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programme emphasises general management education,
but also includes the liberal arts, languages
and mathematics as programme requirements.
Second, rather than having students concentrate
on more advanced courses in a particular functional
area of business �as in a traditional management
programme), a GTMM is structured to
enable students to understand the tourism sector by
taking a number of courses related to the tourism/
hospitality industry. Some programmes may also
provide the option of focusing on one specific
subsector such as event management, transportation,
meetings and conventions, or even hotel
management. Third, in order to obtain some of the
operational knowledge and skills provided by hotel
schools, GTMMs frequently include a number of
practical work terms as an integral part of the
learning process. As a result this education model
may require five instead of four years to complete.
Generally speaking, GTMM programmes are
located in schools of business or similar academic
units. A liberal arts institution with a tourism focus
policy framework includes a broad range of
programme types. For example, the disciplinebased
programmes have a tourism component or
a tourism emphasis. Such programmes commonly
involve the fields of geography, economics,
anthropology or sociology. The recreation or
leisure studies programmes frequently include a
significant tourism component, and tend to be
multidisciplinary in nature. They usually draw
heavily on the social sciences �for example,
geography, economics, psychology, sociology),
although they may also involve input from such
fields as physical education and computer science.
One important characteristic of these programmes
is that they generally have an academic, as opposed
to an industry, orientation. The multidisiplinary
majors in tourism studies are somewhat similar to
the previous category. They are distinguished by the
fact that they tend to have a much stronger industry
orientation. As a result, they often include some
management-related courses, a greater emphasis on
language training and, increasingly, courses which
relate to tourism planning �see Finish Network
University of Tourism Studies).
While liberal arts programmes in tourism are
frequently criticised as being too theoretical or not
sufficiently oriented to the needs of the industry,
education policy 183
they possess some very real strengths. They provide
students with a much broader understanding of the
societal dimensions of tourism and its impacts. In
addition, they offer students a high degree of
flexibility in selecting courses of particular interest
to them. They also tend to provide students with
knowledge that, while not focused on tourism, is
highly relevant to success in the field: geography
and languages are examples. Further, such programmes
are highly adaptable and have demonstrated
an ability to incorporate new topics and
issues �such as environmental studies) more readily
than the structured programmes.
The hybrid model of tourism/hospitality education
model represents a more recent policy
approach. This 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 and the
processes of programme development and delivery.
Second, this learning has suggested new organisational
arrangements that may be more appropriate
for the housing of tourism/hospitality education
programmes.
The hybrid model espouses a policy in which
two types of programmes are used to meet the total
tourism/hospitality education needs of a region.
The first type of programme required is the
traditional HSM designed to prepare managers
to effectively operate hotel and resort properties.
However, in line with the trends of leading
programmes, increasing efforts are being made to
ensure that the graduates from such programs
recognise their role within the broader tourism
industry. The second programme is 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 professionally as they
pass through various stages of their careers.
Hybrid models have five important features: �1)
they involve a four to five-year programme of
studies which includes up to twenty-four months of
practical work experience as an integral part of the
programme; �2) they provide a strong management
orientation balanced with an emphasis on those