Excellent and continual development of tourism calls for an ingenious national policy of education and professional development. In recent years,greater focus was placed in the education of personnel within most sectors because educated personnel commences both the first and last link in the chain of competitiveness and business success. In contrast, the hospitality and tourism professions are less in favour and attractive, hence it has been faced with a lower number of students enrolled in the current hospitality and tourism institutions. The education system calls for the adaptation to modern trends in the relevant field.
The tourism sector in the Republic of Croatia contributes 15 to 20 percent of the gross domestic product, hence demonstrating the importance of investing in quality personnel of the industry. Only educated personnel in hospitality and tourism can result in the development of new technologies, innovative products and services aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the tourism landscape. However, the quality of policy in higher education institutions is faced with several challenges, particularly when ascribing long-term values of education in the tourism sector. Higher education encounter the situation of inadequate investment and financing of the institutions,and changes that are yet to be rolled out in some higher education institutions.
The choice of tourism study programmes among higher education institutions are termed satisfactory. However, its pool of professionals holding higher education degree is still considerably small in the tourism landscape. This is unfortunate for the Republic of Croatia considering the fact that it is a country that is constantly involved in the global tourism market and used to be the advocate of quality services in tourism.
Therefore, it is essential for its education system to be in line with the technical and technological developments. The secondary and higher education institutions in the tourism industry must collaborate to integrate their own educational plans and programmes, practical classes and vocational programmes with the work and development of tourism organisations. Sequentially, to advance knowledge to skill, and to develop an improved relation between education and the economy, it is fundamental to improve professional student practice in all secondary, applied science and university studies.
Participate in the upcoming QS Subject Focus Summit – “The Way Forward: Hospitality and Tourism Education Convergence with Industry 4.0” which will be held from 5-7 December 2018 in Kuching, Malaysia.