New Forms of Tourism Education

In: Folia Turistica, Band 41, Heft 0, S. 63-80

Abstract

Purpose. The aim of this paper is to consider whether syllabuses of tourism related courses reflect the newest trends in scientific research, and respond to challenges posed by economic practice. Method. An attempt is made to specify research drivers evident in scientific studies, and to classify the most important issues from the perspective of economic practice. By analysing the content of internet sites, the teaching programmes and syllabuses of tourism courses offered at 11 of the largest and best Polish universities were studied. Findings. It was found that the best harmonization of didactic programmes with the thinking of leading scientific research is evident at universities offering Tourism Economy degree courses. The course syllabuses of the investigated universities best reflect the issues of communication forms with the client, the application of information technologies in business (relations with clients and B2B), and also macroeconomic issues, such as satellite accounts, the multiplier and the impact of tourism on GDP (GNP). We note, however, that many trends observable in scientific research and the many needs of business practice are not sufficiently reflected in tourism syllabuses offered by the leading universities in Poland. Research and conclusion limitations. The investigated universities represent diverse teaching profiles (geography, economics or physical education). This reflects the long-lasting traditions or specificity of individual higher education institutions. For this reason, it is understandable that individual universities make references to particular basic sciences in their teaching programmes, which results in different syllabus contents of degree programmes with identical names. We realize that gradation of the most important themes in scientific research and the most interesting issues from the perspective of economic practice cannot be fully objective. Therefore, we attempted to present the most convincing arguments to support our conclusions (examples of specific research studies, market observation and opinions of business representatives). Practical implications. The paper identifies important interest areas of tourism economic practice. These interests focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, tourism destination management and new forms of communication with the client. We show how these areas of interest are reflected in tourism teaching programmes offered by leading Polish universities. Originality. Despite intense competition among higher education institutions offering tourism related courses, so far there have been no attempts to evaluate teaching programmes from the perspective of synchronization with new trends in scientific research and the needs of economic practice. Type of paper. Illustrative review paper.