic programs to the year of 2000, at the eve of the Palestinian uprising. The paper analyses the complex relations between the Israeli hospitality industry and the higher education programs, as well as the challenges of future graduate programs and industry-academe relationships.     

Meeting the Demand from Tourism Development-Higher Occupation and Technical Education in China

ABSTRACT

This article outlined the emergence and phenomenal growth of higher occupation and technical education (HOTE) in China, and analyzed the characteristics of HOTE in relation to the human resource needs of China's growing tourism industry. The characteristics of tourism HOTE were examined in the contexts of specialization offerings, curriculum design, and instructional delivery and student evaluation. Comparisons were drawn between tourism HOTE and traditional four-year degree program, and between tourism HOTE and two- and three-year higher professional schools. Observations were made with regard to the greater employability of tourism HOTE graduates and their popularity with employers. The article concluded with the recommendation of an open system for higher tourism education that legitimizes the role of HOTE, and accommodates its coexistence with traditional four-year program, and two- and three-year professional schools.     

Dynamic relationship between tourism,economic growth,and environmental quality

Abstract

In the recent era of globalisation, the tourism sector is growing rapidly and stimulates economic growth across the world, however, the inevitable environmental consequences of tourism cannot be ignored. For sustainable tourism, it is necessary to understand the interrelationship between economic growth, tourism, and environmental quality. Hence, the objective of the current research is to investigate the dynamic relationship between tourism, economic growth, and CO₂ emissions from 1995 to 2014 in the context of BRICS economies. A group of econometric tests robust to heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence is applied to achieve accurate and unbiased results. Empirical findings propose that tourism sector significantly encourages economic growth; however, tourism degrades the quality of the environment. Also, globalisation has a long-term relationship with economic growth but an insignificant relationship with CO₂ emissions. The long-term elasticities further recommend that investment stimulate economic growth and mitigate CO₂ emissions. Moreover, environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) holds in BRICS countries in its significance to tourism and globalisation. Finally, a heterogeneous panel non-causality test detects bi-directional causality between tourism receipts and CO₂ emissions. Moreover, tourism and investment in tourism Granger cause each other. Empirical findings direct towards important policy implications.     

Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship in Alpine Tourism

ABSTRACT

The paper addresses the need for more research in the field of entrepreneurial education in tourism, using the models of Butler's destination life cycle and Porter's diamond of competitive advantages. Following is a discussion of entrepreneurship in tourism in light of these analytical frameworks. As a consequence, key qualification and skill areas for tourism entrepreneurs are derived. Finally, the authors provide an overview of the main institutions that offer education in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland with a focus on entrepreneurship in tourism and establish critical needs for tourism entrepreneurship curricula and research.     

Self-care for the researcher: dark tourism in Varanasi,India

ABSTRACT

Dark tourism is a popular niche of tourism that allows tourists to come into close proximity with death, atrocity, and the macabre, and therefore has the potential to be an emotional and even traumatic encounter for tourists. While this context has inspired tourism researchers to investigate dark tourists’ motivations, as well as the marketing and representation of dark tourism sites, we have yet to attend to its implications for the researcher. This paper analyzes the emotional experiences and aftermath of fieldwork at the cremation grounds of Varanasi, India, which involved working closely with tourists, Doms, and Aghoris by focusing on the relations of reflexivity, positionality, and emotionality. As a result, we suggest a number of reflexive and self-care practices to be put into place so as to attend to the researchers’ emotional well-being in the fieldwork process.     

A Highlight of Tourism and Hospitality Education Issues in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

This paper was written to explore the opinions of the hospitality human resource managers in Taiwan about current tourism and hospitality education provisions. Major issues regarding tourism and hospitality education in Taiwan were identified. Based on the research findings, a number of conclusions were drawn and specific suggestions for the future of the tourism and hospitality education in Taiwan were proposed.     

The dimensions of rural tourism experience: impacts on arousal,memory, and satisfaction

ABSTRACT

Rural tourism is driven by the search for unique and memorable experiences in particular settings, but knowledge on visitors’ experiences in rural destinations is still scarce. This paper analyzes the rural tourism experience of Portuguese tourists who answered an online survey (N = 252). The paper aims at validating, in the rural tourism context, a previously proposed tourist experience scale, and analyzing the relationships between the experience, arousal, memory, and satisfaction. Results reveal that the rural tourism experience dimensions of education and esthetics positively predict rural tourists’ arousal, whereas escapism and esthetics determine memorability. Finally, implications for rural tourism marketing are discussed.