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potential inefficiency. There are four areas in which
efficiencies may be pursued: the faculty, the
curriculum, research, and student and industryrelated
matters. Such resources can be combined,
applied and transformed into the output of the
educational process, that is, the graduates of a
tourism education programme.
Several studies into the education and training
needs of the tourism workforce in Europe, the
United States and East Asia reveal that the workforce
is inadequately prepared to meet the needs of
business and industry. Principal causes for this
mismatch include inconsistency between the needs
of the industry practice and the educational
programmes available to meet them; a failure to
define specific institutional and educational objectives;
a failure to take into account the career
expectations of students; the lack of well-qualified
tourism academics, with both specialised knowledge
of the field of tourism and the theoretical underpinning;
and the lack of ongoing contact between
educational institutions and the industry.
While there are significant differences between
the three tourism education and training levels
�technical, supervisory and management) and aims
of tourism education ranging from business and
catering/hospitality to environmental design and
planning, most programmes have a common
element in that they need to educate for workplace
know-how and job performance. Both of the latter
two attributes involve a complex interplay between
two elements: competencies and a foundation.
There are five competencies �the allocation of
resources, working with others, the acquisition and
use of information, the understanding of complex
interrelationship, and ability to work with a variety
of technologies) and a three-part foundation �skills,
knowledge and personal qualities or attitudes).
They are at the heart of job performance. These
eight requirements together are the essential
preparation for all tourism students attending
technical programmes, supervisory training and
university programmes. For purposes of effective
understanding, the cognitive sciences �see cognition)
suggest that competencies and the foundation
should be taught in an integrated manner that
reflects the workplace contexts in which they are
applied. To perform effectively, students should be
able to demonstrate competency in the five areas.
The three-part foundation is integral to each of the
five competencies. Skills enable workers to conduct
processes. Knowledge provides the theoretical
underpinning for problem-solving. One's values
form the framework of principles or accepted
standards that shape the desire to achieve, succeed
or lend significance to a particular pursuit.
In short, educational effectiveness and efficiency
can be considered satisfactory when tourism
development contributes to the prosperity of
the society, involving actions ranging from the
coordination of recreation activities and the
organisation of regulations for responsible development
to conducting research to initiate marketing
campaigns which are integrated into place
marketing strategies. Hence, effective and efficient
education is a primary factor in destination
countries wishing to include tourism as an essential
element of the social, economic and cultural
development of their respective societies. The
global economy, of which the tourism industry is
an integral part, will demand better trained
professionals, and tensions in society necessitate
people's ability to cooperate, responsibly and
reliably. It is for these reasons that it is important
to have the funding to operate formal advanced
and technical institutions which impart the knowledge,
attitudes and skill needed by their graduates
to take a professional approach to resolve issues. In
tourism education, due to its complex scope and
nature, there is no single method to enhance the
effectiveness of a programme. Neither a prescription
nor a single act will transform the incredibly
diverse higher education system into a mechanism
routinely producing graduates with all the skills,
knowledge and attitudes which the industry desires.
However, tourism education is a shared responsibility:
for it to be effective, the executives
representing specific industry sectors should play
their part.
See also: articulation, programme; education/
industry relationship; human resources
development; professionalism
Further reading
education effectiveness 171
EIESP �1991) Education for Careers in European Travel