A comparison of academia and industry perceptions of an ideal hospitality management programme

With the rapid growth of hospitality and tourism industry, the hospitality management programme has become an increasingly important issue in higher education sector in order to reinforce service sector and strengthen national economy. The design of a well thought out curriculum must satisfy programme as well as the need of academia and industry. This empirical study compared academia and industry practitioner perceptions of an ideal hospitality management programme by use of conjoint analysis. Results indicated that both academia and industry prefer a course that covers the thematic content; incorporate global exposure; assigns more practical training; and emphasises on both theories and lectures. The results also revealed significant differences in perceptions of the hospitality management curriculum among academia and industry professionals. Results are valuable and informative for academic institutions, to help them develop courses to satisfy students’ need, industry requirements and enhance teaching effectiveness. Implications of the results for the academic community and industrial sectors are discussed.