Planning for tourism education and training in the 1990s: bridging the gap between industry and education

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Planning for tourism education andtraining in the 1990s: bridging thegap between industry and educationR. A. Goodenough a & S. J. Page aa Department of Geography , Christ Church College of HigherEducation , Canterbury, Kent, CT1 1QU, United KingdomPublished online: 24 Feb 2007.

To cite this article: R. A. Goodenough & S. J. Page (1993) Planning for tourism education andtraining in the 1990s: bridging the gap between industry and education, Journal of Geographyin Higher Education, 17:1, 57-72

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Journal of Geography in Higher Education, Vol. 17, No. 1, 1993

Planning for Tourism Education andTraining in the 1990s: bridging the gapbetween industry and education

R. A. GOODENOUGH & S. J. PAGE, Christ Church College of HigherEducation

ABSTRACT Geographers have played an important role in developing degree pro-grammes in tourism studies during the 1980s and 1990s. This paper examines trendsand developments in education for tourism in the 1990s and considers the develop-ment of degree programmes in tourism within a geography department. It highlightspotential labour market problems and the need for closer contact between educationand industry. The paper argues that education for tourism at degree level needs to bemore industry-centred and it reports the results of a questionnaire survey of majortourism employers in Kent and the implications for future course and curriculumdevelopment.

Introduction

During the 1980s, geography departments in higher education diversified theirmainstream teaching and research. Although geography has sometimes been viewedas a fragmented subject, its concern with 'place' (Johnston, 1991) has meant that ithas been able to make a significant input to new subject areas such as tourismstudies. In fact, many geography departments in the United Kingdom have devel-oped courses within existing geography degree programmes and established, oftenin collaboration with other subjects such as business and management studies, newundergraduate and postgraduate degree courses. While much of the growth oftourism courses has taken place within a smaller number of specialised tourismstudies departments (e.g. Bournemouth University) and business schools, geographydepartments and, more importantly, individual geographers have played a majorrole in shaping this emerging field of study (Pearce, 1979; Ritchie, 1981; Messenger,1991; Mitchell & Murphy, 1991).

According to Gilbert (1990, p. 5), the expansion of tourism studies in highereducation has 'drawn on other disciplines in order to develop theoretical andempirical roots applied to tourism as a phenomenon. This has led to a domain ofstudy which has been formed within the melting-pot of Geography, Economics,

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R. A. Goodenough & S. J. Page

Sociology, Psychology, Business Science and Anthropology'. Tourism lacks theantecedents of mature subjects such as geography, remaining a loosely articulatedbody of knowledge (Cooper, 1989). The concepts and definitions developed toexplain the 'tourism phenomenon' (Papadopolous, 1986) contain 'complex mean-ings which have become associated with: the movement of people; a sector of theeconomy; an identifiable industry; and services which need to be provided fortravellers' (Gilbert, 1905, p. 5). However, it is acknowledged that a number of coreproduct components (e.g. transport, attractions, accommodation and catering)combined to form a loose association identified as the 'tourism industry'.

One consequence of this loose association is that it is difficult to assess the extentto which the tourism industry exists as a coherent body with its own clear stafftraining requirements. This raises an immediate problem as to how educationalinstitutions can respond by providing undergraduate courses which are 'industri-ally-centred' to meet the diverse training needs of the industry as opposed tocourses which are more 'student-centred'. The various training and educationalneeds of the tourism industry in the UK are normally established through a processof negotiation between tourism employers, trade organisations (e.g. the Associationof British Travel Agents), the relevant validating bodies (e.g. the Business andTechnical Education Council and Council for National Academic Awards) [ 1 ] andthe Department for Education [the former Department of Education and Science(DES)] through the advice and reports on courses inspected (e.g. DES, 1990).

The development of tourism education in the UK is part of a wider process of theexpansion of higher education provision in the developed world (Cooper & West-lake, 1989; AIEST, 1990; Bratton et al, 1991), particularly in Europe and NorthAmerica [2]. Changes in curriculum design, competence-based learning, new modesof delivery (Teare & Akehurst, 1988) and the opening up of access to nationalqualifications have had a profound impact on the supply of tourism education infurther and higher education in the UK. Thus, as tourism has expanded as aworldwide phenomenon (Anon, 1987) there has been a recognition of the impor-tance of education and training to seize the opportunities offered to countries,regions and businesses through increased tourist spending, employment growth andrevenue generation. For example, tourism in the European Community (EC) is anexpanding service sector activity which is estimated to be worth $600 million at1989 prices and, as 'a growth industry, it is increasingly dependent on its workforce'(Messenger, 1991, p. 262) to meet the challenge of rapidly changing business.

Although the UK has seen the provision of technical training expand to meet theneeds of the tourism industry through the development of national qualificationsfor travel and tourism (Airey, 1990; Messenger, 1991), there has been relativelylittle published research on the role and significance of undergraduate and postgra-duate degree courses as 'it is only since the mid-1980s that mainstream travel andtourism courses at degree level have been estabished in . . . higher education' (Mes-senger, 1991, p. 249) [3]. However, critics have argued that these developments lacka clear direction or concern for the real educational needs of potential managers inthe tourism industry. Furthermore, over-recruitment to vocational degree courseswithout careful consideration of the ability of the labour market to sustain theoutput of graduates may lead to serious imbalances (CNAA, 1993).

This paper develops a major theme in relation to the potential labour marketproblem by emphasising the need for closer contact between the industry and theeducational provider. To what extent can the training needs of the tourism industry

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Planning for Tourism Education

be met by degree courses in tourism? This paper focuses on a regional case study,Kent, a county which is experiencing major changes in both tourism provision anddevelopment and in the way it is perceived by the tourism industry as a frontierregion with the European mainland (Essex & Gibb, 1989). The construction of theChannel Tunnel has raised awareness of tourism in Kent and of the implicationsfor tourism training and manpower issues. The significance of wider Europeantraining issues for tourism are discussed in view of the impending impact of SingleEuropean Market legislation in creating a wider European business environment fortourism (Cecchini, 1988; Storey, 1989; Cooper et al, 1990) and in relation to thepotential benefits of developing courses from a geographical standpoint. Externalinfluences and developments affecting geography in higher education (e.g. theEnterprise in Higher Education Initiative; see Clarke, 1991; Healey, 1992) arediscussed within the context of curriculum development and the trend towardscloser contact with industry. This is followed by a review of the training needs intourism identified by Kent County Council (KCC, 1990a, 1991) and an analysis ofa recent survey of major tourism employers in Kent designed to assess theirperception of tourism education and training during the 1990s. The implicationsfor educational provision in which the course and curriculum are industry-centredrather than institutionally determined are considered.

Tourism Education and Training in the 1990s: a European perspective

Although there have been numerous studies on the development of tourism educa-tion in the UK and EC (Lavery, 1987, 1988; DES, 1988), industry-assessed degreecourses are scarce. A comprehensive study of the human resource constraints facingthe European tourism industry in the 1990s commissioned by the AmericanExpress Company did not provide a detailed assessment of the position and role ofdegree courses since 'in most countries they are recent developments and are not asyet having much impact on the labour market' (EIESP, 1990, p. 30). And yet anunderstanding of the employment characteristics of the tourism industry is criticalto the assessment of its training and educational requirements in the 1990s(Constable, 1989). In common with other studies of tourism in the 1990s (e.g.HOTREC, 1989), the EIESP report found that the industry employed a largeproportion of young, female and part-time employees (see also Redclift & Sinclair,1991) for whom the industry was their first entry point into the labour market.Tourism employment was commonly perceived as offering little training andinadequate career prospects, together with a poor image of long and unsocialworking hours and low rates of pay. Consequently, the European tourism industrycontinues to experience problems related to staff retention and high rates ofturnover among employees. The UK is no exception to this rule (Institute ofManpower Studies, 1989). Thus, while tourism is viewed as a 'service industry'where interpersonal and specific technical skills are the most important qualitiesneeded to succeed, educational qualifications have traditionally not received aprominent place in the recruitment or promotion process (Baum, 1989). However,EIESP (1990, p. 11) rightly acknowledged that in the UK many BTEC and degreelevel courses are excessively theoretical, even those with a significant element ofindustrial experience integrated into the curriculum. Consequently there is a gapbetween the requirements of industry and the nature of educational provision

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(Baroncini, 1988; Baum, 1989) which may be overcome by improving the indus-try-education interface (Kitchen, 1988).

Training has been widely acknowledged as a major factor which can assist in staffretention and increased productivity. The importance of human resources in thedevelopment of the tourism industry (Mill, 1989) and the need for vocationaltraining in information technology, interpersonal skills and customer relationsmore closely orientated towards the operational requirements of the service sectoris widely acknowledged. And yet, the UK firms interviewed by EIESP (1990) notedthe 'anti-service' culture which seems to pervade certain aspects of British tourism.Thus, unlike many other European countries, the UK tourism industry fails toemphasise the significance of language training as an essential requirement of workin the tourism industry.

Tourism Education and Provision in Kent: the challenge of the 1990s

Tourism is a major service sector activity in Kent, employing over 250,000 peopledirectly and indirectly. The industry generated £280 million for the Kent economyfrom the 4.8 million staying visitors and 7 million day trippers in 1988 (South EastEngland Tourist Board, 1989). The volume of tourism increased in Kent by 23 percent and tourist spending rose by 60 per cent during the last decade as the county'srole as a tourist gateway between London and mainland Europe expanded inrelation to a significant growth in cross-Channel travel from Kent ports (Vickerman& Flowerdew, 1990). However, the competition posed by the Channel Tunnel(Channel Tunnel Joint Consultative Committee, 1987) may lead to the loss of over6000 tourism-related jobs in the port of Dover (Page & Sinclair, 1992). Neverthe-less, the Channel Tunnel will double the existing capacity for cross-Channel travel(British Tourist Authority, 1991) and, when it opens in 1993, it is expected togenerate approximately 15.8 million single passenger journeys on the shuttle serviceand 13.6 million on the international train services (South East England TouristBoard, 1991). The Channel Tunnel will generate opportunities for Kent's tourismindustry with additional incoming and outbound visitors, even if a large proportionare 'transit tourists' passing through the county en route to another destination(Page & Sinclair, 1992). There is, therefore, likely to be a much greater emphasis ondirect client contact between the tourism industry and visitors to Kent who travelby road or who use the proposed high-speed rail service to and from the AshfordInternational Passenger Terminal.

The provision of education and training in tourism in Kent has lagged behind thedramatic changes in the character of the county as a tourist region. For example,prior to 1989, the only tourism training courses available in Kent were BTEC lowerlevel qualifications and those aimed at the hotel and catering industry. Further-more, there were no specialised management training courses for the tourismindustry desite the existence of a University Business School and two Collegesoffering higher education courses. This major gap in the provision of tourismeducation was identified in 1987 by Canterbury Christ Church College (hereafterChrist Church College) through the Geography Department's involvement in shorttourism courses funded by the Training Agency (formerly the Manpower ServicesCommission). The success of these early training courses in tourism was consoli-dated by an allocation of student numbers from the DES to develop and expand

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TABLE I. BA/BSc joint honours degree in Tourism, Leisure and Recreation Studies at CanterburyChrist Church College of Higher Education

Level Courses Assessment

1st Year Introduction to tourism, leisure and recreation(Part I) studies (double course)

And a foreign language

And one other subject for BA/BSc joint honours course(e.g. sport science, business studies, informationtechnology and other approved subjects)

2nd Year* Geography of tourismt

And leisure and recreation management!

And a foreign language

And one other subject for joint honours course

Summer term/vacation—work placement

3rd Year Core course: service sector marketing(Part II) and management (To integrate tourism and leisure

courses into a broader perspective of service sectoractivities)

And a foreign languageAnd at least one course from the other subject

If students want to take one or two other courses intourism, leisure and recreation studies (i.e. to 'Major'in the subject), a range of approved options can be taken.

Currently these options are:

Heritage studiesLeisure needs and provisionOutdoor recreation managementTourism marketingTourism in the Third WorldTourism destination managementAn industry-based study

75% examination/25% coursework

Oral examination/coursework






The options areassessed 75%/25%as with othercourses except foran 'industry-basedstudy' which isassessed bysubmitting adissertation ofup to 8000 words

*In year two students also have the opportunity to participate in a European Community fundedERASMUS programme to study at University College, Cork (Eire), Charles de Gaulle University,Lille (France), or Hogeschool Holland, Amsterdam (the Netherlands).fA residential field week is an integral part of these two courses.

degree-level courses in Tourism Studies as part of the joint honours degree pro-gramme at Christ Church College.

The responsibility for developing the tourism programme was based in theGeography Department and extensive consultation with representatives from allsectors of the local tourism industry was undertaken to develop a joint honoursprogramme which would provide a local supply of graduates with some of the skillsin demand. Although recruitment to the course was undertaken on a national basis,there was a strong reliance on the Kent region for full and particularly part-timestudents with traditional 'A' level and non-traditional qualifications [4]. The struc-

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ture of the course is outlined in Table I which illustrates its development from ageographical standpoint and the recognition of the importance attached to languageskills and the role of the service sector as a major employer of graduates in the1990s. Table I also raises two fundamental questions in relation to the developmentby geographers of undergraduate programmes in tourism. First, what contributioncan a geographical approach to tourism make to a critical understanding andinterpretation of the 'tourism phenomenon' compared to other social sciencesubjects? Second, to what extent are external pressures and initiatives shaping andchanging the provision of degree-level geographical education to make such courseprovision more responsive and market-led?

The Geographers' Contribution to Tourism Education

The significance of geographical approaches to the analysis of tourism has been thesubject of numerous articles (e.g. Barbier, 1984) although the work of Pearce (1979,1987, 1990, 1992) is acknowledged as amongst the most influential in establishingtourism as a serious area of geographical investigation and has ensured that spatialapproaches to tourism feature in many degree-level courses. The principal compo-nents of geographers' interest in and contribution to tourism include: the spatialanalysis of the supply and demand for tourism; the geography of resorts, touristmovements and flows; the analysis of the impact of tourism; and developing modelsof tourist space (Pearce, 1979). Since the 1970s, the geography of tourism hasshown a greater concern for the patterns and processes associated with the world-wide development of the tourism industry (Smith & Eadington, 1992). Suchconcerns for the tourism environment have meant that a spatial perspective canmake a greater contribution to the planning, organisation, mangement and develop-ment of tourism. These geographical contributions to the multi-disciplinary under-standing of tourism are acknowledged both in the range of tourism textbooks (e.g.Mathieson & Wall, 1982; Murphy, 1985; Pearce, 1987, 1990, 1992; Smith, 1989;Williams & Shaw, 1991), reviews of research (e.g. Cooper, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992)and articles published by geographers in journals concerned with tourism.

A comparison of tourism research by geographers in the 1970s and 1990s revealsa gradual move towards a more systematic and analytical approach (Page, 1989b)and away from regional case studies and descriptions of the demand and supply oftourism activity in various localities. Geographers are increasingly able to provide asystematic approach with which to examine the tourism phenomenon, drawing onand synthesising the evidence, approaches and experience from other disciplines.However, the multi-disciplinary nature of tourism studies requires that geographyintegrates its contribution with the business environment in which tourism operates(Papadopolous, 1986). Geography can provide a framework for the analysis of theinter-relationships between tourism, the tourist industry, host areas and the humanand physical environment and so develop an understanding of the principlesrequired for sustainable tourism development. But the geographers' contributionhas to be considered within the wider context of external pressures on highereducation to generate market-led courses and to make geography graduates moreaware of the business world.

External Influences on Course Design and Development in Geography

The recent emphasis within state policy on increasing access and market-led

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planning for the funding of higher education in Britain is reflected in the fact thatthe largest single programme area funded by the former funding agency forPolytechnics and Colleges in 1990-91 was Business and Management, whichincludes tourism courses (PCFC, 1991). Within this context, it is evident thattourism has offered those geography departments with an interest in the servicesector an opportunity to develop a niche in the expanding higher educationenvironment whilst diversifying from a reliance on funding related to more tra-ditional geography, humanities and science courses. Such trends have also favouredmoves towards 'student-centred' undergraduate courses and towards modularisa-tion, which is often equated with increased choice and flexibility in provision(Thorne et al, 1991), and have re-emphasised the role of educational providers andvalidating bodies as the final arbiters of the curriculum and course content.

However, other developments in higher education, such as the 'Enterprise inHigher Education (EHE) Initiative' (Department of Employment, 1989), haveattempted to bridge the gap between education and industry. As Clarke (1991, p.50) has shown, an 'enterprise unit' in courses should help graduates to developbusiness/enterprise awareness, acquire 'transferable personal skills' useful for subse-quent employment, and complete a project within a working environment. Theunderlying objective of the EHE Initiative to generate more employable graduatesalso reveals a trend towards educational courses which meet the needs of industry.However, although the EHE Initiative can be regarded as a facilitating mechanismfor developing a greater enterprise awareness among graduates, it is no substitutefor a more direct and systematic evaluation of the training and educational needs ofindustry.

Tourism training and Education in Kent: a county council's perspective

The Tourism Department at Kent County Council (KCC) provides a forum forrepresentatives of the public and private sector of the county's tourism industry toassess the short- and long-term training, organisation, development, planning andinvestment requirements for the future prosperity of tourism in the region. The keyconcern of the County Council (KCC, 1989, 1990a,b) is for an 'adaptable, welltrained and highly skilled workforce and a need to improve business performancethrough an investment in the county's human resources' (KCC, 1991, p. 3). To thisend, it acknowledged the significance of providing a combination of tourismcourses throughout the county ranging from pre-vocational education, through thenew GCSE in Travel and Tourism, to technical training for school leavers up todegree-level courses. An Action Plan was devised to ensure that the county had anadequate supply of trained and competent manpower with the right mix of skills toprovide the high standards of service demanded by the more discerning tourismcustomer in the 1990s (Poon, 1989). The Action Plan is of particular interestbecause its identification of skills retention as a priority concern has an importantbearing on education provision.

In the context of the continued expansion of Kent's tourism industry and thepotential downturn in the 18-21 age group in the mid-1990s [5], the GeographyDepartment's 'Centre for Tourism Studies' at Christ Church College examinedpossible ways of making the provision of tourism education more widely availableand accessible to employers and employees already working in the industry.According to Kent County Council (1991, p. 16), the diverse needs of the county's

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expanding tourism industry were not being met; the absence of part-time work-place-based and open learning at degree level was particularly notable. Messenger(1991, p. 260) has argued that these tourism training problems need to be metthrough greater partnership between the educational providers and industry, withthe latter playing a greater role in identifying the curriculum content, standards ofeducational provision and in the assessment process. Messenger (1991, pp.260-261) also outlined a number of issues which tourism education and providersat all levels must address in the 1990s. They should:

—understand the nature of qualifications required;—manage the learning process to enable learners to acquire all aspects of

competence;—develop and promote flexible delivery patterns, including modular provision,

open learning and experiential learning;—consider curriculum design and development;—design a range of valid methods of assessment, including assessment in the

workplace;—establish the principles of assessment;—establish procedures of assessment and recording with respect to specific

qualifications;—provide effective marketing qualifications;—provide guidance, counselling and tutoring for trainees of all ages, especially

adults.

At Christ Church College the concern with the changing needs of Kent's tourismworkforce began with a critical discussion of course development to assess thenormative requirements of industry-orientated undergraduate courses in tourism.This led to a phase of market research as an 'essential source of intelligence forcurriculum development' (Further Education Unit, 1989) to establish what type ofcourse and training the local tourism industry would require over the next 5 years.It was felt that the existing degree (Table I) was inappropriate to the needs of thosepeople already employed in the tourism industry and that research was essential tomake education provision more responsive to the needs of the tourism industry andto build a bridge between the type of course Christ Church College might offer andthe practical needs of industry.

A proposed Industry-centred Part-time Single Honours Degree in Tourism Manage-ment: the response of Kent's tourism employers

A postal questionnaire survey was undertaken in May 1991 to examine the viewsand perceptions of senior tourism managers in Kent in relation to the futureprovision of a new part-time, industry-centred degree in Tourism Management forexisting staff working in the industry. The views of such key decision makers(Handy, 1987) was critical to the consultation process as they would determinewhether or not employees would be encouraged to take the new degree. Thequestionnaire, sent randomly to 140 major employers involved in tourism in Kent,contained over 24 specific questions relating to training and education with anumber of open-ended questions on how to bridge the gap between industry andeducation. Some 55 responses were received, a response rate higher than the 30 percent rate frequently cited as a benchmark for a successful questionnaire survey

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TABLE II. Employment structure of questionnaire respondents

No. ofemployees

None1-5

6-1011-2021-5051-100101-500

Over 500Totals

Full-time

No. ofcompanies

7221056311

55

Total no.of employees

0467977

243229300

40004974

No. of

Part-time

Total No.companies of employees

05343031

19

15487471

1380

90015002746

response rate. Five questionnaires were returned partially incomplete but, ingeneral, the responses were extremely detailed and thorough. Table II summarisesthe employment structure of the companies involved in the survey. It was hopedthat the survey would encourage employers to consider their training needs atdifferent levels. This particular issue was examined by EIESP (1990, p. 54) in termsof 'organisation training needs' (e.g. specific training for certain tasks and responsi-bilities within the company), 'person training' (e.g. the individual training require-ments of specific staff), and training to 'plan for change' which has the greatestsignificance for Kent's tourism industry in the 1990s. The results of the survey aresummarised in Box 1.

Box One

Tourism Training Survey: results

Key findings on Labour Demand and Qualifications

Responses were received from 15 tourism attractions; 15 local authority employers; 12hoteliers; four further education colleges; three transport companies; one from the East KentTourism Development Programme; five returns failed to identify the nature of theircompanies' involvement in tourism or did not fully complete the questionnaire.

Employers looked for reasonably high levels of technical and academic qualifications; 60 percent of employers looked for a minimum of GCSEs with a strong emphasis on City andGuilds (50 percent) and 42 per cent acknowledged the importance of BTEC Nationalqualifications. Only 31 per cent looked for BTEC Higher National qualifications. Some 35per cent of employers looked for a degree or better. Ten per cent of employers did not lookfor any qualifications with personal qualities deemed more important.

Sixty per cent of companies had some form of in-house training for employees although thisvaried according to the level of involvement in the tourism industry. However, 47 per centof all establishments funded employees to obtain nationally recognised qualifications.

The importance of human resources to the business needs of tourism companies in the 1990swas recognised by 71 per cent of employers who looked for potential staff who were fluent inat least one language.

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Forty-nine per cent of companies believed that a lack of language skills amongst theworkforce would constrain its business in the 1990s.

Seventy-five per cent of companies acknowledged that the single European Market andChannel Tunnel would affect tourism businesses in the 1990s.

The emergence of a potential 'skills shortage' in South East England, particularly in relationto the recruitment of 16-21 year olds, who are a traditional source of new labour entrants tothe tourism industry, was perceived as a problem by 34 per cent of companies. Over half ofthe respondents did not believe it was a problem, expecting 'women returners' and matureworkers to fill vacant posts.

Key Findings on Curriculum Design for the New Part-time Degree Course

Over 83 per cent of respondents, many of whom were in a position to influence training andrecruitment policies within their respective companies, said they would support a new part-time degree programme in tourism management as relevant to their business needs.

More than 58 per cent of respondents felt that it was desirable to have two Europeanlanguages; 27 per cent argued that they should be essential. This is a surprisingly lowresponse in view of the constraint identified by companies in relation to staff without foreignlanguages.

In relation to course delivery, attendance at the College two evenings a week over 4 yearswas perceived as 'about right' and 75 per cent of companies felt that such a course would bea reasonable investment in staff development; 50 per cent of companies said that they wouldsponsor employees throughout the course.

A prospective degree course could help to motivate employees and assist recruitment andstaff development especially if the course facilitated staff training aims and led to anationally recognised qualification. Certain companies were undecided on the extent towhich the course would aid staff training or perhaps increase staff mobility and turnover.

Intensive weekend programmes were seen as a popular mechanism for providing sufficienttuition for a part-time degree-level course and would avoid conflicting with the peak seasonin tourism (Ball, 1989).

Some 42 respondents pointed to the value of participants in the course sharing theirexperiences of the tourism industry.

To encourage the tourism industry to help plan some of the modules of a broad-basedcurriculum (Marcovic, 1987) for a part-time degree, respondents were asked to indicatewhich of 11 topics should be included as compulsory or optional elements of the course orexcluded altogether (Table III).

Respondents were asked to suggest other topics for consideration in relation to the coursecontent. Suggestions included: personnel management, customer care, passenger transportand tour operations, fund raising and sponsorship, media and communications, green andsustainable tourism. Most of these topics are already optional on existing tourism degreecourses with a strong business and management studies focus.

Respondents considered one of the most complex issues to be how the academic andpractical needs of the industry could be integrated into the course to overcome the gapbetween industry and education.

Forty-seven per cent of respondents contributed to an open-ended question on bridging theeducation-industry gap (Table IV). The need to relate the curriculum closely to the practicalexperiences of the industry was viewed as important and could be achieved by using casestudies and by the involvement of experienced practitioners.

Twenty-two companies said they would be prepared to attend a number of meetings to setup a steering group, during the early stages of course development. This is a positivecontribution to course development and offers the potential to examine more sophisticatedmethods of monitoring tourism employers' and employees' and satisfaction of the prospec-tive course.

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TABLE III. Topics to be included as modules in the part-time degree in Tourism Management

Topic

Tourism marketingTourism managementTourism planningTourism developmentFinancial managementStatistical analysisSocial survey techniquesInformation technologyHospital managementQuality managementHeritage studies

Should

Compulsory

413829243122

820232914

the topic

Optional

510172215223827202528

be:

Excluded

00112210432

No response

9788798888

11

Implications of the Survey for Course Development

The results of the questionnaire survey presented here is the beginning of a newlevel of course development which will meet some of the demands of the tourismindustry through the early 1990s. The new course is intended to comprise a 4-yearpart-time programme leading to the award of a BA (Hons) degree in TourismManagement, acting as a management development course for existing employeesand people wishing to return to the workforce. This course aims to enhance theCollege's growing specialisation in management-related courses, building on theexpertise within both the Departments of Geography and Business and Manage-ment Studies. The first year of the course builds on the course members' existingknowledge of tourism and service sector studies, and aims to develop a basicunderstanding of the fundamentals of tourism and services as business activitiesemphasising an international perspective. Teaching will be by lectures, seminarsand tutorials but distance-learning strategies will also be employed. Years two andthree are designed to provide a detailed programme of management and business-related education relevant to both the tourism and wider services industry with agrowing international dimension, as the UK becomes more fully integrated withmainland Europe. Core elements and specialist options are provided to enable thecourse participant to acquire a better understanding of the fundamentals of market-ing, management and the business environment in which the service sector oper-ates, with specialist elements related to individual course participant's interests.Year four is the culmination of these components with a greater flexibility in themode of teaching, attendance and assessment: emphasis is placed on self-managedlearning and a research component in the form of a dissertation.

Clearly, the new degree emphasises the training and educational needs of thoseestablishments and companies involved in tourism and service provision forvisitors. Its role as a component of company training programmes for managementstaff has been acknowledged in terms of the course structure and detailed curricu-lum prepared for the degree. The significance of language provision identified byrespondents has also been incorporated throughout the new degree as a core

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component, recognising the South East's location as a frontier region and touristgateway to the UK. Furthermore, the new degree recognises the potential 'skillsshortage' faced by many companies in the South East in the 1990s and the need todevelop transferable skills among their existing staff, through innovative educa-tional programmes. However, the need for a flexible approach to educationalprovision has also been a notable feature of the new course. The mode of delivery,coursework assessment and work-based projects are a fundamental element in allcourse modules, with the accreditation of prior learning experiences considered as acriterion for admission. Wherever possible, industry-related contributions to theteaching of the programme will be encouraged, with the educational objectives andpractical needs of industry (see Table IV) integrated into the curriculum asoutlined.

The closer integraton between education and industry which is implicit in thequestionnaire returns has mutual benefits beyond stimulating innovation in coursedesign and delivery. It is hoped that collaborative research and consultancy willfollow (DES, 1990) together with industrial sponsorship of student bursaries andwider possibilities for academic development.

The survey also raises a number of wider issues related to the need for a detailedsystem of course evaluation and monitoring for 'industry-centred' degree pro-grammes. Current tourism programmes which are institutionally-based usuallytarget the work-placement and industry-based project as the main mechanism forassessing employers' and students' level of satisfaction with this industrial element.However, for a new course which recruits course participants actively engaged incareers in tourism, more sophisticated course modules will need to be developedwhich provide an opportunity to evaluate the value of the course within a workenvironment. This will require a closer partnership between education and industryto negotiate the training requirements of individual course participants, an involve-ment which is both time consuming and demanding for academics who are notused to frequent contact with the tourism industry. A Liaison Tutor, similar to

TABLE IV. Responses on how to integrate the academic aspects of the part-time degree with thepractical needs of industry

By using real world examples and practical work.

Outside visits to public and private sector organisations involved in tourism.

A series of seminars and visiting speakers from the tourism industry.

Practical work experience in other areas of the tourism industry.

Role playing.

Peer group assessment.

Feedback sessions.

An element of self-managed learning.

Group presentations and projects which provide a convincing simulation of the real world, possiblyundertaken at the workplace.

Co-operation with the tourism industry.

Problem-solving within a formal framework.

An academic rationale to the course but with a practical focus throughout.

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those employed by the Business Schools on MBA programmes, is likely to be theoutcome of formalising the relationship between business and education for 'indus-try-centred' courses. Furthermore, there is a clear need to monitor the careerdevelopment of graduates of 'industry-centred' courses in a more sophisticatedmanner than the existing first destination surveys of graduates frequently used byCareers Officers in higher education. Ultimately, new assessment procedures willneed to be designed which enable the views of both course members and employersto be regularly incorporated in the monitoring, evaluation and development of new'industry-centred' degrees.

Conclusion: tourism and geography

This paper has shown that the tourism industry in the UK is faced with greatopportunities and yet there are problems in recruiting skilled, trained personnel—aproblem accentuated by the demographic shift which could reduce the number ofschool leavers by one-fifth by 1995. This is not a problem confined to the UK andmay require greater international harmonisation of standards and qualificationsthus allowing free movement of labour within the EC. Whatever the response oftraining providers in higher education, it is clear that tourism degree programmeswill have to promote flexible delivery patterns including modular provision, dis-tance learning, computer-based experiences and a strong language component.

Geography is a very appropriate seed-bed in which such developments may benurtured. It is a discipline which provides students with a broad perspective on theinter-relationships between societies and environments. A key element is under-standing the role and impact of tourism as it expands as a worldwide phenomenon.Furthermore, geography has a tradition of providing training in specialised skills inareas of growing demand such as information technology. To achieve all this, itsteaching programmes have drawn on material from both the social and naturalsciences and much of its content is applied to a wide range of contemporaryproblems from the local to the global scale. Geography is a dynamic field which hasresponded to tourism developments from environmental, regional and spatialperspectives. It has acquired a strong record in behavioural research, resourcemanagement, and understanding the process of spatial change. In addition to atheoretical understanding of these concepts, the geographer has a long tradition offield methods in a variety of environmental contexts, thus developing the skillsnecessary for investigations of physical and social phenomena. It is, therefore, adiscipline which has been able to react positively to provide innovative pro-grammes in tourism studies relevant to the needs of the industry in the 1990s.Perhaps the greatest challenge for geographers involved in tourism education andresearch in the 1990s, is the extent to which they may contribute to the establish-ment of tourism studies as a separate discipline with its own theoretical base andconcepts to understand the development, impact and significance of tourism indifferent societies and cultural environments.

Correspondence: R. A. Goodenough & S. J. Page, Department of Geography,Christ Church College of Higher Education, Canterbury, Kent CT1 1QU, UnitedKingdom.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the editorial board and anonymous referees for constructive commentson this paper. In addition, we are grateful to Christ Church College of HigherEducation for typing the manuscript.

NOTES

[ 1 ] At the time of writing, the Council for National Academic Awards was undertaking a detailedreview of tourism studies in higher education to establish a profile of tourism degree courses inhigher education. This may provide a basis for institutions to assess the extent to whichtourism courses are 'industry-centred', and able to meet the diverse training and humanresource requirements of the tourism industry.

[2] There are over 100 colleges and universities with some form of tourism course in NorthAmerica. A recent conference at the University of Calgary (Bratton et ai, 1991) examinedcourses in an international context. An interesting contrast can be drawn with degree-leveltourism education in New Zealand where the open-door and market-led approach to universityadmissions has not been applied to tourism, the largest growth sector of the economy (Page,1989a). In 1991, there were no single or joint honours degrees in tourism due to a governmentdecision to favour the resourcing of tourism training in lower level courses in polytechnics.Tourism studies at degree level could be studied only as a component of a Business Studiesdegree at Massey University (including degree courses by distance-learning) or as optionalundergraduate or postgraduate electives on the geography degrees at Otago University, Du-nedin and the University of Canterbury, Christchurch. In 1991, there were also plans forWaikato University's Department of Geography to develop a course emphasising the heritagecomponent of tourism studies and for Lincoln University to include tourism on its Leisure andRecreation degree programme.

[3] According to Airey (1990), the number of higher education vocational courses in England andWales preparing people for employment in organisations concerned with tourism were inexcess of 2000 with over 30,000 year one enrolments. These estimates were based on courses inthe three main sections of tourism education: hospitality, travel and tourism, and leisure andrecreation courses. Whilst a few undergraduate courses exist in British universities, themajority are based in the former polytechnics and in colleges of higher education since this iswhere much of the growth in vocationally-oriented education occurred in the 1980s and early1990s.

[4] These included mature entrants and people who had followed access courses at local technicalcolleges in Kent and lower level BTEC programmes.

[5] For example, the Hotel and Catering Board (HOTREC, 1989) estimated that in 1989 therewere 212,000 managers employed in the UK hospitality industry and that in 1992 there wouldbe 216,000 although there would be a 23 per cent increase in the demand for such labour. Theproblem of manpower shortages was predicted by the Institute of Manpower Studies (1989)which examined the demand and supply of graduates and acknowledged that, in the 1990s,there would be a decline in the flow of graduates. Messenger (1991) also reiterated these points,citing the Henley Centre for Forecasting's prediction that demographic shifts in Europe in the1990s would place strains on the supply of labour.

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