The COVID 19 pandemic has left behind scars on the global economy and almost every sector. However, one of the most impacted sectors have been the hospitality and travel sector. Hotel management or hospitality management courses in general have been growing in popularity over the last few decades. This pandemic has slowed down the progress leaving the students with a key question- should students pursue hospitality education?
Let’s try to decode the same in this article. We would explore here why we believe hospitality industry is set to bounce back stronger and why hospitality is still an industry of choice for those looking to have an illustrious career.
Let’s get the boll rolling with some points on what makes hospitality career different and at times better than most of the other industries.
Why Hospitality Industry is set to bounce back stronger
As per the reports of Barclays Bank, nearly 32% of consumers are willing to spend more on luxuries and 28% consumers in United Kingdom have enjoyed going out more than before the lockdown.
This is an impressive figure. People love to travel or a lot say that ‘people live to travel’. The below facts from report prove that the hospitality and leisure industry has already shown signs of revival. Even other statistics as per the report are promising which shows clear signs of quick revival of the overall hospitality and leisure industry. The infographic below shows an excerpt of the repost displaying the same. Have a look!
The trend is quite similar at other places across the globe. The developing countries are already opening up, the US, which has the biggest hospitality industry, has already opened up.
With people locked up for extended period of time, the urge for travel and leisure has gone up.
The hospitality and travel industry is set to see a new high as far as the growth is concerned. There is nothing that should stop students from pursuing hospitality education as the industry still is one of the best choices in terms of growth.
It is important to remember that the hospitality and travel industry is arguably the biggest employer in the world. 1 out of 10 people are expected to be working for it in less than a decade.
So, if you are looking to study hospitality, you are with the wave. Go ahead if you are passionate about hospitality. It has many advantages for sure. Let’s check out a few of them.
Advantages of a career in the Hospitality Industry
- It’s not a typical 9 to 5 job
- Lots of opportunities to travel
- Opportunity to meet and work with people of different nationalities and culture
- Diverse career opportunities
- You create transferable skills which are valid across industries
- Its a creative industry with endless opportunities
- Easy entry and quick growth for deserving candidates
- There are many perks besides pay
We have a comprehensive post dedicated to discussing the advantages and disadvantages of working in hospitality industry. So, head on to the same should you want to enquire more on this subject.
Hospitality Industry is bouncing back after the Covid 19 pandemic
For those who believed the hospitality education lacked focus on soft skill development need to think again.
The covid 19 pandemic has taught a lot of things to the hospitality fraternity demanding changes to the evolving hospitality education.
Here are a few things which would gain more importance in the coming years to make hospitality skills more transferable across industries.
- A clear focus on technology – Hospitality education will be more focused towards imparting quality technology skills to its students. Old school methods will pave way for a hospitality education system inclined towards advanced technology. Students would get acquainted to hospitality innovation like augmented reality / virtual reality, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud computing, Blockchain and more.
- Bigger focus on soft skills– A lot of soft skills training was left for on job training in the hospitality industry. Expect a bigger focus in hospitality education on the soft skills like emotional intelligence, compassionate leadership, interpersonal skills and more.
- Sustainability – Hospitality education would focus more on a sustainable future of the hospitality industry. A shift towards localisation, filling of skill gaps, diversification of the industry would be incorporated with the courses to make the industry more resilient to shocks like the recent pandemic and more sustainable. Expect climate control and green tourism to have impact on the education system as well.
These key things along with multiple other factors like regionality, health and hygiene, measuring and covering skills gaps and more would be incorporated within course.
All these when added to the course would make hospitality graduates fit for virtually any industry across the globe.
Hospitality education post Covid 19 pandemic is set to incorporate substantial change that would help the students gain a lot of skills that are transferable across industries.
So, if you are looking to study hospitality in the coming years, you can expect your experience to be multi faceted and innovative.
Conclusion
Students should pursue hospitality education even when it has shown a lull post covid. This is because it would develops new transferable skills in the students. Moreover the hospitality industry has a lot of job opportunities as well. There are many other benefits which we have discussed in this post and through multiple posts on this website. The covid pandemic has slowed down the growth of the hospitality industry, but the hospitality education system has been evolving ever since the onset of the pandemic. Online classes, focus on technology, flexible teaching and skill based learning are set to make hospitality education more interesting and rewarding. So, if you are planning to study hospitality, do you research carefully and take a plunge with confidence.
