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Hospitality and Tourism
Management |
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Careers in Hospitality and Tourism Management:
Travel and tourism represents a broad range of related industries. The
growth of these industries has opened up many new job opportunities for
graduates in areas such as:
* hotels
* restaurants
* retailing
* transportation
* travel agencies
* tour companies
* tourist attractions
* leisure, recreation and sport
* cultural industries
It is interesting to realize that in 1997 travel and tourism provides
10.5% of the total world employment, with up to 25% of all employment,
in some areas, such as the Caribbean. It has been estimated that, by
2007, more than 100 million people world-wide will be employed in this
sector. Because of this, tourism is now seen to be of importance to most
countries of the world.
During this time, the nature of tourism has developed in scope and
direction, away from traditional activities, such as the sunshine sand
and sea holidays to a wide range of new activities such as cultural
tourism, adventure tourism, sports and leisure activities and
eco-tourism.
Given the potential for interesting and rewarding careers in these
industries many young people are looking for suitable courses which will
help prepare them for careers in management within the tourism and
hospitality industries. The UK higher education system has a well
developed range of courses, at all levels from Higher National Diploma,
BA or BSc degrees and MA/MSc/MBA Masters courses and using alternative
methods of studying, (including full-time, part-time and distance
learning). When looking at courses in hospitality and tourism, there can
seem to be a bewildering variety of course titles covering the main
employment areas of travel, tourism, hotels and restaurants. Typical
titles include:
For hotels and restaurant management:
* hospitality management
* international hospitality management
* hotel and catering management
For travel and tourism:
* tourism management
* tourism studies
* travel and tourism
There are also joint degrees where it is possible to study combinations
of subjects, such as tourism and hospitality, tourism and leisure,
hospitality and marketing. Most undergraduate courses (HND/BSc/BA) will
include a period of work experience as part of the course, varying in
length from 6 months to one year. This work experience is seen to be a
central part of the course, where the student gets the opportunity to
practice what they have learned in college or university. Employers also
see great value in this work experience when considering the employment
of graduates.
Given the international nature of these industries, another valuable
part of any course is the study of languages. Most courses in
hospitality and tourism provide access to language courses, either as
core components or as options.
Courses at Masters level are becoming increasingly important in tourism
and hospitality. These Masters level courses are useful to two groups of
people:
- those who have completed a degree course in a subject other than
hospitality or tourism but who are looking at ways of getting employment
in the industry;
- those who have a degree or sub-degree qualification in hospitality or
tourism together with significant management experience within the
hospitality or tourism industries and who wish to develop themselves to
a higher level or to seek a more senior position in industry. There are
many Masters courses in Hospitality Management, Hotel and Catering
Management and Tourism Management in universities and colleges in the
UK.
In addition to the above courses, there are also more specialized
Masters courses in Tourism covering areas such as Cultural Tourism,
Tourism Marketing, Tourism Planning, Museum Management, Heritage
Management, Cultural Tourism and Sustainable Tourism: these are suitable
for people who have an interest in employment in a specific sector of
the industry.
Within the UK there are many university and college courses to choose
from, but each course will have its own unique characteristics. Before
applying, you should think carefully about the type of career you want:
if it is in a hotel are you interested in restaurant management or rooms
division management? Do you see yourself as a practical hands-on person
or someone who is happier to work behind the scenes in a desk based job?
Do you aspire to become a general manager of a hotel which is part of
one of the major world-wide groups, or do you want to manage your own
operation? Are you more interested in one of the functional management
areas, such as marketing, human resources, conferences. If you are
interested in tourism do you want to work for a travel agency, a tour
company, the management of a tourist attraction, or within the public
sector-national, regional or local tourism planning organizations. Think
about these types of question before consulting the prospectuses or WEB
sites so that you can judge each course against your own preferences. |
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