A Tourism and Hospitality Education Management Model: The Case of the Tourism Department of Sultan Qaboos University

The tourism and hospitality education is a branch of the overall tourism and hospitality industry that is dedicated to providing the industry with well educated, adequately trained, and committed workforce. The Tourism Department at the College of Arts and Social Sciences (Sultan Qaboos University), Oman, has been providing the Omani society with undergraduate tourism and hospitality educational services since Fall 2001. Even though Tourism Department graduates are not facing any employment concerns, fluctuation in the number of enrollees and graduates, however, has been a significant characteristic since the inception of the program. Due to cultural and societal issues, and market needs, the program specializations and study plans were changed and amended. To assure sustainability of the program, several tactical and strategic decisions have been made, notably that the program has received accreditation from two prestigious international accreditation institutions (UNWTO-TedQual certification and the Agency for Quality Assurance through Accreditation of Study Programs-AQAS), which mark two major milestones in the educational journey of the Tourism Department.The current study, thus, aims to provide a tourism and hospitality education management model based on the Tourism Department of Sultan Qaboos University experience. To achieve this aim, the following objectives were identified: to analyze students in - graduates out matrix, to assess graduates’ employment trends, and to demonstrate the department educational and management framework. This study sheds light on the educational model created and followed by the Tourism Department, in an effort to provide a tourism and hospitality education management model, that would help educators and administrators of tourism and hospitality academic programs.