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168 education
to them. They also tend to provide them with
knowledge that, while not focused on tourism, is
highly relevant to success in the field.
The hybrid model of tourism/hospitality education
represents a more recent programme approach
that takes into account the lessons learned
from programmes designed in an earlier era. This
learning has at least two important dimensions.
First, it provides new insights into the structure and
content of programmes, a well as their development
and delivery processes. This learning has also
suggested new organisational arrangements that
may be more appropriate for the housing of
tourism/hospitality education programmes. The
hybrid model espouses an approach in which two
types of complementary programmes are generally
required to meet the total tourism/hospitality
education needs of a region. The first type of
programme required is the traditional hotel school
�above) that is designed to prepare managers to
effectively operate hotel and resort properties. The
second required programme is one designed to
train managers and future leaders for the tourism
industry, defined in its broadest sense. Such a
programme must impart managerial skills for a
range of tourism positions, as well as provide the
general education that will enable graduates to
continue to learn and to grow as individuals as they
pass through various stages of their careers. An
effective implementation of this model is a two-year
technical institute diploma programme that is fully
integrated with a subsequent two-year university
level management programme leading to a degree
in hotel and restaurant management. The University
of Calgary, Canada, has been a pioneer in
the implementation of such a hybrid programme.
In addition to training individuals to meet the
operational needs of tourism, there is a parallel
need to educate industry leaders and managers.
Traditionally, this `education' has been provided
through on-the-job training. However, the size,
complexity, and sophistication of large-scale
enterprises ± and the need for much more strategic
thinking ± has given birth to graduate level
programmes. These are generally of two types.
The interdisciplinary M.Sc. programmes seek to
emphasise the multidisciplinary nature of the
tourism phenomenon. They typically contain
heavy social science and environmental studies
components, with a complementary emphasis on
economic policy and the basics of management. A
second approach that is commonly taken is to
adapt an existing MBA programme to include a
tourism concentration. Here the core courses
provide the student with a well-rounded grasp of
management principles and their application. The
tourism concentration provides an opportunity for
students to immerse themselves in applications of
management principles to specific areas �such as
tourism marketing); and various other courses �such
as tourism policy, tourism and the environment,
destination management, tourism and the community,
and tourist behaviour and management).
While the demand for graduate level programming
is not yet heavy, one can expect that this will
change significantly as tourism is increasingly
forced to interface with other industries. This will
demand a more sophisticated understanding of all
aspects of the political, legal, social, cultural and
technological complexities that both drive and limit
all businesses.
While the traditional education system focuses
on the training of those who are not yet employed,
there is a parallel need to upgrade the skills of those
currently in the industry, many of whom have not
had the opportunity, or the privilege, of an
extensive formal education. These individuals fall
into two main categories, each having its distinctive
training needs. Front-line staff requires skill-training
programmes designed to ensure they know
what must be done, and how best to do it. Such
programmes are commonly termed standards and
certification programmes. Initially, they rigorously
define the skill sets required to perform each frontline
job effectively. They subsequently teach these
skills, and then test the ability of the individual to
perform the required tasks. Those demonstrating
the required ability are then certified in their trade.
Industry managers having little formal education
�as well as those who do) can benefit
enormously from well-structured executive development
programmes. One of the most comprehensive
is that offered by the International
Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus.
This programme, which leads to the Certified
Destination Management Executive designation
contains a number of core courses dealing with the
fundamentals of tourism destination management,