Australian Tourism Education

SUMMARY

An appraisal of Australian tourism education is undertaken by pursuing its historical development and the key issues of teaching locations, generic skills and graduate attributes, educator competence, human resource planning and how to assess performance. It is argued that Australia, when considered as a case study in the global context of higher tourism education, occupies a distinctive and relatively successful niche. The distinctiveness derives from both its late entry into the field and the status-oriented context in which it has grown. The success is characterised by a strong research-education nexus and the consolidation rather than loss of the degree offerings over time.     

Tourism Higher Education in Turkey

SUMMARY

This paper discusses and evaluates tourism higher education in Turkey. Turkish universities have been offering associate, bachelor, and postgraduate degree programs in tourism since the early 1990s. However, there have been major problems and challenges in this endeavor, including the lack of qualified academic staff, improperly designed curriculums, limited practical training opportunities for students, and difficulties in keeping qualified graduates in the industry. So far, it is hard to claim that Turkey has developed contemporary tourism higher education policies and plans. If Turkey is to gain more from tourism in the long term, it is essential for the country to improve the standards of tourism higher education. However, to achieve this, some radical cultural and structural reforms are needed, not only in tourism higher education, but also in the country's overall higher education system.     

Tourism Education in Austria and Switzerland

SUMMARY

Both Austria and Switzerland are small countries with a long tradition hosting tourists. Irrespective of high levels of economic development, the two countries also have high levels of tourism intensity when measured either in terms of number of tourists per native population or in terms of tourism receipts per population (e.g., per gross national product). Consequently, both countries also display a long tradition and evolution in their development of systems of tourism education and training albeit under differing market conditions and pressures. Both countries provide similar products like in the field of cultural tourism and alpine tourism. The tourism structure is also comparable. Both countries are dominated by family owned small and medium size businesses. However, their political structures are very different. This paper shows how each country under the three forces of labour market pressures and industry requirements, on the one hand and tourism education policy initiatives on the other has evolved two slightly different tourism education systems. Furthermore, an attempt was made to provide, based on the discussion in the first part of the paper, a more general explanation with respect to the response of tourism schooling/training supplies to varying conditions in tourism product markets, tourism employment and labour market systems, public choice decisions and general economic conditions. Finally, the paper discusses the paradigmatic shift (i.e., structural change) of tourism factor and product markets from the “Old to New Tourism” and discusses its implications for new types of tourism schooling and training in these two countries.     

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.     

Relevance and Quality in Australian Tourism Higher Education

Abstract

Partnerships between educators and industry professionals can facilitate students' tourism career opportunities. Considering this, a mail-out questionnaire was undertaken to assess the attitudes and perceptions of tourism educators (n = 56) and tourism professionals (n = 100) on tourism education issues. Results indicated that one-quarter of professionals believe university tourism majors provide graduates with a competitive advantage and both groups consider tourism/hospitality, marketing and management as important business majors. Competencies in logical thinking, social interaction, tourism knowledge and concepts, and generic skills are also considered important by both groups with specific workplace competencies and professional experience considered relatively less important by educators (p < .05). In conclusion, communication networks jointly facilitatedby academicsand industry are recommended.     

旅游规划需要新理念--旅游规划三议

为了适应我国旅游业的发展，为了我国旅游规划工作能够沿着科学化、法制化、规范化的轨道前进，旅游规划的编制迫切需要理念的创新。本文从“新理念是发展的需要”、“进步带来的挑战”、“旅游概念是旅游规划的核心”三个层面，以层层推进的方式，着重阐述了应对挑战寻求突破的学术基础，并进而阐释了作者本人有关“概念性旅游规划”的创新性理论。     

Development of Computer-Mediated Teaching Resources for Tourism Distance Education

ABSTRACT

This article presents a qualitative account of the development of computer-mediated tourism distance learning resources. A distance learning model was developed at the Centre for Tourism, University of Otago (New Zealand) in 1998-1999. The article reviews the development of this Internet-based learning resource explaining the design and development of Programme links (providing study information for students) and Paper links (course material and learning features). The design of course material is reviewed with emphasis given to consistency of presentation between papers. The template for course material is described and illustrated and the article concludes with an overview of important design considerations.     

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.     

An Educational Game for Tourism and Hospitality Education

ABSTRACT

This paper presents an educational game where players act as travel agents to learn how a travel agency functions. They are provided with an uncertain environment in which they make strategic decisions aimed at maximizing their agency's wealth. Players are expected to make managerial decisions while experiencing how market structures and strategic decision-making can affect commerce within a simulated tourism and hospitality industry. The auction game offers students hands-on experience that assists them in understanding the functioning of markets in all aspects of business. Students are also given an opportunity to interact with team-players, to compete against other students, and to develop an appreciation of the pressures facing travel agencies.     

Practicing What We Preach in Tourism Education and Research

Abstract

As teachers of both strategic and operational management in tourism/hospitality programs, we constantly stress the importance of research as a means of providing critical information for destination planning and development. At the same time, in our capacity as managers of academic programs, it is not uncommon for many of us to overlook the use of research in the management of these programs. While we normally undertake market assessments before establishing new programs, and regularly gather operational data on teaching performance, this paper argues that based on the existing literature, tourism education program managers generally fail to take sufficient advantage of several strategic research approaches that are heavily used in other management contexts.

Having recognized their own shortcoming in this regard, the present authors have attempted to rectify it by formally integrating a selected number of widely used research approaches into the overall management of their programs. The results, we believe, demonstrate just how valuable the use of formal program research can be in setting innovative directions for program design and development, for enhancing student satisfaction with specific courses, and for evaluating the overall efficiency and effectiveness of well established programs.

Part I of the present discussion examines the use and usefulness of one major research technique for tourism education program design and management. The technique in question is Strategic Visioning.     

从感性规划向数字规划进军

本文针对我国旅游规划存在的现实问题,提出数字规划的发展构想.论文认为过去20年的发展历程,我国旅游规划在很大程度上属于感性规划,其最大特点是缺少独立的技术手段和独立的理论基础.数字规划是建立在现代信息技术基础上的规划,以数字和图纸为语言,阐述旅游分析与规划思想,使规划具有一种尺度感.数字规划的核心是建立以市场研究为基础的旅游参数、旅游指标体系和策划体系.     

美国大学中的旅游研究(二)--旅游及相关专业的教学体系

本文通过对美国4所较为典型的旅游研究比较成熟的大学，即普渡大学、内华达大学拉斯韦加斯分校、德州大学和伊利诺斯大学的旅游相关院系的研究方向，课程设置等问题的比较、研究、发现美国中大学中旅游及相关研究主要呈现两种方向：服务管理方向和开发管理方向。前者的研究对象主要的酒店业、旅行业和餐饮业，研究中侧重服务管理；后者主要对象为旅游地资源和吸引物，研究中更侧重开发与保护取向。通过这一分析，为发展中我国高等院校旅游教育事业提供了参考。     

The Need to Use Disaster Planning Frameworks to Respond to Major Tourism Disasters

Summary

This paper looks at the Australian federal government's response to a series of tourism disasters and crises that affected the Australian tourism industry in 2001 and measures these impacts against the response mechanism suggested in the Tourism Disaster Framework Model developed by Faulkner (2001). The paper finds that as shocks often occur with little warning, the establishment of a formal disaster management framework should be given a high priority by government and receive support from the private sector. Had such a mechanism been in place in Australia prior to 2001, the government may have been able to respond to the disasters in a more considered manner.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

The Development and Positioning of Business Related University Tourism Education

Abstract

The teaching of tourism at a higher education level has become well established in British universities, but in the UK, as elsewhere in the world, the place of tourism studies within the academic curricula remains uncertain. The paper considers the diversity and complexities of tourism studies through a categorisation of journal articles, and through an investigation of the underlying debates that have influenced the design of academic curricula in the UK. The paper concludes that tourism, at least at present, should not be regarded as discipline but as a field and that the most common approach in the UK has been to emphasise the business studies subjects. The University of Northumbria's established undergraduate travel and tourism management course is presented as a case study of this approach to the subject field.     

对概念性旅游规划的认识

随着旅游业竞争态势的全面展开,旅游规划工作的不断深入,旅游规划的现实需求也相应出现了新的变化特点。为了适应这些变化,旅游规划界对传统的规划思想和经典的研究方法不断重新认识,并引入新的规划设计理念。概念性旅游规划就是近年来出现的新生事物,它的出现必将对丰富旅游规划学科内容、推动旅游规划研究的发展起到积极的作用,非常值得关注。本文通过综合分析相关的研究文献,对概念性旅游规划的概念、性质、特点、应用等提出了系统的分析和阐述。     

An Open Source Web-Mapping System for Tourism Planning and Marketing

Core retail management functions include defining market areas and profiling customers. For tourism enterprises, market areas are geographically dispersed with many customers residing beyond the immediate area surrounding the attraction. Visualization and analysis of these distributed market areas are significantly enhanced by the capabilities of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology and help to support management objectives. Unfortunately, many businesses are unable to utilize GIS due to its complexity and expense. This study develops a decision support tool for tourism planning and marketing that is customized and easy to use, employs open source software to reduce expense, and allows for broad accessibility via web delivery. Users can easily visualize and examine the spatial distribution of their own United States (US) client origins and visitation patterns along with relevant tourism-specific and general demographic information. This functionality can be beneficial in developing or augmenting business plans or marketing strategies, and for informing tourism theory.     

旅游管理专业课程结构的系统分析与优化设计

本文通过对国内几十所高校旅游管理专业课程结构的调查,从总体上描述了旅游管理专业(本科段)课程体系的基本结构,并进行了初步评价,指出课程结构所包含的主要问题,并提出了进一步优化的建议。