Ritchie-HYBRIDPROGRAMSTOURISM-2002.pdf

HYBRID PROGRAMS IN TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY ∼ A Review of Strengths,
Weaknesses and Implementation Issues ∼
Author(s): J.R. Brent Ritchie, Simon Hudson and Lorn R. Sheehan
Source: Acta Turistica , July 2002, Vol. 14, No. 1, International Scientific Conference
"Rethinking of Education and Training in Tourism" 18-20 April, 2002, Zagreb, Croatia:
Key Note Speeches (July 2002), pp. 29-45
Published by: Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23234088
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UDC/UDK 338.48
INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE
,.RETHINKING OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR TOURISM"
18-20 April, 2002, Zagreb, CROATIA
KEY NOTE SPEECH
J.R. Brent Ritchie, Simon Hudson, and Lorn R. Sheehan1
HYBRID PROGRAMS IN TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY
~ A Review of Strengths, Weaknesses and Implementation Issues -
It is traditionally accepted that the tour
ism and hospitality industry requires a large
number of employees possessing the techni
cal skills required to service the growing
number of visitors that must be lodged, fed,
and managed as they visit attractions and
pursue other travel experiences. More re
cently, these tourism/hospitality/ services
sectors have recognized the desirability of
hiring employees who also possess a basic
business and liberal arts education in addi
tion to their technical skills. While a certain
number of technically trained employees
have responded to this need by proceeding
to obtain university level degrees in busi
ness and the liberal arts, this has been an
inefficient and ill-adapted process.
Recognizing these difficulties, the Uni
versity of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta, Can
ada, has developed a hybrid Bachelor of
Hotel and Restaurant Management (BHRM)
degree that represents a learning track that is
especially adapted to students seeking long
term careers rather than simply jobs in the
tourism and hospitality sector. This program
is not necessarily the only one of its kind
worldwide. For example, similar programs
are found at LaTrobe University in Austra
lia (see Table 2) and at Brighton in the
United Kingdom (see Table 3). However,
we believe the Calgary BHRM degree pro
gram (see Table 1) possesses some unique
characteristics that have made its graduates
highly sought after—particularly in the
North American markets.
As shown, Table 1 provides an overview
of the structure and context of the Calgary
BHRM program. The total learning period
of this program is 4 years. During the first
two years, students follow a traditional 2
year technical program designed to ensure
they have the basic entry level skills re
1 World Tourism Education & Research Centre, University of Calgary, Faculty of Management, 4"1 Floor
Scurfield Hall, 2500 University Drive N.W. Calgary, Alberta, CANADA T2N 1N4
The authors wish to express their sincere gratitude to the Canadian Pacific Foundation that has provided a
special long term enrichment grant to support the national development of the Bachelor of Hotel & Resort
Management (BHRM) program on which this paper is based.
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30 Acta turistica, Vol 14 (2002), No 1, pp 1-81
quired by the industry. The best graduates
from such programs may then pursue a fur
ther two years of management education,
specifically designed for the tourism and
hospitality industry. The final product is an
individual possessing both the specific tech
nical skills and the broader management
education that larger firms in the tourism
and hospitality sector find highly attractive.
In addition to describing the rationale
and the details of the BHRM degree, the
paper to be presented outlines how the pro
gram has now expanded from coast to coast
across Canada through the development of
affiliation arrangements with some 19 in
stitutions located in centers from Atlantic to
the Pacific. It also describes the academic
and practical difficulties that were encoun
tered in the establishment, delivery, and
marketing of the program and outlines the
potential of similar hybrid models for other
industries.
THE GROWTH OF TOURISM
EDUCATION
Tourism education has expanded rapidly
over the last few decades reflecting the
growing recognition of tourism (and the
travel industry that serves it) as one of the
world's most significant economic, social
and environmental forces (Evans, 2000).
Education and training has been developed
at various levels, ranging from highly voca
tional courses through to higher research
degrees. The growth reflects the widely held
belief that one of the major challenges the
industry faces is to recruit, develop and
retain employees and managers with appro
priate educational backgrounds. Although
this rapid growth of university programs in
tourism is not without critics (Evans, 1993),
the trend is generally recognized for its
merits (Ryan, 1995).
Formal study of tourism in North
America began in the 1940s but the subject
area really started to develop in the 1980s
(Koh, 1994). In the U.S. and Canada, tou
ism studies and hospitality managemen
courses are integrated to a large exten
making it hard to classify all the relevan
courses and the range of curricula and
modularization make generalizations dif
cult. Cooper et al. (1996) estimate that
proximately 30 universities, business
schools and colleges in the U.S. offer tour
ism studies as an option or elective at either
undergraduate or postgraduate levels. In
Canada, 11 universities have tour
ism/hospitality related degree programs
whereas approximately 43 colleges have
two-year Diploma programs (Reid, 1999).
While colleges have offered tourism-related
diplomas for over 15 years, half of the uni
versity programs have been introduced since
1995. This pattern is consistent with other
countries. For example, the 1990s witnessed
an explosion in the provision of under
graduate tourism education in the U.K.
There were 46 under-graduate degree
courses featuring 'tourism' in the title dur
ing 1998/99 and 36 institutions were in
volved in this provision (CRAC, 1999).
PREVIOUS RESEARCH
There has been a wealth of literature
providing comment on tourism education
during the last decade (Ritchie, 1992; Coo
per, et al. 1992; Gamble, 1992; Busby,
1994; Holloway, 1995; Ryan, 1995; Airey,
1997; Ladkin and Middleton, 1999) and
even previously (Jafari and Ritchie, 1981).
Some researchers have tended to focus on
the approaches to the study of tourism. In
the 1980s many authors argued the case for
tourism to be accepted as a distinct disci
pline (Lieper, 198-1). Later writers such as
Tribe (1997) and Echtner and Tazim (1997)
presented contrary arguments suggesting
that tourism could not be treated as a disci
pline and at the same time pressures from
the tourism industry have been exerted
forcing tourism studies into business orien
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J.R. Brent Ritchie, Simon Hudson, and Lorn R. Sheehan: Hybrid Programs in Tourism and Hospitality 31
tated approaches (Evans, 2000). This is
because there is some coherence and struc
ture to be observed in the field of tourism
business studies (Tribe, 1997) and it is con
sistent with many employers' views as to
the necessary attributes required of tourism
graduates.
Other researchers have focused attention
on the role tourism studies should play with
regard to serving the needs of the travel and
tourism industry (Collins, et al., 1994; Mid
dleton and Ladkin, 1996; Cooper and Shep
herd, 1997; Busby, et al. 1997; Amoah and
Baum, 1997; Leslie and Richardson, 2000).
Haywood and Maki (1992) suggest that
there are differing expectations between
employers and the education sector in that
employers emphasize practical skills and
general transferable skills, whereas educa
tors are developing more conceptual and
tourism-specific materials. They contend
that this has resulted in a communications
gap characterized by poor levels of commu
nication between the two groups; a lack of
involvement of educators in the industry;
and, industry's role in education (through
advisory bodies, etc.) often being poorly
defined.
Tourism is multi-faceted and inherently
multi disciplinary making it difficult to
classify and to design syllabi which are
integrated, academically rigorous, and rele
vant to the changing needs of the employ
ment market (Evans, 2000). Shepherd and
Cooper (1994) believe that the diversity of
the tourism/hospitality industry makes it
difficult for an education system to identify
the needs of the industry as a whole, and in
1991 both Cotton and Leslie commented
that the actual fit between education provi
sion and demand for employers in tourism
and hospitality was a poor one. It was al
ways a mismatch between the expectation
of the recruiters and the actual performance
of the graduates. Kivela and Li (1998) as
certained that the graduates from such pro
grams should attain competency in the
specific areas that would be performed by a
manager.
THE RESPONSE
Institutions around the world have
sought to address these problems. Michael
and Murphy (1999) have detailed the devel
opment of a model degree program in Aus
tralia that 'fully integrates Australia's
industry determined vocational awards in
hospitality or tourism with the rigor of a
University business degree' (p. 1). The
teaching model that evolved at La Trobe
University involved the creation of a work
ing partnership with local Technical and
Further Education (TAFE) Colleges (the
equivalent to junior/community colleges in
North America). The outcome was a pro
gram of subjects that could be cross-accred
ited or mutually recognized by both sets of
institutions. This enabled students to be
enrolled in a degree program; but, one
where 30% of their studies in Years 1 and 2
are practical hospitality or tourism industry
subjects taught at the TAFE colleges. The
authors say that due to the success of this
new model, initial skepticism and opposi
tion has faded to insignificance and replaced
by curiosity and duplication.
In the U.K. the 1990s witnessed the
creation of large 'hybrid' departments in
new universities providing a wide range of
courses spanning tourism, hospitality, lei
sure, recreation, and in some instances
sports studies and service industries more
generally (Ladkin and Middleton, 1999).
Typically provided within an overall focus
of business studies, such large departments
are greatly facilitated by the modularization
of courses that permits economies of scale
in teaching. On this basis, it is possible for
tourism related subjects to be selected from
a wide range of course options on a modular
basis. Credit accumulation transfer schemes
(CATS), and accreditation for prior learning
(APEL) are further attempts to reduce the
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rigidity of educational courses, and reduce
the tensions between the academic and vo
cational emphasis of courses. In a somewhat
different vein, the International School of
Tourism and Hotel Management (ISTHM)
has sought to adapt its programming to meet
the ever changing pressures of globaliza
tion. It is interesting to note that the ISTHM
mission that seeks to transmit a complex of
professional, technical, and intellectual
skills and concepts, implicitly acknowledges
the need for a hybrid approach to tourism
education and training (Smith and Cooper,
2000).
In Canada, it is only in the last decade
that block transfers, or the '2+2 model' have
become palatable to Canadian universities.
They generally take the form of an articula
tion agreement that allows block transfer
credits and typically allows diploma gradu
ates direct entry into year three of a four
year University degree program. Reid
(1999) attributes this slow uptake to the fact
that Canadian Universities and college sys
tems have different roles and mandates, and
that tourism and hospitality as a discipline
has seen slow acceptance in Canadian uni
versities.
The articulation agreements typically
operate so that individual institutions con
duct evaluations of incoming transfer stu
dents and set their own standards for course
requirements. Many college students are
unable to enter university directly, due to
academic, monetary or geographical rea
sons. Transfer allows student access and
opportunities for degree completion. Of the
11 Canadian universities offering tour
ism/hospitality related degree programs,
seven have variations on this '2+2 model,'
which would appear encouraging. However,
Reid (1999) suggests that transferable pro
grams advertised on university web sites in
Canada typically do not provide links to the
colleges with which they are affiliated, and
students often express dissatisfaction with
the way the transfer process is handled. The
province of Ontario, for example, has a
bleak record where college/university trans
fer is concerned.
After studying articulation agreements in
Canada, Reid concludes that an articulation
system needs to be developed whereby
block transfer credits are given for related
programs. In this ideal model, curriculum
for the block is established collaboratively,
whereby the outcomes of the sending pro
gram are matched to the requirements of the
receiving program through an agreed upon
set of desired learning outcomes that in
clude the desired knowledge, skills and
abilities of students entering the university
program. According to Reid there are no
examples of this approach to block transfer
in Canada.
THE CALGARY PROGRAM
Like many education programs in tour
ism, the Calgary Program has been devel
oped in response to members of the industry
who found that graduates from Technical
Institutes had excellent entry-level skills.
And, while many have gradually matured
and developed managerial level skills, a
greater number have found their careers to
be limited by the lack of a general academic
education, and more specifically, by the
lack of strategic thinking that is engendered
by formal programs in management educa
tion. Unfortunately, these constraints have
frequently not become obvious until the
individual has advanced significantly along
his/her career path, or until the industry has
undergone major changes that have ren
dered past learning less than functional. As
such, some have realized too late that they
could have benefited from a learning pro
gram that not only taught them how to think
and act more managerially, and more strate
gically, but from a process that also taught
them "how to learn and develop" as the
industry around them was changing.
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It was with these concerns and chal
lenges in mind that the Calgary Hybrid Pro
gram was developed and implemented. The
structure of this program, which has been in
place since 1995 is given in Table 1. As can
be seen, the program consists of two years
of technical training leading to a Diploma in
Hospitality studies from a recognized Insti
tute of Technology Studies. The program
initially drew from students at the Southern
Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), our
primary partner, also located in Calgary.
Only the most highly qualified graduates
from the SAIT program were selected for
admittance.
Over the past decade, the program has
expanded to include a total of 19 partner
institutions from coast to coast across Can
ada, making this program the leading inno
vation of its type. This ongoing long-term
expansion of the program was made possi
ble by recent enrichment funding from the
Canadian Pacific Foundation. As a result,
the program now provides scholarships for
the two or three most outstanding graduates
that enter the program from the leading
Technical Institutes in Prince Edward Island
on the East Coast of Canada to Vancouver
Island on the Pacific Coast. As such, the
program has the unique attraction of bring
ing together a total of some 40 industry
leaders of tomorrow who might otherwise
never have had the opportunity to get to
know each other. After graduating from the
BHRM program, these individuals have
proven to be so attractive to industry, that
they have received job offers from all over
the world.
STRENGTHS OF THE PROGRAM
While it is undoubtedly evident from the
foregoing, it merits reporting that the pri
mary, overriding strength of the BHRM
program is the unique way that it combines
practical skill training with more broadly
based management education. The result is
a uniquely trained individual who is capable
of delivering very operational skills to the
employee while at the same time possessing
the ability to think managerially, and the
capability of learning throughout his/her
career in order to adapt to the inevitable
evolution of the workplace and global mar
kets. While this is the fundamental under
lying strength of the program, it also
provides an extensive number of other bene
fits. Some of these are given in Table 4.
IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES AND
CHALLENGES
It is inevitable that any program that
"breaks the mould" of more standard edu
cation programs will be faced with some
very special issues as it challenges tradition.
The BHRM program is certainly no excep
tion. While the list is long and varied, some
of the most obvious and most significant
challenges the program faces are summa
rized in Table 5. While trying at times, these
challenges have also made the program
implementation an exciting and satisfying
process. In particular, the program's clear
success, both from the standpoint of indus
try and the individual, has attracted interest
from other industry sectors. Sectors such as
aviation and agriculture in particular have
noted the unique strength of Hybrid educa
tion. Other will follow. As a consequence,
we at the University of Calgary have little
doubt that in the future (just as is the case of
cooperative education programs, which we
also initiated at the University of Calgary),
Hybrid programs will be viewed as the
norm, rather than the exception. We cannot
wait!
Nevertheless, while we are waiting, we
keep monitoring the world of tourism to
detect additional changes that may yet fur
ther shape the nature of demand for tourism
education.
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LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
It is now well over a decade since we at
the University of Calgary studied and ad
dressed the need for the BHRM Program.
The world, and particularly the tourism
world, has changed in some ways gradually,
and in some ways dramatically, over that
period. Some of these changes are summa
rized in Table 6. The end result of these
changes is that existing programs will have
to evolve, adjust, and do things differently.
Others may simply find that they are no
longer relevant and may disappear. Within
this context, we believe that Hybrid educa
tion programs are particularly robust, and
should continue to strengthen their position
both in the marketplace, and within the
academic setting. As such, despite all the
pressures on academic institutions, and on
tourism and hospitality education/training
programs in particular, we remain highly
optimistic regarding the future of the Cal
gary BHRM program—and for all hybrid
programs. While more complex in both
design and administration than traditional
programs, their ability to produce graduates
having both practical skills and academic
insight is surprisingly unique in a world that
requires both abilities. It is this unique
strength that will ensure both their existence
and their success.
Table 1
Overview of Calgary BHRM
(Bachelor of Hotel & Resort Management)
2 years at
Diploma Granting Institution
Technical education in the operation of Diploma in Hotel
hotels and restaurants and Restaurant
Course work has 2 thrusts:
Management
1. General Management knowledge
2. Hotel and Restaurant Management skills
Selection of Top two graduates
from 19 Diploma Granting Institutions
2 years at
University of Calgary
Critical thinking skills
=> Bachelor of Hotel
and Resort Man
Course work has 3 major thrusts: agement Degree
1. General Management knowledge
2. Tourism Management knowledge
3. General Education knowledge
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Table la
Details of Hybrid Hotel and Resort Management Program
Year 1 Diploma Granting Institution Courses
Year 2
60% Core Business
20% Hotel Management
20% Food & Beverage
Diploma Granting Institution Courses
40% General Education
25% Hotel Management
25% Food & Beverage
10% Integrative Tourism
II
Year 3
Year 4
40% Core Business
University of Calgary Courses
30% Tourism Business
II
Bachelor of Hotel and Resort Management Degree Awarded
by
University of Calgary
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Table 2
Overview of Structure and Content of the
Bachelor of Business (Tourism & Hospitality)
Latrobe University (Melbourne, Australia)
B.Bus (Tourism and Hospitality)
Year 1 2 x TAFE Subjects
6 x University Subjects => Certificate
Year 2
Year 2
1 x TAFE Subject
7 x University Subjects
8 x University Subjects
=>
=>
Diploma (optional)
Alternate for students not
wanting to complete
diploma
Year 3 8 x University Subjects
=>
Degree or Graduate
Diploma
Year 4 5 x University Subjects
=>
Honours Degree
(by invitation from Head of
School)
NOTE: TAFE is the acronym for Technical and Further Education
Philosophy of the LaTrobe Multi-Entry, Multi-Exit Program
The philosophy that underpins the hospitality and tourism courses at LaTrobe see
blend vocational training with a broad management education for the industry's f
leaders. The Bachelor of Business (Tourism and Hospitality) combines the skills nee
hospitality supervision with business management and an understanding of the dyn
the tourism industry. The Bachelor of Business (Tourism Management) develops th
fessional skills required in the tourism and travel industries with a thorough backgro
general business and management.
Students can enter these degrees knowing that their career options are open and
At the end of their first year of studies, if their interests or vocation needs so det
they can leave either course with a fully recognized TAFE Certificate in Hospitalit
Tourism, and return later when their career demands higher qualifications. Similarl
can exit the course at the end of their second year with a nationally recognized Dipl
Hospitality Management or Diploma in Tourism. Students are not locked into a
nothing three-year program. In short, the course is designed to meet the student'
needs for education when they require it—providing every opportunity to advanc
qualifications as their own career develops.
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Table 2a
Details of Course Structure and Content for Bachelor of Business
(Tourism and Hospitality)
First Year
Semester 1
• Accounting for Management Decisions
• Food and Beverage Services A
• Introduction to Accommodation Management
Semester 2
• Accommodation Management Operations
• Accounting & Management for Small Business
• Introduction to Tourism Analysis
• Management Communications
Second Year
Two options are offered for 2nd Year Bachelor of Business (Tourism & Hospitalit
students. The first option allows students interested in the Hospitality field to satisfy
requirements for the Diploma of Hospitality. The second option is for students who do no
wish to complete the Diploma of Hospitality
Option One
Semester 1
• Computer Reservation Systems: Information & Analysis
• Economics for the Tourism Industry
• Food and Beverage Services B @
• Tourism and Hospitality Marketing
Semester 2
• Hospitality Enterprise Management
• Human and Personnel Management
• Tourism and Hospitality Law
• Tourism Policy & Planning
Option Two
Semester 1
• Computer Reservation Systems: Information & Analysis
• Economics for the Tourism Industry
• Tourism and Hospitality Marketing
Plus one free elective (any eligible LaTrobe University subject)
Semester 2
• Human and Personnel Management
• Tourism and Hospitality Law
• Tourism Policy & Planning
Plus one free elective (any eligible LaTrobe University subject)
NOTE: Students who have completed Option Two do not quality for the Diploma of
Hospitality.
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Table 2a (continued)
Third Year
Students are required to complete the entrepreneurship stream of 3 subjects, one of the
available specialization streams (of 3 or 4 subjects) and 1-2 Free Elective choices; a total
of 8 subjects. The full range of options is set out below:
NB: Subjects can only account as an elective in one stream. Subjects failing to achieve
sufficient enrolments will be cancelled and alternate subjects offered to the student.
COMPULSORY STREAM
Entrepreneurship Stream
SPECIALIZATION STREAMS
Culture & Tourism Stream
Event Catering & Management Stream
Nature-based Tourism Stream
International Tourism (English Language)
International Tourism (Foreign Language)
Marketing Stream
Wine Tourism Stream
Resort Management Stream (Mt Buller)
Rural Tourism (Shepparton")
Hospitality Management (Wodonga/Beechworth)
Community Tourism (Bendigo Campus)
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Table 3
Overview of Structure and Content of the
Tourism Management Program
at
Brighton University (Brighton, UK)
BA (Honours) Tourism Management or Hospitality Management
2 or 3 years at
Diploma Granting Institution
(UK or Overseas)*
Technical education in the operation of Diploma in Tourism or
hotels and restaurants
—>
Hospitality Management
Tourism Management
Selection of top graduates
from Diploma Granting Institutions
Jj
1 or 2 years at
BA (Hons) in:
University of Brighton
Level 2
• Hospitality Management
• International Hospitality
• Operational Management expertise Management
• International Tourism
Level 3 Management
• Public Sector Tourism, Planning & • Tourism Management
Development • Travel Management
• Plus specializations
♦Overseas Partner Institutions:
• Treider, Oslo, Norway
• Freibourg, Germany
• Deventer College, Holland
• Bad Honneff, Bonn, Germany
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Table 3a
Details of Structure and Content of the
Tourism Management Program
at
Brighton University (Brighton, UK)
Level 1
• Accounting in Service Industries
• Consumers and the Business Environment
• Understanding People in Service Organisations
• Development and Organisation of the Tourism Industry
• Attractions Management and Operations
• Skills for Academic and Professional Studies
• Business Communication and IT
• Options including languages
Industrial placement year
• after level 1 or 2 (optional for non-international route)
Level 2
• Managing Finance, Human Resources and Marketing in Service Industries
• Business and Consumer Law
• Impacts in Tourism
• Transport
• Society, Culture and Tourism
• Applied Management case study
• Professional Development
• Business Research Methods
• Options including languages
Level 3
• Business Strategy
• Politics and Planning in Tourism
• Tourism and Recreation in Fragile Destinations
• Dissertation
• Options
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Table 4
Some Special Strengths of the Calgary BHRM Hybrid Program
• Graduates possess a high level of technical skills in hospitality management that make
them immediately functional on job entry
• Graduates have been exposed to a significant number of courses from a wide range of
academic disciplines, thus enhancing their understanding of society as a whole
• Graduates have undertaken an in-depth study of the tourism and hospitality sector, its
components, how it functions, and how the sector contributes to the well being of soci
ety
• Graduates have learned how business works in general, as well as the roles of each of
the functional areas of business, and the skills required in each area
• Graduates have learned the fundamentals of tourism and hospitality management at both
the firm and destination level. This provides a unique understanding of a Destination
Management Organization provides leadership and coordination to tourism and hospi
tality firms, so as to make the total destination competitive on a sustainable basis
• Graduates have had the opportunity to interact with, and share ideas with the leading
students in their field from all across Canada
• Graduates have had the opportunity to form life-long friendships and relationships that
will serve them well in their careers, and be of immense value to the Canadian tourism
industry
• Graduates have been exposed to some of the leading teachers and researchers in the
field of tourism and hospitality studies. In addition to acquiring practical skills, they
have been intellectually challenged in a way that goes far beyond that of many
programs
• Graduates have access to employment opportunities and management training programs
in some of the world's leading hotel, resort, and tourism attractions. Indeed, most have
several offers from which to choose.
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Table 5
Issues and Challenges Facing Implementation
and Management of the Calgary Hybrid BHRM Program
• Tourism is still regarded with skepticism by many in the academic community. Much
like women, tourism research must continually demonstrate they are better than col
leagues in many disciplines in order to merit scholarly recognition
• Basic funding for tourism education in Canada still lags far behind competitors, such as
Australia in particular
• With notable exceptions (e.g. Canadian Pacific, now Fairmount Hotels & Resorts) the
tourism sector in Canada is reluctant to provide the enrichment funding that permits
good programs to become great ones
• Despite scholarship support, the fact that Canada is a vast country still makes the total
cost of studying in Calgary much high than studying at a local university
• The graduates of the leading partner technical institutes are typically flooded with job
offers after completing their technical programs. As such, it requires these individuals to
take a long term career perspective to enter the BHRM program. This is not always easy
for a young person who has lived their life to date on a very basic income
• A true appreciation of what the BHRM program will do to enhance their personal and
career satisfaction must be explained in detail by our recruiting team. This team must be
sent every year to each of the 14 partner institutions if we are to successfully convey our
message to future graduates. And since we can accept only 2-3 individuals from each
Institute, this is a high cost process. Again, without the enrichment support from Cana
dian Pacific, this essential promotional effort would not be possible in today's world of
restrained university budgets
• The accreditation standards of the American Association of College and Schools of
Business (AACSB) are aimed towards the "traditional" business school program. As
such, they have little tolerance for the idiosyncrasies of the content and structure of the
Hybrid BHRM. This requires that we constantly must seek to modify not only the pro
gram itself, but also the articulation agreements that make it possible for the program to
exist
• The recent World Tourism Organization (WTO) TedQual accreditation standards, while
optimal, create yet another costly and diversionary accreditation standard and data col
lection process for those programs that which to support WTO in its efforts to maintain
and raise the quality of tourism education
• The drafting of articulation agreements with each of the 19 cooperating partners was a
long and laborious process since each of the institutions had slightly varying program
requirements
202.43.95.117 on Fri, 22 Sep 2023 00:14:01 +00:00

J R. Brent Ritchie, Simon Hudson, and Lorn R. Sheehan: Hybrid Programs in Tourism and Hospitality 43
Table 6
The Changing World of the Past Decade
(and Some Impacts on Tourism Education)
• An ongoing reduction in public funding for university level education, and a resultant
pressure for privatization
• A growing demand for computer based distance education
• Increasing consolidation of key sectors of the tourism industry (most notably airlines
and hotels)
• A growing lack of personal willing to fill many of the frontline service functions re
quired by the traditional tourism industry in developed countries, and resulting pres
sures to automate/mechanize such tasks where possible
• Cutbacks in commission levels paid to travel agencies, with resulting lower levels of
service, direct charges to customers, and transfer of certain tasks to consumers
• Increased terrorism, with a resultant fear of travel, in general, and to specific destina
tions in particular. As a consequence, the study of tourism must be re-conceptualized
• The need for increased airport security has increased both the cost and the "hassle fac
tor" of travel by air
• Growing globalization has increased the need for an international perspective on tour
ism education and training
• The changing nature of the "Travel Destination" has placed an increased emphasis on
the need for a destination approach to educational programming and supporting teach
ing materials
• The growing sophistication of many tourism positions is slowly increasing the demand
for certain highly trained specialists and for graduate level programs
• The growing sophistication of travellers is changing their expectations with respect to
the kinds of experiences, products, and service quality levels that they are expecting—
indeed, demanding.
• The qualification requirements of tourism educators are being steadily raised, with an
accompanying growth in the demand for "educating the educators" programs
• The introduction of accreditation standards (e.g. WTO TedQual) is forcing education
institutions to increase the teaching and research skills of educators
• Increasing pressure to balance economic performance with environmental stewardship
is creating pressure for adjustments in the emphasis placed on these areas within tour
ism education programming
• Certain leaders in the tourism industry are starting to realize that unless they step for
ward to support and enrich tourism education and training in a significant way, that such
programs risk being dropped by education/training institutions.
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