It was not long ago when people in the travel industry simply grew into their roles, climbing the ranks by virtue of their experience. And while the need for practical experience in this industry cannot be emphasised enough, the sector's growing complexity, the ever-increasing demands of customers, radical changes in the source markets, and the growing role of technology - all require an unprecedented level of preparedness.
'Our industry is more competitive and complex than ever,' says Professor Kaye Chon, dean and chair professor of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). 'It is important for managers to allocate time for learning to keep their knowledge relevant.'
He adds that the hotel school not only teaches innovation, but also walks the talk: it is an industry pioneer and torchbearer for change.
Last year saw the opening of PolyU's integrated training and research hotel, Hotel ICON, and the launch of its master of science in international tourism and convention management (ITCM), spun off from the existing masters of science in international hospitality management (IHM).
This year, SHTM is launching the executive masters in global hospitality leadership to its portfolio. 'In 2011, we split the MSc programme into two, and now we have far more applications than before,' says Chon. 'We created more demand as the programmes are more appealing [to different segments]. We also have far more international students.'
Chon explains that long-term career aspirations should define which programme an applicant should choose.
