Hospitality management is an industry with immense scope

With over 1.3 billion international tourists in 2017 and more travellers crossing borders each year, hospitality is one of the most resilient and dynamic industries in the world. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, one in 10 jobs on the planet is supported by travel and tourism and the industry is expected to support an additional 100 million jobs worldwide by 2028.

At the same time, the last two decades have truly transformed the global hospitality industry. Digital innovations such as online travel agencies, accommodation-sharing platforms and crowdsourced reviews have given rise to new business models and completely changed the way customers and brands interact.

LEARNING HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT THROUGH THE SWISS MODEL

These developments hold great career opportunities for qualified talent entering the industry, but pose challenges to education providers to prepare graduates with the right skill set to succeed in the in this dynamic industry.

Hospitality management graduates with the right skillset and knowledge can look forward to a diverse choice of international careers. But business acumen, practical know-how and soft skills are competencies that cannot be developed through classroom learning alone. For this reason, Les Roches Global Hospitality Education embraces a learning-by-doing approach that integrates academic coursework with practical experience and professional internship semesters, which can be carried out in almost any country.

Based on the Swiss model of experiential learning, it’s an educational approach that has earned the respect of employers: Les Roches is ranked among the top three hospitality institutions worldwide for employer reputation, according to the latest QS World University Ranking.

THE CASE OF INDIA: NEED FOR INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Foreign arrivals have reached a record high of 10 million in 2017, attributing to India’s global attractiveness as a destination and the effectiveness of different national tourism campaigns.

To deal with this influx of visitors from abroad, it is vital for hospitality professionals to gain international exposure and experience to better cater to the needs of these discerning guests and offer the service standards they have come to expect. This will require institutions to create international synergies, a globally-focussed curriculum and innovative teaching methods.

The Indian student community on our Swiss campus is among the most numerous and we see a strong interest in entrepreneurship and business management.

Many have a hospitality background and are training to later take over the family business, some are interested in building their own restaurant business or franchise, while others become hoteliers with global hospitality brands.

EQUIPPING THE RIGHT SKILLS FOR SUCCESS

But aspiring hospitality professionals are no longer limited to the traditional career pathways of a generation ago. The digital age has transformed the industry, changing traveller preferences and opening doors to new business opportunities. Besides building careers as hotel and restaurant managers, future hospitality leaders are just as likely to be technology experts, experience curators and the founders of start-ups.

As hospitality offers many different careers, students may wish to focus on a particular area of expertise. At our Les Roches campuses in Switzerland, Spain and China we offer specialisations in entrepreneurship, digital marketing, finance and resort management.

As educators, we must strive to prepare students with entrepreneurial — and intrapreneurial — skills. Today’s students have grown up in an age of entrepreneurship that reveres disrupters and self-starters. At the same time, even large, well-established companies require innovation from within to remain competitive. A sense of resourcefulness, resilience and agility is not only increasingly necessary in today’s fast-paced industry, but also resonates with the values of Gen Z and empowers graduates to realise their own professional goals.

FOREIGN ARRIVALS HAVE REACHED A RECORD HIGH OF 10 MILLION IN 2017, ATTRIBUTING TO INDIA’S GLOBAL ATTRACTIVENESS

AS A DESTINATION