Motivations to Study Among Tourism and Hospitality Students

ABSTRACT

Knowing the motivations for why students study is important because it helps plan for prospective students. This study investigated the motivations for undergraduate students to seek studies in tourism and hospitality in a Taiwanese private university and the possibility of obtaining a postgraduate degree. A total of 1,000 questionnaires were distributed within two different programs; 899 questionnaires were returned, for a response rate of 89.9%. Students chose tourism and hospitality as majors because of the scores they achieved on the joint university entrance exam, the possibility to contact people from other countries, and the potential for career growth. Among the reasons to study abroad after graduation were opportunities to learn a foreign language and develop relationships with foreign professors and friends. The results of this study help revise pedagogy, policies, curriculum; train teachers; and provide more state-of-the-art facilities to keep students motivated and progressing.

KEYWORDS:

• Higher education
• hospitality
• motivation
• Taiwan
• tourism

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their gratitude to Professors Samuel Seongseop Kim, Yingzhi Guo, Kuo- Ching Wang, and Jerome Agrusa, who allowed another study to contribute to their findings in Taiwan. The authors’ thanks also go to Professor Jimmy Bourque at Université de Moncton, Canada who kindly advised them on data analysis.

Notes

¹ In the questionnaire, the same country may be named in two different questions as the first and second priority among the countries where the student would like to study.