Of things to come: Tourism and hospitality education in a post-industrial age

Abstract

Across the globe, tourism higher education is undergoing massive and sustained change driven by three interlocking sets of concerns. First, there are massive changes taking place in the global higher education environment that have important implications for how tourism education is positioned at national, sub-national and institutional levels, second, as most developed countries move into a post-industrial epoch, traditional industrial tourism structures and practices are increasingly subject to pres­sures that are likely to bring about significant structural change. Third, massive changes in higher education combined with the changes taking place in tourism itself, suggest that there are significant implications for the future of tourism and hospitality higher education. Yet to date, discussion and exploration of this latter concern the future of tourism education has taken place in isolation from the earlier two areas of concern, almost as if they were discourses painted on different canvasses, colored with different values and issues, and crafted using different language. This paper explores future challenges for tourism and hospitality education within this changing tourism world, and it discusses key issues for the future development of tourism curriculum and for professional development.