Fancy picking up one of 72 million tourism and hospitality jobs available worldwide? Here’s your guide to understanding the opportunities out there and the courses that will get you there.

An increasing number of students are attracted to jobs in the hospitality and tourism industries, envisaging a life of relaxing by the beach on an island resort! Unfortunately, the reality is much harder work, but it can also be a lot of fun. A career in the tourism and hospitality industries certainly promises variety and a chance to travel.

For those interested in a career in either industry, there is a satisfactory choice of different courses and programmes available, both in Malaysia and worldwide. These courses are geared towards training students for the realities of life in tourism and/or hospitality, and will often involve practical sessions, work experience or placements, as well as learning in the classroom from industry professionals and experts.

Hospitality

Hospitality falls within the service industry and, as the name suggests, refers to all the jobs that make guests or visitors feel welcome. While many think immediately of hotels, other venues that fall under the hospitality umbrella include theme parks, cafes, restaurants, and cruise ships. There are literally hundreds of different jobs within the hospitality industry, from making the beds in a guesthouse to making pizzas in a restaurant, taking tickets at the entrance to Disneyland to managing The Ritz. There is a role for almost everyone, depending on your interests and abilities, and many opportunities worldwide for those with good language skills.

There are various different hospitality courses out there, some of which are run at normal universities and others of which take place at a specialised hospitality school. The latter can be a smart choice, as it guarantees students are mixing with likeminded people, but read up on all the options available before you make your choice.

A popular course is Hospitality Management, but there are also programmes that deal specifically with other aspects of the industry, such as accounting, marketing, or law. A general hospitality course is often a preferred choice, as this will offer an introduction to all aspects of the industry including law, hospitality issues, sustainability, revenue and profit, accommodation, food and beverage, and consumer behaviour. A general course allows students to discover which area they are most interested or skilled in, which can then be explored in further, more specialised study (eg, culinary arts). Courses can either be two-year diplomas or three-year degree courses.

 Tourism

While there is no doubt that the tourism industry overlaps with the hospitality industry, tourism relates more specifically to tourists and the experience of travelling for pleasure. The jobs that come under tourism are any directly involved with moving visitors to a new place and looking after them once they are there: travel agents, tour operators, and reservation consultants are all potential jobs. Hotel staff also fall into the tourism category, and those seeking a specific role in a hotel might look at combining tourism and hospitality courses when studying.

Courses that focus on the tourism industry can vary from a general tourism qualification to tourism management courses, while a popular option is Travel and Tourism. Courses can be two-year diplomas or three-year degrees. No matter what you pick, all will offer a good foundation and cover such topics as attraction management, heritage, marketing, economics, accounting, and geography.

For both tourism and hospitality studies, good institutions will have industry professionals taking classes and invite guest teachers that have industry experience and can offer great advice. There is usually an opportunity for placements within the industry too, and this can be a good opportunity for getting some hands-on experience and discovering the reality of work in the industry. It could also help land you your first job once you graduate, and establish useful contacts for your future career.