1. Issues in the Future of
Tourism & Hospitality Education
Pauline J. Sheldon

2. Roadmap
• An assessment of field so far
• How can we excel?
• Where do we belong?
• Where is our strategic leadership?

3. Assessment of our History
Almost half a century of tourism/hospitality programs
– Program Proliferation in BRIC’s and other developing countries
– Consolidation in US, UK and other countries
– Increasing focus on skills development
– Industry is increasingly driving the curricula
– Business of tourism seems to be overshadowing the non-
business aspects
– Increasing dissection of the subject
– Development of metrics – are they the right ones? Popularity of
outcomes-based education.
– Shift in the profile of faculty
– Much tourism knowledge transfer happening outside our schools
in other disciplines.

4. Grade book
• Skills transfer - A-
• Performance with current metrics - B
• Quantity of Journals & Publications - A-
• Innovation of curriculum - D
• Faculty Development - D+
• Strategic Leadership of the field - F

5. Leadership in Tourism Education
is Sorely Needed
• What are the characteristics of leading
educational institutions?

6. World Class Universities
• Three complementary sets of factors at play in top universities:
– (a) a high concentration of talent (faculty and students),
– (b) abundant resources to offer a rich learning environment
and to conduct advanced research,
– (c) favorable governance features that encourage strategic
vision, innovation, and flexibility, unit-level decision making,
minimal bureaucratic encumberance.

7. Characteristics of
World Class
Students Concentration
Universities: of Talent
Teaching Staff
Researchers
Internationalization
Graduates Research Output
WCU
Supportive regulatory
Public budget framework
Endowment Tech Autonomy
Transfer
Tuition Academic Freedom
Research grants Leadership team Favorable
Strategic Vision
Governance
Culture of Excellence
Abundant
Resources
Source: Jamil Salmi, World Bank

8. Unique Challenges of Tourism/Hospitality
• Knowledge Creation vs. Human Capital Formation
• Tribe “ reflective practitioner”
• Bi-(Tri? Multi?) furcation of Tourism/Hospitality Studies?
• Disciplinarity
– Business vs. non-business
– Positive vs. Normative
– “Free from the shackles of a discipline”

9. Projected Changes in Universities
More university/corporate
partnerships highly specialized
certification programs
Students will customize
degrees less than 5 yrs
more than 5 years
More interdisciplinary majors unlikely
Don't know
Courses will vary in length; no
more semesters
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%100%
Source: The Economist, 2008

10. Other University Futures
• No faculty/school affiliation (Bieger)
• Raison d’Etre: research and assessment; teaching
outsourced
– Relevance of knowledge sources?
• Virtual Education
– Appropriate for technical/core courses
– Inappropriate for critical thinking, innovation and transfer of
values.
• Corporations more connected with/own universities: is
this the direction we want to go?

11. Faculty Issues
• Who are we? more international; more diverse?
• Where have we come from?
– Disciplinary background/Generation T
– Geographically
• Are we engaged? Do our values mesh with those of the
institution and the industry?
• Influence of senior faculty on junior
• Multiple roles – often conflicting – more demands
• Need new metrics of faculty success
• Impact of removal of tenure

12. Where do we belong on campus?
• Is an autonomous School the right model?
• The Business school connection …
• Should we sub-divide the field of study or
coalesce?
• Community Colleges/TAFE skills
development

13. The Way Forward for Excellence
• A “Harvard” for tourism studies
• An Institute for Leadership in Tourism Education
• Reorganization on Campuses
– Tourism as umbrella unit for other disciplines e.g. School of
Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology (SOEST)
– Skills to CC’s
• Measure improvement and innovation vs. accountability
• New Metrics for Faculty
• TEFI
• The International Academy for the Study of Tourism

14. Current Institutional Leadership in Tourism Education
• ATLAS
• Association for Tourism and Hospitality Education (ATHE)
• CAUTHE
• CHRIE
• THE-ICE
• UNWTO – TedQual and Education and Science Council
• International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators (ISTTE)
• Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Education
• Journal of Teaching in Travel and Tourism
• The Academy of Hope
• Tourism Education Futures Initiative (TEFI)
• The International Academy for the Study of Tourism

15. Tourism Education Futures Initiative
(TEFI)
• Re-vision tourism education
• “TEFI seeks to provide vision, knowledge and a
framework for tourism education programs to
promote global citizenship and optimism for a better
world.” www.tourismeducationsummit.com
Some of the TEFI Family

16. TEFI Values
Stewardship
sustainability, responsibility,
• service to the community
Mutuality Knowledge
diversity, inclusion, critical thinking, innovation,
equity, humility, collaboration creativity, networking
Professionalism:
Ethics
leadership, practicality,
honesty, transparency,
services, relevance, timeliness,
authenticity
reflexivity, teamwork,
pro-activity
Why Values?

17. Values-Based Tools
• Student Oath
• Faculty Code
• Values Inventory Assessment tool
• Ambassador Program
• Pilot projects
• White Paper with curriculum guidelines
• Book of Values-Based Teaching Modules: BESTEN

18. Professional Oaths of Honor
• Modul University, Vienna Austria
• Thunderbird University, Arizona
– “As a global citizen, I promise:
I will strive to act with honesty and integrity,
I will respect the rights and dignity of all people,
I will strive to create sustainable prosperity worldwide,
I will oppose all forms of corruption and exploitation, and
I will take responsibility for my actions.
As I hold true to these principles, it is my hope that I may enjoy
an honorable reputation and peace of conscience.
This pledge I make freely and upon my honor.”

19. Future TEFI Efforts
• TEFI IV: “Tools for change and new uncertainties”
San Sebastian, Spain, April 15-18, 2010
• 2011 TEFI World Congress: Activating Change in
Tourism Education, USA March 2011
• Continued investigation of future challenges to Tourism
Education.

20. International Academy for the Study of Tourism
(www.tourismscholars.org)
• “The Academy”: international organization created to enhance both
theoretical and practical research in the field of tourism.
– 75 Fellows: nomination process; profile
– Changing from “old boys’” society to more open and diverse.
– Promoting information about membership process and new members through
TRINET
• “The goal of the Academy is to further the scholarly research and professional
investigation of tourism. Related objectives include: (a) encouraging the
application of tourism research findings and (b) advancing the international
diffusion and exchange of knowledge about tourism”

21. The Academy Fellows, Nominees and Emerging Scholars
at 20th Anniversary Conference, Mallorca, Spain June 2009

22. A new publication from The Academy
Goodfellow Publishers March 2010
Tourism Research: a 20:20 vision
Edited by
Douglas G Pearce & Richard W Butler
A new milestone collection of challenging and
provocative contributions looking at the
past, present and future of tourism research
Derived from the 20th Anniversary meeting of the
International Academy for the Study of Tourism with
contributions from leading international tourism scholars
ISBN: 978-1-906884-10-9
Publication date: March 2010
Available as hardback, e-book and e-chapters
Special 15% discount available to CAUTHE
delegates
Quote the code CAUTHE10 when placing your
order at www.goodfellowpublishers.com

23. New Academy Responsibilities
• Responsibility to the field
• Mentoring
• Emerging Scholars
• Links with other associations and conferences
• Publications:
• Future Role in Leading Education

24. More work to do…
Look forward to your questions and joining
you in creating new leadership
THANK YOU!
psheldon@hawaii.edu