Outlook

The Hospitality industry is one which has grown in leaps and bounds with the advent of the last century and the advancements in transportation and communication. This growth has been phenomenal to the extent that today, a little over a hundred years on, hospitality is the main revenue maker for many countries across the globe. For these tourist destinations, the revenue gathered from vacationing consumers is critical to the GDP and social growth. Interlink this with the travel industry, which is considered part and parcel of hospitality and you can see an economic turnout toughing not billions but trillions of dollars worldwide annually, with millions earning their livelihood and massive numbers of jobs being created every year as many nations now begin to explore into this vast, only partially tapped market.

Especially today, when information is readily available on the internet and large numbers of vacationers are looking to escape to cheaper destinations, hospitality has become one of the major pillars for the rebuilding process.

What does online hospitality consist of?

Hospitality is a broad term encompassing many aspects of travel, tourism and entertainment. These and their many subcategories belong to, but are not limited to tourism and are found in every corner of the globe.

The main factor to remember about this industry is that Hospitality is now big business, in fact, one of the biggest around and nearly every other industry is affected by it. This means that hospitality consists of areas relating to any field of expertise from any and every aspect of business or profession. Another factor to remember is that hospitality and online hospitality have become one, i.e., while in the days of web1.0, hospitality on the internet was limited to information only, In this web2.0 era, it is now hosted on the web as a consolidated business, and it stands to reason that hospitality education is also consolidated on the internet as a viable area of education and training.

Some of the areas associated with hospitality on the internet are as below;

• Online Travel bookings by air, sea or land

• Online Accommodation and bookings for hotels, resorts and guest houses

• Online destination finders and packaged deals involving popular vacations and destinations

• Online booking ticketing for entertainment shows, casinos and even adventure sports

Online Hospitality education; major programs

Hospitality education is available over the internet from many famous colleges and universities in Europe and the Americas. Many of these courses are available in blended/online format and are conducted over the internet so that professionals and students all over the world can benefit from the learning while not having to travel, relocate or quit their jobs in order to do so.

There are many programs online that can help you learn or train for a career in core hospitality management, for instance hotel management, or for any of the niche supporting areas in hospitality, namely accommodation management, entertainment, travel and tours, cooking and catering and sports (golf, tennis, fishing, adventure etc); you can even learn to be a jet ski instructor or a crabbing or snorkeling specialist.

Here are some of the well known programs and courses on offer over the internet. These are all part of the online hospitality management education category and are available to almost anyone from any industry or field of education. Each of the following courses has an emphasis on hospitality management and its support functions;

• Online Full MBA (Concentrated study in Hosp & Tourism)

• Master of Science in Recreation, Sport and Tourism

• MA in Tourism Planning and Development

• Bachelors in Business / Management

• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration / Hosp & Tourism

• BS - Interdisciplinary Studies in Hosp Management

• BS in Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management

• Associate of Arts in Hospitality, Travel, and Tourism

• Associate degree in Global Travel and Hosp Management

• Certificate in Organizational Management- Hotels & Accommodations

• MA/MS, BA/BS, Certificate/ASS in Cooking, catering and presentation (various types/cuisines)

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