Which one do you think is the first program of education that established earlier, the tourism higher education (THE) or hospitality higher education (HHE)?

Well, although, there is ongoing arguments, the answer for the question above is none.

Ones that attempt to divide or suggested a division between these two program studies of tourism and hospitality at higher education (HE) will face a frustration and disappointed by the failure to study and help resolve the real problems of an interconnection between the two and their development.

Historically, hospitality program studies are not part of HE until Cornell University offers a bachelor degree in 1922 to respond the industry professionals and the American Hotel Association to see improvement in the standard or quality of the American hospitality business. The fact that HHE was offered since 1922 brought the thinking that the hospitality program study prevails over the THE.

However, the fact of THE was offered at Cornell University in 1992 is not strong enough to answer the question that being asked above on this first paragraph, particularly when the tourism studies are always related to a history of travel.

Considering that the study of tourism is relatively new and there is no accurate time for when tourism education arose. Hence, the contemporary thinking recorded tourism scholars’ agreement about the rise of modern tourism industry in 1960 and the age of tourism discipline study, which is more than half century old, and yet it is still an emerging discipline study, highly fragmented and multi-faceted that offered variety of program study at educational institutions.

It is indeed bringing the complex thinking about the first discussion of tourism that dates back to ancient calendar since wealthy Greeks and Romans would travel for leisure to their summer homes and villas in cities such as Pompeii (an ancient Roman city near modern Naples in the Campania region of Italy) and Baiae an Roman town situated on the northwest shore of the Gulf of Naples, and now in the commune of Bacoli). Moreover, an early travel could be traced back to Christopher Columbus who sailed to discover the new world from Spain in 1492.

But, should you agree along with tourism and hospitality scholars, you might want to come to the understanding that both of these tourism and hospitality academic-based approach have developed independently and started at different times and the use of terminology may differ slightly.

Significantly, both of tourism and hospitality educators strongly suggest a strong relationship in term of delivering knowledge and skill for the learners. While, tourism HE is to recognize a tourism destination towards understanding social science worldviews that reflect and recognize plurality of social practices, positions, and insights within a proportion subject in business and non-business orientation. The hospitality HE approaches attempt to disseminate knowledge and skill that demonstrate the dynamic thinking about hospitality commercial context and the important chemistry between disciplines such as economic and business management, social science, and arts, which direct or indirectly support a tourism destination.

So, do you still have a question towards which one is the eldest one?

 

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