Tourism Education Life Begins at 40 - Essay Example

Tourism as a subject was incorporated forty years ago when experts began laying emphasis on key changes like incorporating it as a study subject at various levels and educating society on the key importance of protecting tourism. Over the years, tourism has taken a different dimension which has positively enhanced the field as more changes are being witnessed in the industry today. Authors have come up with different scholarly articles aimed at improving the field and educating the masses on the importance and significance of tourism to society.

Four Stages of Development

There are four stages involved in the development of tourism. The four stages of development majorly rely on advocacy, cautionary, adapting, and knowledge. The four stages focus on the basis of changes that have occurred and are still occurring in the field of tourism and the education of tourism as a subject. The stages were closely related as elements of each stage were found in the other stages thus their core role was to build on the principles found within each other (Airey, 2008).

The Industrial stage

This stage took place between the 1960s and 1970s. The stage was known to be professional but the knowledge which was possessed regarding the field was limited. This was because they did not have sufficient evidence to support the different educational theories that scholars were coming up with. The stage was aimed at addressing the various issues that were being experienced in the tourism field as scholars had discovered that it was highly needed in the development of the economy and also reserve different animal and plant species that were on the verge of being extinct. The stage also empowered students with the knowledge needed towards the development of their career and also equipped individuals tasked with the mandate of taking of the different tourism sectors with skills and expertise needed to carry out their task efficiently. Moreover, the stage also concentrated on providing information that was needed in the development of the different tourism programs that would be offered by the scholars at different levels for individuals who were interested in pursuing the field as a career (Airey, 2008).

The fragmented stage

The stage was between the 1980s and 1990s and it widely focused on harmonizing the curriculum that had been created in the industrial stage with the industry and learner needs which were growing rapidly during the century. It was majorly influenced by the development of new knowledge in the industry, therefore, creating a need to incorporate new programs and information into the curriculum. Before its introduction, there were conflicts between the liberals of the subject and those who favored wanted a liberal approach in the tourism sector. Therefore, the need to create a new curriculum that would address and harmonize the issues of all the major players in the industry arose and was addressed by the fragmented stage (Airey, 2008).

The Benchmark Stage

According to Airey 2008, this was a stage where all the issues highlighted by the fragmented stage were addressed after consultations with the different key players and scholars in the industry. The new curriculum was approved by the quality assurance agency for higher education. However, despite the credibility of the new statement being proven, there were still questions regarding tourism as a course by different critics in the industry. The stage addressed various issues affecting the industry and offered various solutions that could be used in addressing the issues. Key among them was the ethical issue in tourism which advocated for sustainable tourism in all major corners of the globe. In addition, business and management were introduced and stressed upon in the field during the stage as the field was widely being accepted and incorporated into the systems by nations around the world thus there arose a need to manage the industry effectively.

The Mature Stage

It was a stage where all unanswered questions in the previous stages were made certain. It also involved consultations with various fields and find out how they could work jointly. The stage incorporated tourism into the list of social sciences as scholars in the field discovered it shared common features with fields of social sciences. The stage also applauded the different views of stakeholders like learners and scholars view as important towards the development of the field. The stage also strove to harmonize curriculum issues that were not addressed in the previous stages and gave it a more mature consideration as they integrated it with different study approaches (Airey, 2008).

Conclusion

In conclusion, a lot of changes and development has happened in the tourism industry over the last forty years. The field has migrated from finding knowledge and preparing learners for employment to the development of a curriculum. Various theories have thus been integrated into the field to meet the changing needs of individuals and tourism in society. New literature acting as a new source of information has also been discovered and this has significantly contributed towards the study of tourism and disciplines associated with the field. The sector stands to develop and improve its body of knowledge by researching further into the fields covered and into new fields in the region.