Abstract
This research proposal contains
literature review and proposed methodology for anticipated research. The
research will seek to establish two dimensions of higher tourism education: how
location of related institutions is connected to tourism’s importance in the
economy; and how higher tourism education contributes to wealth creation. The
rationale for the study is based on the fact that little has been done in
literature to link the areas of study as clearly as proposed in this research.
The research shall make use of primary research using interviews which will be
done on higher education practitioners. The sample size shall be 50 (from which
20 will be analysed) and the sampling approach shall be judgemental. Emphasis
shall be on interviewing providers of higher tourism education with emphasis on
policy makers. This is because they are likely to be aware of the reasons why
the specific field of study should be considered as important to the economy.
They would also be aware of concentration of similar institutions in other
markets.
Definition of terms:
HTE- Higher education tourism
1.0 Introduction
It is difficult to determine which
between globalisation and education helps more in wealth creation.
Globalisation promotes movement around the world and in case of tourism; it
makes tourism destinations very accessible. Higher education on the other hand
promotes wealth creation in the tourism sector by promoting creativity and
entrepreneurship in the sector. The aim of this research is to try and
establish if higher tourism education (HTE) can help create wealth. It also
evaluates the business concept of supply and demand in relation to whether the
concentration of HTE institutions is dependent on how important tourism is
considered in an economy. This is in addition to its ability to make its
students better entrepreneurs in the field of tourism by enabling them
understand the concept of tourism (Galal, 2011). Higher tourism education is
training programs aimed at equipping students to master the concept of tourism
and service delivery. It ranges from vocational training to regular education
programs that are taken in the university programs. Higher education is an
important tool for multiplying wealth.
Those who are equipped with knowledge in
tourism are able to ensure that tourists are served well. They are able to
understand the tourists and know how to offer satisfaction to them. They are
also able to know how to manage their tourism products to get the greatest
yield. The trained tourism professionals also tend to be good at marketing and
attracting tourists to their destinations (Jamrozy, 2007). The growth of
tourism can be attributed to several factors including globalisation and its
influence on the movement of people across countries. Globalisation also
facilitates cross cultural communication as there is increased understanding
between people. In my opinion, even though wealth creation in tourism is not
only because of higher education, HTE does contribute significantly to wealth
creation.
1.1 Value of research
The bulk of studies on higher tourism
education do not make an attempt to establish the connection between the
concentration of higher tourism education institutions and the importance of
tourism in the economy. The assumption that the institutions are more in
countries that value tourism more is questionable and in need have research.
The same applies to the relationship between HTE and wealth creation. Studies
are many on the performance of tourism in different economies and it is
therefore easy to tell that tourism does have an impact on the wealth of the
countries. However, there is little connection made between higher tourism
education and wealth creation.
2.0 Review of past studies
2.1 Location of higher education
programs
In general, the location of any
organisation or enterprise depends on demand. An organisation is more likely to
set up operations in places where the demand is high. In relation to tourism,
higher tourism education programs are likely to be located in regions where the
industry is considered as very important (Cubillo, Sanchez and Cervino, 2006).
The demand for the educational programs is influenced by the thoughts of the
market on the related field. This means that tourism education enjoys high
demand only in countries or regions where tourism is considered to be very
important. The level of importance on the other hand is determined by the
ability of people to see opportunities and be determined to exploit them.
In my view the relationship between
higher education and wealth creation is not in dispute. Tourism is an industry
that mainly depends on human resources and making them more skilled can help
the industry grow. The endogenous growth theory is used to explain the
relationship between economic performance and education. The theory considers
knowledge as a form of human capital. This capital can be exploited to fuel
discoveries, create new industries or sectors within an industry, and promote
growth (Bhat and Gaur, 2012). From the presentation above, the performance of
tourism in Europe may not be directly linked to how important the industry is
to the economy. However, there are general observations that link the level of
education in an economy and their ability to excel in offering services.
Tourism is a service which needs to be offered with tact and strategy for the
tourists to be satisfied. Understanding tourism and understanding the tourists
is very important as a component of this.
In addition to understanding the
tourists, the practitioners need to understand their resources. Resources can
be used to create different effects. This is a function of education where
people are trained to be very creative in how they perceive the resources
around them (Cepar and Bojnec, 2010). Apart from having natural sceneries that
tourists would like to see, the rest of the tourism destinations are a product
of creativity. Superior architecture promotes tourism. Provision of excellent
accommodation and holiday experiences also promote tourism. Culture can also be
showcased in a manner that promotes understanding hence also promoting tourism.
In the end, the tourists can be attracted through diverse means to visit a
country and the knowledge of doing that.
2.2 Impact of higher tourism
education on wealth creation
The influence of higher tourism
education on wealth creation is dependent on the manner in which it is applied
and the manner in which the students put their knowledge into action. It is
important to appreciate that knowledge is human capital (Gouna, 2009). This is
just one of the forms of capital that are needed for wealth creation. Other
forms must be present for the higher tourism education to produce the desired
effect of wealth creation. For instance, having a pool of trained tourism
industry practitioners does not yield much fruit unless investors are willing
to fund their initiatives. Governments should also be proactive in promoting
tourism. One of the ways in which government promote tourism is by advertising
the country over international media. Such advertisements benefit the industry
as a whole.
The other way in which governments
promote wealth creation through tourism is by maintaining political stability
and national security. Tourists only prefer to visit locations where they are
sure of their personal safety as well as the safety of their belongings
(Diplari and Dimou, 2010). Besides, tourists also value infrastructure. Most
tourists would like to visit locations that have the necessary infrastructure
so that they can enjoy their vacations. Facilities such as modern hotels and
roads are crucial for tourism. It is government and not the practitioners that
play a major role in facilitating development of such infrastructure. The only
exception are the few tourists that seem to prefer nature based tourism and
would therefore not mind rugged and traditional settings during their vacations
(Kaynak and Ali, 2012). A review of these factors points to the fact that
education, as human capital, is only a component of wealth creation in the
tourism industry. It is however an important component.
Higher tourism education contributes to
wealth creation in a number of ways. As has been mentioned before, education
promotes understanding across cultures. It enables the tour practitioners to
behave in a manner that is acceptable or even preferred by the international
tourists (Chang and Hsu, 2010). This understanding enables them provide good
service and enhance customer satisfaction. It is these satisfaction levels that
play the most important role in promoting sustainable tourism as tourists
recommend the destinations to others who may be interested in doing so in the
future.
These presentations indicate that there
is indeed a link between higher tourism education and wealth creation. But it
is difficult to determine which of the two factors is dependent on the other.
The confusion can be explained by the following two arguments. Firstly, it can
be said that tourism education has led to creativity, tourist attraction and
increased spending per tourist (Bhat and Gaur, 2012). This has led to wealth
creation. The second argument could be: being that the country is wealthy, it
is able to invest more in higher tourism education and establishing numerous
institutions to do that (Bhat and Gaur, 2012). The merits of each of the
statements are worth considering. Even where it may be true that higher tourism
education helps in improving wealth, it may be difficult to prove it. This is
because national wealth is dependent on many more factors including government
policies and the state of the world economy.
The objections to the theory can however
be overruled using observations and facts. For instance, in countries where
higher tourism education is advanced, there seems to be greater creativity in
the manner in which tourists are handled. In developed countries such as
Britain and France, it is easy for one to find a complete consumer guide online
and make bookings to all sites and accommodations they intend to use in the
course of their visit. They are also able to transact from across the border.
The level of service also tends to be comparatively high. In some of the cases,
money is made by the industry in less obvious ways. For instance, a visit to
some sites can be free. This encourages tourists to visit more sites and the
economy gains when they spend on additional items such as food, clothes, gift
items and hotel accommodation.
In addition to creativity, education
helps the tourism practitioners overcome language barriers. Languages such as
English and French are common languages of instruction in institutions around
the world (Kaynak and Ali, 2012). Overcoming language barriers is crucial in
attracting tourists. Most tourists would avoid destinations where they would
not be in a position to communicate effectively. Understanding language and
other cultural dimensions is important for wealth creation in the tourism
industry.
In conclusion, even though it is
difficult to distinguish between globalisation and education as factors
promoting tourism, the link to the distribution of HTE institutions has
received less attention. This research will attempt to seal literature gaps in
establishing whether distribution of HTE institutions influences the level of
wealth.
3.0 Research methodology
This research shall use an inductive
approach as the basis for making its findings. General observations and
responses gathered in the course of the research shall be the basis for drawing
conclusions. The appropriate research theory applicable in this research is the
grounded theory. This theoretical approach is where a research is begun with no
preconceived conclusions (Charmaz, 2006). Any conclusions or theories are a
function of data that has been collected and analysed during research. Even
though there are indications of the relationship between the variables under
discussion in literature review, the focus shall be to gather information from
the field and determine if their interpretation can lead to any conclusion. The
justification for applying this theory is that it helps in avoiding researcher bias
and theories formed are purely a function of data collected.
3.1 Research philosophy and
approach
The philosophy to be used shall be
realism. In realism, the researcher acknowledges both subjective and objective
angles to research (Bryman and Bell, 2007). The subjective views are those that
are formed from the personal experiences of the sources of information. In this
case, it is expected for the target interviewees to be in favour of HTE hence
may tend to emphasise more on its importance on wealth creation in tourism.
However, the core of the study will be on the impact on distribution hence the
biases are not likely to have a great impact. Besides, the research shall be
conducted in a manner that helps in eliminating the biases.
3.2 Research design
The research shall use both secondary
and primary sources. Secondary sources shall be used to create a theoretical
basis for the same. However, as has been observed in the literature review
above, there is a literature gap. Studies that link the distribution of HTE
institutions to wealth creation in tourism are quite rare. This means that
secondary research will only serve the purpose of providing a basis for how
education and globalisation can influence wealth creation. The specific link
between distribution of HTE institutions and wealth creation shall be sought
using secondary research.
Primary research shall be done using
interviews. With interviews, the research and the interviewee have an open
discussion on the subject matter (Collis and Hussey, 2003). The responses are
either recorded or transcribed for further analysis.
The justification for choosing the
interview approach was because it facilitates open discussions. It also
provides an opportunity for instant clarifications whenever there is a misunderstanding
(Collis and Hussey, 2003). This advantage is important to this research since
it attempts to investigate a matter that has rarely been investigated before.
The interviewees may therefore need elaborations and explanations before they
can comment on the matter.
The main disadvantage of interviews is
that they tend to lean towards the areas of bias of the interviewees. They tend
to dwell more on areas they understand well at the expense of the areas where
their understanding is low. In this research, this weakness shall be dealt with
by allocating timelines for each question to ensure they are all given
attention.
3.3 Population and sample
The population shall be higher education
providers in the field of tourism. These will mostly the professors and senior
administrators in institutions that provide higher tourism education. The
choice of this population can be justified by the fact that this is their field
of study. They are therefore likely to be very aware of the impact that their
services create both in the industry and the economy. The assumption made in
this case is that these professors must have sought to interrogate the question
of value of their programs and they are likely to have done preliminary
research on the area. It is expected that their participation will be
influenced by their need to find out whether their views are shared or
contradicted across the industry. This means that they are likely to request
for copies of the research report; which I will provide to them.
Sampling shall be judgemental and shall
be based on considerations of availability and perceived knowledge in the
matter. Judgmental sampling is suitable in research because it facilitates
focus on quality. Where the researcher can objectively determine who the
preferable sources of information are, the research becomes more accurate than
when random sampling is involved (Collis and Hussey). Besides, this is an
explorative study that seeks to gather information in a field that is yet to be
fully explored. It therefore requires quality input and this makes it necessary
for researcher involvement in selecting the prospective interviewees directly.
The danger in judgemental sampling lays in the probability of researcher bias.
However, measures shall be taken to ensure that personal biases do not affect
the research.
Information on the professors targeted
shall be obtained online and through phone calls after which interviews shall
be scheduled in consultation with the professors. A sample size of 50 shall be
settled on.
3.4 Data collection
Given that the sample size is large for
an interview, and due to the fact that they are widely distributed, it will be
difficult to meet them on one-on-one interviews. Where it will be possible to
meet about 5 interviewees at the same time, the interviews will be converted
into discussion sessions where the interviewees benefit from each other’s’
thoughts before giving theirs. This approach will be useful in eliminating
individual biases. 3 discussion groups shall be formed for this purpose. This
differs from the approach of focus groups as selection will be random with the
only consideration being availability and not specific professional or
experience backgrounds. The rest of the interviewees shall be interviewed via
the internet using video chat applications. This approach shall be useful in
reducing the cost of the research and also in promoting convenience as the
interviewees can participate even from home. The disadvantage of this approach
is that it does not promote quality of communication. Communication is more
effective when there is physical presence. However, it is the best choice
available that can produce acceptable results.
3.5 Data analysis
This is qualitative research. It means
that it repeat information may not add much value. The interview results shall
therefore be sifted to try and find where additional knowledge or unique
approach to the knowledge is provided. The group discussion results shall be
prioritised due to their ability to eliminate biases. The rest of the
interviews shall be sifted for any additional information. It is anticipated
that by the time the 20th interview is considered, the findings will
have already been exhausted. The analysis shall therefore factor in 20 out of
the 50 interviews. An indication of proposed questions for the research is
shown in Appendix 1.
3.6 Anticipated limitations
Challenges are expected in being able to
convince interviewees to create time for research. The target interviewees are
quite busy and getting them into an interview may be very difficult. This
challenge shall be overcome by making appointments in advance and facilitating
discussions that do not involve much distraction. For instance, conducting an
online interview is easier to schedule as the interviewee does not have to
allocate time within their busy working hours. Secondly, it is expected that
the professors will be curious about the subject matter and would be willing to
participate as a way to guarantee that they will receive a copy of the report.
These areas of study have received very
little attention in the past. Little effort has been made to directly link
education to wealth creation and even fewer links exist to link concentration
of higher tourism education institutes and importance of tourism in the
economy. This will be a new study that will be expected to raise important
questions. Where information that is relevant to research is not available, it
shall be adopted as part of recommendations for future research.
4.0 Conclusion
This research proposes
to create an understanding of how education is related to wealth creation.
Specific focus shall be on higher tourism education and how it leads to wealth
creation in relation to tourism. In this study, it will be acknowledged that
other factors such as globalisation and government policy are very crucial in
tourism. It recognises that the bulk of studies have been on globalisation and
how the same leads to success in the tourism industry. The little attention
provided on linking education to success in tourism has concentrated on the
core of skills creation. However, there has been little connection between the
distribution of HTE institutions and tourism. It is expected that studies on
tourism will be most common in areas where tourism is excelling. However, it is
also expected that the influence of globalisation in the movement of students
will bring in a new angle where having institutions in a certain location does
not necessarily mean that only locals are able to access their services. The
emergence of new learning techniques such as online and distance learning is
expected to feature in this study. Lack of relevant information shall be
included in recommendations for future research.
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