Does the Curricula of Tourism Studies in Higher Education Meet the Educational and Occupational Needs of the Tourism Labour Market?

Abstract

The aim of this study is to address the following questions:(1) Is there a gap between the curricula taught in tourism and hotels faculties and the knowledge and skills required in the tourism labour market?, and (2)Do the students' knowledge and skills acquired during their study in a tourism and hotels faculties qualify them to join the tourism labour market. A qualitative approach is employed in the current study to answer the research questions. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were used in the present research. The study findings revealed the existence of a gap between the curricula that have been taught in tourism faculties and the tourism labour market requirements. Furthermore, the curricula have not met the requirements of the tourism labour market and graduates' needs. Some managerial implications were provided in this research so that tourism education in Egypt can use them as a guide when developing the curricula of educational tourism to meet the requirements of the tourism labour market. The research contributes to the existing knowledge by employing an approach to in-depth examine to what extent there is a gap between the curricula taught in the tourism educational faculties and the knowledge and skills required in the tourism labour market.