Current trends in tourism and hospitality education in South Africa, such as integrating technology and collaboration among educational institutions and the industry itself, will ensure that graduates are sufficiently prepared to meet the industry’s ever-changing needs.

So said Dr Siyabulela Nyikana, Senior Lecturer at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) School of Tourism and Hospitality (STH). “The future of tourism and hospitality is looking bright, with a lot of good developments coming up, especially from an education point of view. The sector is unique in that it changes daily. New developments take place, and tourists are also very fickle people whose needs change constantly. So the education of future professionals needs to also be on constant development to keep up with trends and changes in the industry.”

Top trends

Both Nyikana and Simphiwe Dlamini, a lecturer at the IIE School of Hospitality and Service Management campus in Rosebank, told Tourism Update that the biggest trend in tourism and hospitality education currently was to blend the use of technology in teaching and learning.

“There is a lot of exciting change happening in the tourism and hospitality education space. Amongst the most prominent developments recently has been the increased use of technology in teaching and learning. Given the ever-changing world, this is seen as a relevant and timely addition to tourism and hospitality education. In any case, the students of today are far more stimulated and innovative when technology is used with them,” said Nyikana.

Nyikana added that basic skills like communication, collaboration, problem solving, time management etc. were also drawing a lot of focus from educational institutions.

Likewise, there has been a strong focus on both employability and entrepreneurial inclination amongst students.

“There is no denying that tourism and hospitality education has largely (traditionally) focused on producing employees for the industry. However, there is acceptance now that we should be developing a new brand of employers, who are driven by innovative solutions to real world problems as well as graduates who are relevant to the industry. So I suppose another trend is going to be closer relations between industry and academia,” said Nyikana.

Addressing industry needs

UJ has the leading STH in Africa (ranked first on the continent) and currently ranked sixth globally, and its focus in recent years has been to strengthen its relationship with industry.

“Our Work Integrated Learning & Work Integrated Education component has been very important in ensuring that our graduates are employable and desirable for industry. Throughout their studies, the students interact with industry partners in different ways (guest lectures, mentoring, regular attendance at industry meetings and events etc.). This has allowed the school to be closer than ever to industry partners,” said Nyikana.

UJ has also acknowledged that historically, tourism and hospitality education has been strong on western/Global North ideals and realities, and have thus embarked on a journey to transform its curriculum to reflect the realities of an African context – through the integration of Pan-African case studies and teachings, and integration of indigenous knowledge.

“We have continued to work closely with industry and are in constant dialogue with them regarding their requirements from our graduates. We give them a voice in the development of our programmes through the Industry Liaison Committee and our Industry Advisory Board. This ensures that we are all working together to produce quality graduates who are fit for the demands of the industry and are change-makers generally in society,” said Nyikana.

Dlamini said hospitality education was also moving towards collaborating with other sectors. “This could include working in different areas such the medical space or aviation, for example; it’s all about customer service after all.”

She added that research was also key to continuously develop courses that fulfilled industry needs.

“We are privileged to employ lecturers that are at the research level of their education and this enables constant policy, assessment, teaching style discussions and implementations based on their current findings to ensure course material relevance and to teach according to current industry demands.”

The UNWTO is also developing tourism education at a global level, and has recently introduced a Bachelor of Science in International Sustainable Tourism.

Current opportunities

Nyikana concluded that there were many opportunities for students to study further within the tourism and hospitality space in South Africa.

“Many universities and technical and vocational education and training colleges offer quality programmes. At UJ, there are different qualifications, ranging from Diploma to Degree programmes which are tailor made for students who wish to advance their knowledge of tourism and hospitality, and wish to become future-fit graduates in the sector.”

Dlamini added that the IIE School of Hospitality and Service Management exposed its students to a wide variety of options within the hospitality landscape to broaden their changes employability.

“All our students are given the opportunity to complete a hands-on industry internship before they graduate. This is a great opportunity to find out what the job is like and gauge if it’s a good fit for them. It’s also a great way to get their foot in the door as very often the establishment with whom they are employed for their internship will offer them a full-time job after they graduate,” said Dlamini.