TravelDailyNews: How would you characterize the level of tourism studies in US?

Lalia Rach: Tourism studies in the US are in the mature stage of development with a full complement of degree offerings from the two-year associates degree to Ph.D. programs. The programs exist in all level of higher
education from community or technical colleges to research universities whether public (state-funded) or private. Four-year undergraduate and masters programs are the most common and generally exist with or as part of a degree in hospitality. At New York University our undergraduate degree isa blend of hotel and tourism management (B.S. in Hotel and Tourism Management) while at the graduate level tourism is a separate degree (M.S. in Travel and Tourism Management).

TDN: What are the differences in the tourism educational systems among US, Europe and Asia?

L. R.: Historically, the difference between US, European and Asian programs has been the focus on management, internship credit and the years of study. Undergraduate programs in the US are four years in length, oriented to the business aspects of tourism (management, planning, development) and most likely to incorporate up to 6 credits for internship. Until the mid to late 90's European schools were more technically or skill oriented but now include management related courses as well. US Graduate programs are generally one to two years in length, highly focused with either an applied or academic research component.

TDN: What is the orientation of your educational program? How important is practice for the future tourism labor force?

L. R.: The programs at the Tisch Center are driven by the learning needs of our students who aspire to managerial and executive positions within industry. As such are programs are applied in nature which means the focus is on the business of tourism and so graduate and undergraduate level coursework includes finance, planning, product development, marketing, strategy, customer relationship management, and research.

New York University is a private university in the public service which means we strive to serve the needs of the city. At the Tisch Center, we utilize New York City as a living tourism laboratory (research, site visits, using businesses as teaching centers) and bring industry into our classrooms as adjunct faculty, guest lecturers and research partners. Because of our location in the premier tourist destination in the world, we are closely aligned with tourism leaders and business-owners in an effort to provide our students with constant and varied opportunities for learning and networking.

TDN: Is there a strong competition between public and private institutes? Which sector can offer the best knowledge and give the right guidance for the tourism industry and why?

L. R.: The aspect of competition between schools is not based on the classification of public versus private rather it is based on the standards for admission and the rigor of the program. A further point of differentiation is the curriculum - is it primarily technical or skill-based, a business orientation or an academic orientation.

TDN: What qualifications are a ‘must’ for enterprises in the hospitality industry in order to absorb students from your university? What is the level of cooperation between New York University and the tourism industry in the region?

L. R.: At the Tisch Center we value a blended learning experience that is achieved by combining theoretical knowledge with applied learning. For us this means in the classroom (which can be in a hotel or tourism business as well as at the university) we utilize case studies as a basis for learning and in the city are students are engaged in internships, applied research activities (from inventory assessments to consulting), mentorships (from shadowing a professional at work to periodically meeting one-on-one), attending and/or working at seminars and conferences, and site visits.

TDN: What are the challenges and opportunities for tourism institutes in today’s world?

L. R.: To assist our students in building their portfolio for success, we provide a variety of opportunities to develop relationships with industry professionals and to understand the realities of the profession. At the undergraduate level this begins in their freshman year and increases in frequency in subsequent years. For graduate students, the introduction to industry begins in the orientation prior to the start of classes. We want our students to be fully engaged with industry and to be active learners.