From production line to drama school: higher education for the future of tourism

Tourism degree courses aim to meet the needs of students, employers and government funding bodies, but there is no agreement on how best to do this. Should courses aim to enable graduates to operate within the industry today, or to shape its future development? To what extent should these managerial goals be combined with those of a traditional liberal education? Is the business management focus of most tourism courses the best preparation for the future development of tourism? The relationship between education and industry is charted through past changes to the current debate on future directions. In the future, tourism will be part of the “experience economy” with a new theatrical metaphor replacing the current “military” strategy model. To succeed in this economy, graduates need to draw on qualities of self‐awareness, imagination and creativity. Higher education in tourism may need to rediscover these liberal humanistic values in order to fulfil its managerial objectives of creating successful business managers.